VL Kantha Rao IAS of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), of the Madhya Pradesh cadre from the 1992-batch, has now taken charge as the new Secretary of the Ministry of Mines.
Until now, Rao has been serving as the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Telecommunications, serving a key role towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat, an initiative to aid the nation’s battle against Coronavirus crisis. He has also played a significant role in the execution of several initiatives under the Digital Communication Policy, International Relations Regulatory recommendations, and University connectivity.
Rao succeeds Vivek Bharadwaj IAS of the 1989-batch. Bharadwaj was responsible for roping in several significant reforms in the mineral sector. He achieved it through the recently implemented amendments to the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act and the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act. During his leadership, the nation was able to classify 30 critical minerals.
At a time when the Ministry has monumental plans to auction Critical Mineral blocks, Rao is taking charge. This auction is critical in the context of Energy Security of the nation.
Rao is a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta.
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