NEW DELHI: For the second time in less than 12 months, the NDA government has sprung a surprise through Rajiv Mehrishi. Last October, it brought the 1978-batch IAS officer from his home cadre of Rajasthan to New Delhi to replace Arvind Mayaram to steer the Department of Economic Affairs, the nerve centre of government’s economic policies. On Monday, the day he was due to retire, the government created an even bigger flutter by appointing Mehrishi home secretary, cutting short incumbent LC Goyal’s tenure by over a year, and making the former the first officer in a long time to serve as finance secretary and home secretary. Mehrishi kept a low profile during his stint at North Block, but colleagues said he brought in a lot of ‘energy and gusto’ at work. He was not shy of crossing swords with RBI officials as he spearheaded the push for an overhaul of the financial sector. The move may have ruffled a few feathers of those afraid of breaking the conservative mould but Mehrishi has set the course for next generation changes. He advocated a reset of the country’s monetary policy through a new framework and creation of a committee. The Cabinet note for creation of monetary policy committee, which has the buy-in of the RBI, is ready to be taken up any time. Prior to his spell at the finance ministry, Mehrishi served as chief secretary of Rajasthan under CM Vasundhara Raje. He was reputed to be the key architect of a host of reforms initiated by the Raje government, including changes in the labour and land laws, apart from reconfiguring policies in skills development, solar energy and PPP-based highway projects. His association with finance minister Arun Jaitley dates back to the Vajpayee government when he worked for the then law, justice & company affairs ministry. He was responsible for a great leap forward in use of technology in ensuring online filing by companies. He was passionate about investor protection with a focus on such things as firms using IPO proceeds for the purpose indicated in their prospectuses.