Sajjan Singh Yadav, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, is set to become the first officer from the cadre to hold the post of Chief Secretary in Jammu and Kashmir.He is currently serving as the Delhi Jal Board’s Chief Executive Officer. Yadav will take charge on November 1, succeeding 1989-batch officer Atal Dulloo, who retires on October 31. The home ministry issued orders of Yadav’s new posting on October 24.Born on January 5, 1969, in Haryana, Yadav has an impressive academic background. He holds an MBA in Finance from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi; a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Public Policy from the Hubert H Humphrey School at the University of Minnesota; an MPA in Economics from Harvard University; and a doctorate in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Yadav is also an author. His national bestseller, ‘India’s Vaccine Growth Story: From Cowpox to Vaccine Maitri’, has been translated into several languages. He has also written ‘Scaling Mount UPSC’, which explores the journeys of civil services aspirants. His accolades include the National e-Governance Award for 2017-18 and the President’s Medal for his work on the Census.With more than 30 years of service, Yadav has held a range of field-level and policy-making positions.His early postings included serving as Assistant Commissioner in Mizoram and Deputy Commissioner in East Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, as well as in South Delhi.During his central deputation, he served as Mission Director of the National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan) and Director of the National Rural Health Mission. He also held senior positions, including Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary and Special Secretary, in the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance.In Delhi, Yadav served as Finance Commissioner and held several other key positions, including Commissioner of Food and Supplies, VAT, Excise and Luxury Tax, and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Delhi Jal Board, returning to the post in June 2026 after being repatriated from the Centre at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs.Seniority and Jammu and Kashmir connectionYadav is ranked around 20th on the AGMUT cadre’s gradation list, placing several senior officers ahead of him. Among them is 1992-batch IAS officer Shaleen Kabra, Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner in Jammu and Kashmir, who had been tipped as a frontrunner because of his experience in the Union Territory.Yadav’s appointment has, therefore, come as a surprise to many. It highlights how the Centre may weigh administrative competence, specialised expertise and institutional confidence alongside seniority when making key appointments.His experience spans finance, public health, nutrition and urban governance, but he has not previously held a direct posting in Jammu and Kashmir or had any specific engagement with the Union Territory. His career has largely been centred on other areas under the AGMUT cadre and assignments with the Central government.