Manoj Kumar Agarwal IAS extension as Chief Secretary- West Bengal
Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal IAS (West Bengal 1990) presently Chief Secretary- West Bengal has been given extension for a period of six (06) Months from 1st August, 2026 to 31st January, 2027, beyond his date of superannuation, i.e 31st July, 2026, under Rule 16(1) of AIS (DCRB) Rules, 1958 in the interest of public service.
Who is Manoj Kumar Agarwal IAS? A Look at the Career of West Bengal’s Chief Secretary
Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal is a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the West Bengal cadre and a distinguished administrator with more than three decades of experience in public service. An engineer by education, Agarwal has held a wide range of important assignments at the district, state and central levels, handling responsibilities spanning personnel administration, elections, home affairs, forests, emergency services, food and supplies, education, urban development and general administration.
He currently serves as the Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal, a position he assumed on 11 May 2026. As Chief Secretary, he heads the highest level of the state administrative machinery and is responsible for coordinating the functioning of the government across departments. His present responsibilities include Administration, Personnel and General Administration, areas that have been central to his professional experience over the years.
Before becoming Chief Secretary, Manoj Kumar Agarwal served as Ex-Officio Additional Chief Secretary in the Home and Hill Affairs (Election) Department of West Bengal from April 2025 to May 2026. During the same period, he also served as the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal. In this role, he was responsible for the overall administration and coordination of electoral processes in the state, working with district administrations and various government agencies.
Prior to these assignments, Agarwal served as Additional Chief Secretary in the Forest Department from June 2024 to April 2025. He also held senior leadership responsibilities in the Fire and Emergency Services Department, serving as Additional Chief Secretary and earlier as Principal Secretary. His work in the department placed him in charge of an important public safety and emergency response sector.
A significant part of his career has been devoted to personnel administration and administrative reforms. He served as Principal Secretary in the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department of West Bengal between 2015 and 2017. The assignment involved responsibilities related to personnel management, administrative systems and reforms within the state government. His earlier experience in the same department at the level of Principal Secretary further strengthened his understanding of civil service administration.
From 2017 to 2020, Agarwal served as Principal Secretary and Commissioner of the Food and Supplies Department. This was a key assignment involving the administration of food-related matters and public distribution systems. His career also includes important responsibilities in education and development administration. He served as Secretary of the Technical Education and Training Department and later as Secretary of the Mass Education Extension Department. He also served as Secretary of the Development Department for the North Division.
Manoj Kumar Agarwal has also served on deputation to the Central Government. His central assignments included serving as Commissioner (Land Disposal) in the Delhi Development Authority. In this capacity, he was associated with urban development and land administration. He also served as Private Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Water Resources. Earlier, he worked as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
His administrative career began with extensive field experience in West Bengal. He served as District Magistrate of North Dinajpur and later as District Magistrate of Bardhaman. He also served as Chief Executive Officer in Jalpaiguri and held assignments as Additional District Magistrate in Purulia and Bardhaman. Earlier, he served as Sub-Divisional Officer in Bardhaman.
This combination of field administration, policy-level responsibilities and central deputation has given Agarwal experience across virtually every major layer of governance. From district administration and land revenue management to elections, personnel administration, public distribution, emergency services and general administration, his career has covered a broad spectrum of public service.
With his appointment as Chief Secretary of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal has reached the highest level of administrative leadership in the state. His career reflects a long association with complex governance responsibilities and a progression through several important assignments in both the state and Union governments.
An engineering graduate in Mechanical Engineering, Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal represents the long administrative tradition of the Indian Administrative Service, combining technical education with extensive experience in public policy and governance. His varied career and long service in West Bengal have shaped him into a seasoned administrator with experience ranging from grassroots district governance to the highest levels of state administration.
Indian Bureaucracy News wishes Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal the very best.