Mr Shashi Kant Sharma is set to become the next Defence Secretary.
Currently, Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, Mr Sharma will replace incumbent Defence Secretary, Mr Pradeep Kumar, who is due to take over as the new Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).
A 1976 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Bihar cadre, Mr Sharma is due to retire next year, but will get a fixed two-year tenure in his new role as Defence Secretary Prior to his being appointed as Financial Services Secretary in February this year, Mr Sharma was Secretary, Information Technology.
He had served as IT Secretary for a short span of five months. Before that, Mr Sharma was DG (Acquisitions) in the Defence Ministry.
Meanwhile, Mr S. Sridhar, former Chairman and Managing Director of Central Bank of India, and Mr Rajeev Agrawal, a 1983 batch IRS officer, are frontrunners for being appointed as whole-time Members of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The interviews for the two SEBI Members' slots was held on July 1.