The farewell of MSME Secretary Subhash Chandra Lal Das (IAS:1992:AGMUT) has drawn significant attention in Delhi’s bureaucratic circles, highlighting both his personal goodwill and the strong presence of the 1992 batch at the Centre.
Das retired on Thursday (April 30, 2026) after over three decades in service, with a rare show of camaraderie as senior colleagues gathered to see him off.
All 17 IAS officers of the 1992 batch currently holding Secretary-rank positions in Delhi were present on the occasion, including the Delhi Chief Secretary. Of these, 14 are serving as Secretaries in Union ministries and departments, while the remaining three hold the positions of Delhi Chief Secretary, UPSC Secretary, and Secretary in the Inter-State Council Secretariat.
Those present reportedly included Vijay Kumar (IAS:1992:AGMUT), Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; Ashish Kumar Bhutani (IAS:1992:AM), Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation; Arunish Chawla (IAS:1992:BH), Secretary, DIPAM; and Chanchal Kumar (IAS:1992:BH), Secretary, Information & Broadcasting.
Also in attendance were Nidhi Khare (IAS:1992:JH), Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs; Pankaj Agrawal (IAS:1992:MP), Secretary, Ministry of Power; Ashish Srivastava (IAS:1992:MP), Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat; Neelam Shammi Rao (IAS:1992:MP), Secretary, Ministry of Textiles; and Vineet Joshi (IAS:1992:MN), Secretary, Department of Higher Education.
The gathering further included Vumlunmang Vualnam (IAS:1992:MN), Secretary, Department of Expenditure; Chandra Sekhar Kumar (IAS:1992:OR), Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs; Rajat Kumar Mishra (IAS:1992:RJ), Secretary, Department of Fertilizers; Rajendra Kumar (IAS:1992:TN), Secretary, Border Management, MHA; and Neeraj Mittal (IAS:1992:TN), Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Sanjay Jaju (IAS:1992:TG), Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; Shashi Ranjan (IAS:1992:TR), Secretary, UPSC; and Delhi Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma (IAS:1992:AGMUT) were also present.
The scale of the turnout reflects the continued presence of the 1992 batch in key positions at the Centre and the respect Das commanded across the bureaucracy.
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