Government appoints DEA’s Ajay Seth as new Finance Secretary

New Delhi: Economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth has been named India’s new finance secretary, filling the vacancy created by Tuhin Kanta Pandey’s appointment as the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Seth, a 1987 batch Karnataka cadre Indian Administrative Services officer, played a key role in shaping India’s economic policies as secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs since 2021, overseeing critical initiatives related to infrastructure financing, public-private partnerships, and the management of external borrowings.

His appointment as finance secretary comes at a crucial time when the Union government is focused on maintaining fiscal discipline while boosting economic growth.

India’s economic growth showed signs of recovery in the December quarter, climbing to 6.2% from 5.6% in the preceding three months, which was the slowest since the March quarter of FY23.

This leaves considerable ground to cover in the final quarter of this fiscal year to meet the revised full-year growth target of 6.5% as projected by the National Statistical Office on Friday.

Even if the target is met, India’s GDP growth for FY25 would still be 270 basis points (bps) lower than the previous fiscal year’s revised growth estimate of 9.2%, underscoring the challenges that lie ahead for Seth in steering the economy.

Raising the bar for reforms

Seth has an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee and an MBA, and brings over three decades of expertise in public finance, taxation, and social sector administration.

He gained national recognition for transforming Karnataka’s commercial tax administration, earning the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2013.

Speaking with Mint after the presentation of the Union budget in February, Seth had said the central government would raise the bar for benchmark reforms for states seeking access to its 50-year interest-free capital expenditure loans, aiming to drive deregulation and improve ease of doing business—a key focus of the latest budget.

To be sure, the latest economic survey says India must accelerate domestic growth through deregulation and private investment as globalization slows.

The pre-budget report also emphasized that for India to achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, it must sustain an 8% growth rate for at least a decade even as global uncertainties raise concerns about an economic slowdown.

“As we gain more experience, the quality of reforms continues to improve, and the expectations keep rising,” Seth had told Mint. “It’s no longer enough to simply announce a policy—that's not sufficient. We are now looking at real legislative changes and tangible impact on the ground.”