Dr T V Somanathan, on Friday, took over as the new cabinet secretary in the government of India, after the superannuation of Mr Rajiv Gauba. Prior to this, Dr Somanathan was the finance secretary and secretary, the Department of Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance.
Dr Somanathan is an IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre (1987 batch). He holds a PhD in Economics from Calcutta University. He has completed the Executive Development Program of Harvard Business School and is a fully qualified Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant, and Company Secretary.
Dr Somanathan has held important assignments at the Centre like Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in Prime Minister’s Office.
He served as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and was deputed as Director of Corporate Affairs at the World Bank in Washington DC.
In the state government of Tamil Nadu, Dr Somanathan served in many key positions such as Managing Director of Chennai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd., Secretary to the Chief Minister, and Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes during the crucial phase of the rollout of GST.
He also served as Commissioner of disciplinary proceedings. As founder and managing director of Metro Rail Corporation Limited, Chennai, he was responsible for achieving financial closure and awarding the initial tenders for implementing the Chennai Metro Rail Project.
Dr Somanathan joined the World Bank in 1996, Washington through the Young Professionals Program, as Financial Economist in the East Asia & Pacific Regional Vice Presidency. He became one of the Bank’s youngest Sector Managers when he was appointed Manager of the Budget Policy Group. In 2011, his services were sought by the World Bank and he served as Director from 2011 to 2015.
Dr Somanathan has published over 80 papers and articles in journals and newspapers on economics, finance, and public policy, and is the author of three books published by McGraw Hill, Cambridge/Oxford University Press.