Rajesh Khullar appointed chief principal secretary to Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini

Former top bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar was on Friday appointed as the chief principal secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in the rank and status of a Cabinet minister with immediate effect.

His term will be co-terminus with the term of the chief minister, an order issued by Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad said.

Saini took oath as the chief minister for the second time on Thursday after the BJP returned to power in Haryana following the October 5 Assembly polls.

Over a year ago after his retirement, the Haryana government had appointed Khullar as chief principal secretary to the then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

After Saini replaced Khattar as the chief minister in March, Khullar continued as chief principal secretary.

Khullar, a 1988 batch IAS officer, was the additional chief secretary and financial commissioner of the Revenue and Disaster Management, and Consolidation Departments. He retired last year.

A highlight of Khullar’s career was his appointment as the executive director of the World Bank’s Washington DC office in September 2020 for a term of three years.

Before the international assignment, he had served as the principal secretary to Khattar for nearly five years.

Khullar had also served as the joint secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance.