Rajiv Mehrishi retired from the Indian Administrative Service after serving in senior positions like Chief Secretary of Rajasthan, Union Home Secretary, and Union Finance Secretary. He also served as the 13th Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and Vice Chairman of the United Nations Panel of External Auditors in 2020. Recently he created quite a wave by his making of over 20 varieties of pickles which are available under the brand name ‘Pickley – Taste of Dada’. We wrote about it on July 11 (Sealing His Talent into Bottles: Signature Pickles from a Former Bureaucrat
In the second part of the story on him, Indian Masterminds writes about his administrative journey.
A FASCINATING CAREER SPAN
Having done M.A. (History) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, Mr. Mehrishi has served in various positions in both Rajasthan government and the Centre, such as Principal Resident Commissioner of Rajasthan, Chairman of Indira Gandhi Nahar Board, District Magistrate and Collector of Bikaner in Rajasthan Government, and Union Fertilizers Secretary, and Union Overseas Indian Affairs Secretary, Special Secretary in Ministry of Agriculture and Joint Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, in the Union Government. This year, he was bestowed with the prestigious Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award. Recently he wrote a book, India 2022.
HIGHLIGHTS OF HIS CAREER
Mr. Mehrishi claims that he enjoyed working in every position he was posted in. During his tenure in the Transport Department of Rajasthan, he rewrote the transport taxation laws and the rules for the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1984, which became a template for the whole country. He was also pivotally involved in the important reforms of setting up the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), and enactment of the Indian Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and the Competition Act.
As Principal Secretary (Finance) in Rajasthan, he played a central role in conceptualizing and introducing the biometric and bank-linked ‘Bhamashah’ card, even before the Aadhar card scheme was announced by the Government of India in 2009. “I believe, every job is enjoyable if one does it to their best of abilities,” he says.
CHALLENGES AS A HOME SECRETARY
The job of a Home Secretary is extremely sensitive and demanding. One can’t afford to slip up or cause a delay in proceedings. Everything has to be completed within a time limit to avoid hampering the smooth flow of events. Other than internal security, Home Ministry also plays a pivotal role in disaster management in the country. Forces like NDRF are a part of the Home Ministry.
“Anytime there is a natural or man-made disaster, the job becomes extremely demanding because a lot of innocent lives are at stake in such cases. One has to be on high alert at all times. It is so busy a job that it doesn’t give one enough time to start new ventures,” Mr. Mehrishi told Indian Masterminds.
NEW PROJECTS AS SECRETARY, ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
As the Secretary of Economic Affairs, Government of India, Mr. Mehrishi was involved in several remarkable decisions and achievements of the ministry, during his tenure. Some of them included the Monetary Policy Framework Agreement between the RBI and the Central Government, the writing of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and the amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Act, among others.
PANCHAYAT ELECTIONS IN BIKANER
Sharing his experiences in the panchayat elections of Ajmer, Mr. Mehrishi said that all polling officers would stand in the scorching sun for hours in a queue in front of the counters to collect poll stationery. Therefore, when the 1984 Parliament Elections took place, during his tenure as the DM of Bikaner, he decided to change the order. “We arranged for a large hall and asked them to come in batches, every 45 minutes, sit on their assigned desks, after which our people went to every desk to distribute the ballots.”
He further arranged for fireplaces on the site of polling stations, set up tea stalls free of cost, to protect them from the cold pangs of the chilly winter nights, and ensured that no one should have to stand in line for hours.
OUTSOURCING EVEN BEFORE IT WAS TRENDING
In 1988, when he was posted as the Director of Agriculture, the department had to shift to a new building and Mr. Mehrishi was called by the Chief Secretary and asked to move by the next week.
He soon realized that they had sanctioned 64 posts of Group D employees to clean the building. He observed that the government had to bear a huge cost for the workers. Therefore, Mr. Mehrishi went to the Finance Secretary at the time and proposed the idea of getting the work done from an outside agency.
“That system is now endemic in a much-evolved form in the entire country. Our contract wasn’t for the number of people assigned but the service that we wished to receive. It was specified in the contract which made things turn for the good,” he told Indian Masterminds.
That way, he started outsourcing much before it became the norm for various government departments.
Post-retirement too, Mr. Mehrishi has not been sitting idle. He has a number of consultancy assignments for which he keeps traveling between his native place Jaipur and his adopted place of residence New Delhi, and other cities where his work takes him. And on the side, he keeps making pickles as his favorite pastime. “It’s my best stress-buster,” he says, before signing off.
