New Delhi: Govind Mohan Takes the Helm as Union Home Secretary

NEW DELHI: Govind Mohan, a 1989-batch IAS officer of the Sikkim cadre, took over as the Union Home Secretary in a major bureaucratic induction on Thursday. Mohan takes over from Ajay Kumar Bhalla, whose five-year term was recently extended but completed, with vast experience and a reputation of a hard taskmaster.

The appointment of Mohan had followed his successful stint as Union Culture Secretary, being at the helm of affairs with several national initiatives that captured the country's imagination. By qualification, a graduate in Engineering from Banaras Hindu University and having a postgraduate diploma from IIM Ahmedabad, he set a strong foundation for his new role on both an academic and professional front.

His experience, over states and the Centre, telescoped over decades, gets deployed in his transition to the Home Ministry. His past assignments as an Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry involved overseeing significant divisions within the ministry, mainly those related to Union Territories. Through the COVID crisis, Mohan's support was critical to coordinating many of these protocols and ensuring that the Center Government and States synergized seamlessly.

Now, as he steps into the role of Union Home Secretary, the immediate challenges before Mohan are formidable. His first major task would pertain to the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, being carefully and strategically managed to ensure peaceful and fair polling in the state. The elections are, literally, a litmus test scheduled for September 18 to show how he can deal with the complex political turfs that are going to be his problems while keeping national security and order.

Unveiling important schemes led by him in his earlier capacity as Union Culture Secretary—in particular, 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' and the 'Har Ghar Tiranga movement'—his efforts added immensely to national pride as India marked 75 years of its independence. In fact, this 'Har Ghar Tiranga movement' was not only a cultural success but an economic one too: it provided employment to thousands of women under self-help groups who had taken it upon themselves to make these flags that became representations of unity and integrity.

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