Ashok Lavasa ( IAST: ) (born 21 October 1957) is a retired 1980 batch

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

officer of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

cadre and was one of the two Election Commissioners of India. He has also served as the Finance Secretary of India, Environment, Forests and Climate Change Secretary of India and Civil Aviation Secretary of India. He has been appointed as the Vice President of

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...

(ADB).

Education

Ashok Lavasa did his schooling from Belgaum Military School. Ashok Lavasa is a graduate (

BA Honours BA, Ba, or ba may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Bangladesh Army * Bibliotheca Alexandrina, an Egyptian library and cultural center * Boeing (NYSE stock symbol BA) * Booksellers Association of the UK and Ireland * Boston Acoustics, an ...

) from

Deshbandhu college Deshbandhu College ( hi, देशबंधु कॉलेज) is a college established in 1952 and affiliated to University of Delhi. Deshbandhu College was established in 1953 by the Ministry of Rehabilitation, as a memorial to freedom fig ...

and a

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

( MA) in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

from

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

, he has an

MBA degree A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is ranked in the top ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. In addition, has an MPhil in defence and strategic studies.

Career

Before IAS

Before being appointed as an

IAS officer The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

, Lavasa taught

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

in the

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

. He also had a stint with the State Bank of India as a probationary officer.

As an IAS officer

Lavasa has served in key positions for both the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and the

Government of Haryana The Government of Haryana, also known as the State Government of Haryana, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Haryana and its 22 districts. It consists of an executive, ceremonially led ...

, like as

Principal Secretary The Principal Secretary is a senior government official in various Commonwealth countries. * Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan * Principal Secretary to the President of Pakistan * Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Ind ...

and Financial Commissioner (Renewable Energy Sources),

and Financial Commissioner (Power), Chief Coordinator (Industries),

resident commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...

, managing director of Haryana State Federation of Co-operative Sugar Mills (HSFCOSML), director of Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC), managing director of Haryana Tourism Corporation (HTC), and as the deputy commissioner and district magistrate of

Jind Jind is one of the largest and oldest city in Jind district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is administrative headquarter of Jind district. Rani Talab is the main destination for tourists while Pandu-Pindara and Ramrai are the main reli ...

and Gurgaon districts in the

Haryana government The Government of Haryana, also known as the State Government of Haryana, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Haryana and its 22 districts. It consists of an executive, ceremonially led ...

, and as the Union Finance Secretary, Union Environment, Forests and Climate Change Secretary, Union Civil Aviation Secretary, special secretary in the Ministry of Power,

joint secretary Joint Secretary to Government of India (often abbreviated as JS, GoI or Union Joint Secretary or Joint Secretary to Union of India) is a post under the Central Staffing Scheme and the third highest non-political executive rank in Government of I ...

in the Ministry of Home Affairs, and as a

in the Department of Economic Affairs of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

in the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

Civil Aviation Secretary

Lavasa was appointed as the Union Civil Aviation Secretary by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in December 2013, he assumed office on 1 January 2014, and demitted it on 29 August 2014, when he was appointed as the Union Environment, Forests and Climate Change Secretary.

Environment, Forests and Climate Change Secretary

Lavasa was appointed as the Union Environment, Forests and Climate Change Secretary by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in August 2014, he assumed office on 29 August 2014, and demitted it on 30 April 2016, when he was appointed as the Union Expenditure Secretary.

Expenditure Secretary

Lavasa was appointed as the Union Expenditure Secretary by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in April 2016, he assumed office on 30 April 2016, and demitted it and simultaneously superannuated from service on 30 October 2017. As the seniormost

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

in the

after the retirement of Ratan Watal, Lavasa was designated as Finance Secretary in May 2016.

Post-retirement

Election Commissioner of India

Post-retirement, Lavasa was appointed as one of the two Election Commissioners of India in January 2018. Lavasa assumed charge as Election Commissioner on 23 January 2018. Mr Lavasa made headlines in 2019 after a dissenting opinion on a panel's ruling of complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah during the Lok Sabha election campaign. Six complaints were filed against PM Modi. Lavasa disagreed with his panel colleagues i
some of these cases
He soon stopped attending meetings, saying "minority decisions" were being "suppressed in a manner contrary to well-established conventions observed by multi-member statutory bodies". In December 2019, Mr Lavasa in an article in The Indian Express wrote: "The honest, however, go on regardless, perhaps driven by an inner force that borders on recklessness. A society that creates hurdles which exhaust the honest or wound them paves the path for its own perdition". This was two months after an income tax notice was sent to his wife, Novel S Lavasa, over alleged discrepancies in filings. Sources had said the information had been sought "related to foreign exchange". Mrs Lavasa said she had "paid all taxes due" and "disclosed all income" and that she was cooperating. He will take charge as Vice president of Asian Development Bank (ADB) from 31 August 2020. But he has apparently not yet decided whether or not to join the Asian Development Bank as one of its vice presidents.

Work

* *Lavasa, Ashok (2021): ''An Ordinary Life: Portrait of an Indian Generation.'' Harper India

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavasa, Ashok Living people Indian Administrative Service officers Delhi University alumni Southern Cross University alumni 1957 births Members of the Election Commission of India