CM-designate's ACS A Venu Prasad adept at handling power, excise affairs

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

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Chandigarh, March 14

Varied experience in handling the affairs of the power sector, particularly during the past seven years, played a key role in the selection of A Venu Prasad as Additional Chief Secretary to CM-designate Bhagwant Mann. The AAP is looking to start working on its promise of 24 hours of uninterrupted supply and 300 units of free power.

Held key posts

• A Venu Prasad, a 1991-cadre IAS officer, has vast experience in the Excise & Taxation Department, where he served as the Commissioner
• Besides being Principal Secretary (Power), he held the portfolio of Principal Secretary, PSPCL, and Secretary, Power Dept

A soft-spoken 1991-cadre IAS officer, Venu Prasad has vast experience in the Excise and Taxation Department, where he served as the Commissioner from 2007-2013, which the government will like to use to end the ‘mafia in transport, sand and gravel, liquor and cable sectors’.

Besides being Principal Secretary (Power) in 2015-17, he held the portfolio of Principal Secretary, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd, from 2016-2019. He was also Secretary, Power, in 2017-18.

From his role as the Financial Commissioner (Taxation) in 2021, he was transferred as the CMD, PSPCL, with additional charge of the CMD, Power State Transmission Corporation Ltd. He is also expected to look into the issue of “faulty” power pacts, which the previous Congress government had claimed to have worked on for scrapping, but did not achieve any results. He will continue in his role as the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Parliamentary Affairs, Chairman-cum-MD, PSTC, besides Financial Commissioner, Taxation.

Born in Andhra Pradesh, Venu Prasad did his MBA (Finance) and MA in Public Policy. He also has degrees in MSc (Agriculture) and PG in Soil Science. He joined the state services as an SDO in 1993 and went on to occupy the chair of the Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot, (1999-2003) and of Jalandhar (2006-2007). He rose to the rank of the Chief Administrator (Under Secretary), Housing and Urban Development, in 2003 and later as the MD, Punjab State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills.