1993 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, Dr. Ravi Kota, has been appointed as the next Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam with effect from the date of superannuation of Mr. Paban Kumar Borthakur, present Chief Secretary, on March 31.
The announcement comes even as incumbent Chief Secretary Mr. Pawan Kumar Borthakur’s tenure had been extended for an additional three months in December, 2023.
The personnel department of the Assam government announced this in an official order passed on Tuesday. The order read, “Dr. Ravi Kota, IAS is appointed as Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Assam with effect from the date of superannuation of Shri Paban Kumar Borthakur, IAS Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Assam on 31/03/2024.”
Additionally, Dr. Kota has been transferred and posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, Commerce & Public Enterprises Department with additional charge of Finance Department and OSD in the Office of Chief Secretary, Assam.
Prior to this, he was appointed as the Additional Chief Secretary for the Home & Political Department, which encompasses Passport and Prisons, in September last year.
Dr. Kota joined Indian Administrative Service in 1993. He is a gold medalist in Ph.D. in Agronomy. He has more than 30 years of vast leadership experience in the Union and state governments, especially on public finance, fiscal practices and macro-economic policies.
He worked extensively from the cutting edge level of state administration to the senior policy level in the Union government in varied sectors, from food and agriculture, human resources, urban infrastructure to internal security.
His posting as Joint Secretary, 15th Finance Commission, in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, helped him accumulate deep knowledge of fiscal issues of the states and UTs of the country.
During his tenure as Principal Secretary, Finance, in Assam, he steered the state finances through the transition phase of the post-Planning Commission, demonetization and GST. He managed ways and means to raise internal resources through taxation, market borrowings, and externally from multilateral development assistance.
He prepared the state’s annual budgets and managed public expenditure. He mobilized private investments and was a key force in driving financial inclusion.
Dr. Kota was also sent by the Government of India to United States as head of the economic wing of the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he dealt with finance, monetary and investment issues of India and the US. During his stint there, he focused on India-US economic relations and India’s investment climate.
Apart from handling bilateral economic and finance issues with the US administration, he also dealt with issues relating to the World Bank, and IMF. He also looked after the US-India Clean Energy and Climate Partnership 2030.
Born in Andhra Pradesh on12 April, 1966, Dr. Kota also served as the Principal Resident Commissioner of Assam Bhawan in New Delhi for a while.
