Amidst a recent development, IAS V L Kantha Rao was appointed the new Secretary of the Ministry of Mines replacing Mr. Vivek Bharadwaj (1989-batch IAS officer). Officer Rao had last served as the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Telecommunications, where he played a key role in contributing towards the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme.
Mr. Rao, a 1992-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, had played a pivotal part in the successful execution of initiatives under the Digital Communication Policy, Regulatory recommendations, International Relations and Universal connectivity. As the new Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, Officer Rao plans to auction Critical Mineral blocks, which are important in the context of the Energy Security of the country. Mr. Rao is a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering and has a Master’s in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.
The outgoing Secretary, Mr. Bharadwaj, had been instrumental in bringing major reforms in the mineral sector through the recent amendments to the Mines and Mineral (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act & the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act. Furthermore, under his deft leadership, the country has been able to identify 30 critical minerals.
