Rajesh Pandey

Mr. Rajesh Pandey, an IAS officer belonging to the 1995 batch of West Bengal cadre has joined as the 51st Chairman of Damodar Valley Corporation on 23rd July, 2026. Mr Pandey brings with him a varied experience of working in multiple sectors having served as Additional Chief Secretary for the Departments of MSME & Textiles Department, Personnel & Administrative Reforms, Sports and Youth Services Departments, and Co-operation Department, and has served as Secretary of the Consumer Affairs Department, in the state government.

Having completed his B. Tech. (Hons.) in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 1993, he joined Maruti Udyog Ltd. and worked in Product Development Department of Engineering Division. Subsequently, in a career spanning around 31 years in Civil Services, he has held different field level posts, including Chief Executive Officer Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA), District Magistrate of Nadia and Darjeeling Districts, and established an impeccable record in administration and management.

He has also served as the Chairman & Managing Director, West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) for over 5 years where he was also the Chairman of New Town Electric Supply Co. Ltd. (NTESCL) and Managing Director, West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (WBSETCL), Director of Durgapur Projects Limited (DPL) and Member of the Governing Body of West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA).

A Fulbright fellow for Leadership Development for the year 2008, Mr. Pandey completed his Masters in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, USA in the year 2010. As part of the course requirement, he also interned with the World Bank at Washington DC working for reforms in the Justice sector in the Europe & Central Asia region.

Mr Pandey has been instrumental in bringing about a number of policy initiatives in West Bengal which includes a number of initiatives for Ease of Doing Business, many incentive policies for development of MSME and Textile sector, Sports Policy development, cluster development initiatives for handloom and handicraft sector, universal electrification in West Bengal, comprehensive planning for the Power sector of the state of West Bengal etc.