Srinagar: The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet has approved the extension of Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla’s service by another year.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension in the service to Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs for a period of one year beyond the present tenure i.e 22.08.2021 in relaxation of FR 56 (d) and Rule 16 (IA) of the AA India services (death-cum-retirement benefits ) rules 1958,” reads the notification by Srinivas RKatikithala, Secretary, the Appointment committee of the cabinet and establishment officer.
A 1984-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, Bhalla took charge as the union home secretary on August 22, 2019, after Rajiv Gauba was appointed cabinet secretary.
During his tenure, the union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has taken several key decisions. These include amending the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act-which empowers the agency to probe terror cases abroad as well; bringing in the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which was passed by the parliament in December 2019.
The decision to abrogate article 370 from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and its bifurcation into two union territories – J&K and Ladakh- has been implemented by the MHA under his close supervision.
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