Goutam Sanyal, the Secretary to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been promoted as Principal Secretary. It is the first instance in the State wherein a Central Secretariat service officer is being named to the post reserved for senior IAS officers. An earlier attempt to elevate him had fallen through because of procedural objections raised by the then Chief Secretary.
In a State, a Central Secretariat service officer can be promoted up to the level of Secretary, not Principal Secretary, which is one rank above. Central Secretariat service officers, recruited by a central service commission, are expected to follow orders from IAS officers and not participate in policy planning.
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