As Chief Secretary to the government of Gujarat, Raj Kumar is on a nine-day leave, Additional Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi will take charge of the position.

Raj Kumar, the current Chief Secretary, is going on leave from November 29 to December 7 on the occasion of his son’s wedding. 

During this period, Joshi, a senior IAS officer, will be taking over as the acting Chief Secretary.

Joshi is a senior IAS officer of the 1989 batch and is currently the most senior officer in the Gujarat government. He is expected to be the next Chief Secretary after Rajkumar's retirement in January 2025.

With Raj Kumar's retirement, Pankaj Joshi will be succeeded by K Srinivas, another senior IAS officer of the same batch, who is currently on deputation in New Delhi. Srinivas is expected to retire in July 2027.

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