H Rajesh Prasad appointed chief secretary of Chandigarh

A 1995-batch AGMUT-cadre officer, Prasad is serving as principal secretary, power development, in J&K at present.

The Union home ministry on Saturday appointed H Rajesh Prasad, a 1995-batch IAS officer, as the chief secretary of Chandigarh.

H Rajesh Prasad, a 1995-batch IAS officer, who has been appointed as the new chief secretary of Chandigarh. (File photo)

Prasad, an AGMUT-cadre officer, has been serving as principal secretary of the power development department in Jammu and Kashmir since September 22, 2022. Jammu and Kashmir is now a part of the joint AGMUT cadre that includes J&K and Ladakh.

Born on June 1, 1967, Prasad belongs to Karnataka. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and an LL.B. He has completed dual MBA programmes in finance and public management from IGNOU and Pondicherry University, respectively.

Prasad succeeds Rajeev Verma, a 1992-batch IAS officer, who was transferred as the chief secretary of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi on September 28.

Verma, also an officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, was posted as the adviser to the Chandigarh administrator in February 2024.

In January this year, the MHA created the post of chief secretary in Chandigarh, abolishing the position of adviser to the UT administrator. Verma, thus, became the first chief secretary of Chandigarh following this restructuring.