By IANS,
New Delhi : India’s new secretary for economic affairs Ashok Chawla took charge Wednesday, at a time when the country’s inflation is hovering around 12 percent and growth in industrial production is sluggish.
As secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the finance ministry, Chawla also has to grapple with a slowdown in the economy, which logged a 7.9 percent growth in April-June this fiscal.
Chawla, a 1973 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Gujarat cadre, is considered a veteran in economic affairs and has held various positions in other ministries.
A post-graduate in Economics from Delhi University’s prestigious Delhi School of Economics (DSE), Chawla has held several key positions during his stint in Gujarat.
As director (foreign investment) in the DEA, Chawla was an integral part of policy-making related to foreign investment and capital markets in the mid-1980s.