Indian Bureaucracy, Lucknow, April 22, 2025| Shri Kaushal Raj Sharma IAS (UP 2006) is appointed as the Secretary to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, effective April 21, 2025, moving from Commissioner, Varanasi Division, as the state is aligning experienced administrators with high-impact roles to advance Yogi Aditya Nath’s governance. Sharma’s extensive experience in rural and urban settings, coupled with his contributions to Varanasi’s infrastructure transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus, positions him to bridge field insights with state-level policy.
From Varanasi to a Regional Model: Leveraging Religion for Development
Since 2014, Varanasi, PM Modi’s constituency, has seen major development, including the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and improved riverfronts. From 2019, Sharma has been instrumental in implementing these complex projects in the deeply religious and ancient city. This demanded a delicate balance with the existing traditions and required meticulous coordination among the city’s residents, the local administration, and various central government initiatives. His efforts led to significant improvements in connectivity, tourism, and urban services, effectively advancing the PM’s vision for Varanasi.
The Chief Minister’s Office is expected to apply this expertise statewide, as the state is realigning itself to a powerful economic model of Religion based commerce. This involves tapping into mostly untapped sacred religious circuits and using them toward a Region-based economic model. The state has no shortage of iconic pilgrimage sites—Mathura, Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Kushinagar, and Sarnath, which rank among the four principal Buddhist sites tied to Gautama Buddha’s life—and these have potential to draw monies to the state’s economy and fueling prosperity through spiritual tourism.
Sharma’s new role requires integrating grassroots experience with policy-making, a strength Sharma developed in tier-2 and tier-3 towns like Pilibhit and Azamgarh, and urban centers like Lucknow and Varanasi. His success in Varanasi, balancing cultural significance with modern development, thus prepares him to support the state’s broader agenda, including industrial growth and urban planning.
Shri Sharma, with nearly two decades of service in Uttar Pradesh, holds an M.Tech from IIT Delhi and an MA in Public Policy from IGNOU. His career includes roles as Joint Magistrate and Collector in Azamgarh (2008-2009), Chief Development Officer in Lucknow (2009-2010), and District Magistrate and Collector in Pilibhit (2010-2012), Muzaffar Nagar (2013-2015), Prayagraj (2015), Kanpur Nagar (2015-2017), Lucknow (2017-2019), and Varanasi (2019-2022). Since October 2022, he has served as Divisional Commissioner in Varanasi, also briefly as District Magistrate, overseeing the city’s administration and development. Earlier roles include Additional Land Acquisition Commissioner (2012) and Special Secretary in Infrastructure and Industrial Development (2012-2013), focusing on land reforms and industrial policy, highlight his ability to handle land reforms and industrial policy, key to Uttar Pradesh’s growth.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes Shri Kaushal Raj Sharma the very best.
