ACS Rajesh Pandey Gets Additional Charge of Co-operation Department, West Bengal

Rajesh Pandey, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, has been promoted to the Apex scale in the Government of West Bengal. He presently serves as Additional Chief Secretary, Youth Services and Sports department.

The West Bengal government has entrusted Pandey with the additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Co-operation department, alongside his existing charge of the Youth Services and Sports department, until further orders.

The Co-operation department oversees the state's network of credit cooperatives and cooperative societies, an area that has periodically required governance scrutiny given the role these institutions play in rural credit access across West Bengal.

Pandey's promotion to the Apex scale — the senior-most pay grade for IAS officers below the Chief Secretary — comes as he takes on the dual charge, reflecting both a career milestone and an expanded administrative workload.

West Bengal's Co-operation department has periodically undertaken audits of district-level credit cooperatives to identify governance gaps, an oversight function that continues regardless of which officer holds additional charge at any given time.

Holding both the Youth Services and Sports department and the Co-operation department simultaneously places Pandey across two functionally distinct portfolios, a common arrangement at the Additional Chief Secretary level when the state government opts for continuity over a new appointment.

The additional charge arrangement is effective until further orders, as per the West Bengal government's notification.