Will India get its first woman cabinet secretary this time?

With barely two weeks to go before the government takes a call on who the next cabinet secretary will be, there are indications that the country might get its first woman cabinet secretary this time around.

Two women IAS officers ? Alka Sirohi and Sushma Nath ? are being considered for the coveted post of the country?s senior-most bureaucrat, for which nine are in the fray. With Nath learnt to be not keen on the post, Sirohi stands a fair chance of making it. Pulok Chatterjee, thanks to his proximity to the Gandhi family, continues to be the frontrunner, though.

Incumbent KM Chandrashekhar will retire this June, and his successor should be announced a month before that. So, the race has just got hotter.

Chatterjee, a 1974 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre officer is perceived to have an edge. He had long years as an aide to Rajiv Gandhi, and after his death, to Sonia Gandhi.

He also had a long stint in the Prime Minister?s Office during the UPA-I regime. Sources in government, however, point out that appointing Chatterjee would be tantamount to superseding many seniors in his batch.

While Sirohi is a 1974 batch officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre, Nath is also of the same cadre and batch. Sirohi is currently secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training while Nath was appointed finance secretary, just ahead of the Budget.

Others in the fray are AK Seth, secretary-public grievances, K Mohandas, shipping secretary, Deepak Gupta, secretary, new and renewable energy, Anup Mukherjee, chief secretary, Bihar, Vivek Mehrotra, secretary, minority affairs, and KM Acharya, secretary, social justice and empowerment.

?If Nath is not interested (she was to retire on May 31 this year but given an extension in the context of the Budget ), one among the other eight might be elevated to the top post,? said a top government source.

Among those in the fray, the chances of Anup Mukherjee, a 1974 Bihar cadre officer and currently chief secretary of Bihar are considered the brightest. ?Mukherjee appears to have a fair chance to be cabinet secretary,? said the source. The dark horse though, could be Sirohi. ?With this government’s penchant for appointing women in top posts, it would be no surprise to see a woman cabinet secretary after 29 male ones,? said the source.

Shipping secretary K Mohan Das could have been a frontrunner too, but rumour has it that if there is a regime change in Kerala after May 13, then Mohan Das could well move to Thiruvananthapuram as chief secretary. ?In all, even Sushma Nath is considered in with a chance, though it is reported that she has not shown much enthusiasm for the post,? said the source.

As for a sinecure for KM Chandrashekhar, again speculation is rife that he may be Delhi’s next lieutenant governor.