Ex-Bureaucrat Behind Top Government Schemes Accused Of Corruption: 5 Facts

Ramesh Abhishek, a retired IAS officer from the Bihar cadre earned crores from consulting a dozen companies after leaving office with whom he had official dealings while he was in service, the Enforcement Directorate has alleged. Mr Abhishek last served as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary. 

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mr Abhishek filed an affidavit before Lokpal in which he mentioned that he got Rs 2.7 crore fees in 15 months post-retirement which was "119 times higher than his last drawn government salary" which was Rs 2.26 lakhs.

Five Facts About Ramesh Abhishek

• Ramesh Abhishek was posted as DPIIT secretary from February 22 to July 2019. And before that, from September 21 to July 2019, he was posted as chairman of the Forward Market Commission. The officer joined the services in 1982 and retired in 2019 from the government office and private companies in various capacities.
• The retired bureaucrat is also one of the three independent directors at Paytm that is presently facing scrutiny by RBI. As per sources, while posted as a secretary, Mr Abhishek allegedly helped parent company One 97 Communications to come out with an IPO.
• He worked in Bihar for 15 years in the posts of Divisional Commissioner, Patna and District Magistrate, Patna and East Champaran. He also worked in the Supreme Court of India as a key member of the E-Committee, which was tasked with bringing e-governance to the judiciary. 
• In his 37-year tenure, Mr Abhishek managed several key government initiatives such as Make in India, Start-up India, and Ease of Doing Business. He has been Chairman of the Commodity Derivative Markets Regulator, Forward Markets Commission, bringing about far-reforms in the regulation of the market.
• He holds a master's degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MBA from Sikkim Manipal University, and a master's in international politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

CBI Searches

The CBI yesterday searched the premises of former Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Ramesh Abhishek after registering an FIR against him for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

It is alleged that he has amassed assets which were disproportionate to his legitimate sources of income. The Lokpal, in December last year, had referred this matter to the CBI and after the initial probe on February 15 this year, they registered a case of disproportionate assets.