Rajiv Mehrishi

Rajiv Mehrishi was the 13th Comptroller and Auditor General of India, after a career in the Indian Administrative Service that took him to the top posts in Rajasthan and in the central government. He was named for the Padma Bhushan in 2022 in the field of civil service, from Rajasthan ^[1].

From St Stephen’s to the IAS

Mehrishi was born on 8 August 1955 ^[2]. He took his BA and MA at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, where he briefly taught, and later an MBA from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow ^[2]. He joined the IAS in 1978 in the Rajasthan cadre and rose to be the state’s principal secretary for finance and then chief secretary ^[2].

At the Centre

He served four times in the central government, including as Union finance secretary and Union home secretary ^[2]. As CAG he was elected president of the UN Board of Auditors ^[2].

Writing the rules

He is known for work that changed systems of governance ^[2]. He wrote the rules for the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985, which became the model for other states; rewrote Rajasthan’s motor vehicle tax laws in 1994–95; dictated the first draft of what became the Companies Act of 2013; and in 2015 helped draft India’s first Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and set up the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, both enacted in 2016 ^[2].

Outside work he reads widely on science and mathematics, writes newspaper articles on public policy, plays bridge at a high level, and makes pickles that are sold under a brand ^[2].