The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman was the Chief Guest at the Investiture Ceremony for the conferment of the Presidential Awards in the form of Appreciation Certificates and Medals for – “Exceptionally Meritorious Service at Risk to Life” and “Specially Distinguished Record of Service” to the officers and staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) in Bengaluru today.

Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary was the Guest of Honour at the event. Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Secretary, Department of Revenue, Government of India, Shri Tarun Bajaj; Shri Vivek Johri, Chairman, CBIC, other CBIC board Members along with several senior officers of the Department were also present. 

In her address on the occasion, the Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman noted that the profiles of the awardees show the real threats to life the officers face while discharging their duties. She lauded the efforts of all the officers of CBIC especially the Officers of Customs in rising to the occasion with a spirit of service during COVID lockdown and ensuring quick clearances of essential cargo in the most difficult times. She also stressed the importance of such events wherein the family members of the officers, especially the children of the awardees are a part and thereby the values of service could be passed on from one generation to another.

In his address on the occasion, Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary appreciated the rigorous and transparent process of evaluation followed by CBIC for conferment of the awards. He also appreciated the sacrifices made by the awardees and their families to discharge their duties to the best of their abilities despite all odds.

In his address on the occasion, Minister of State for Finance Shri Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad stressed the importance of tax collection towards nation building and congratulated the awardees especially the women officers who have the twin task of performing their duty as well as taking care of their families.

Congratulating all the awardees, Shri Tarun Bajaj congratulated the awardees and their families and spoke about the positive feedback being received regarding the faceless assessment initiative which has ensured trade facilitation. He also appreciated the efforts of the department in leveraging the technology to counter smuggling of various items such as gold, narcotics, wildlife products as well as to trace tax evaders.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Shri Vivek Johri, Chairman, CBIC had welcomed the dignitaries and congratulated all awardees for their hard work and consistent performance. He also highlighted that the awardees are chosen by a transparent and rigorous process taking into account their contributions in all the areas of the work of CBIC. 

Shri Balesh Kumar, Member, CBIC, presented the vote of thanks.

The Presidential Certificate of Appreciation for Exceptionally Meritorious Service at Risk to Life has been awarded to two officers who had shown exceptional resolve and dedication to duty in face of imminent risk to their life and personal safety. 

The Presidential Certificate of Appreciation for the “Specially Distinguished Record of Service” was awarded to 22 officers and staff for the year 2021, and 29 officers and staff for the year 2022, in recognition of their exemplary performance in their respective fields over the years. The exceptional service rendered by these officers and staff over the years, in various assignments, from all cadres of the Service, has been instrumental in improved public service delivery as well as in safeguarding the economic frontiers of the country. They have consistently performed with distinction in various assignments, including prevention of smuggling, detection of tax evasion, detection of trade-based money laundering and foreign exchange violations, besides contributing to tax policy formulation, revenue mobilization, automation of business processes, capacity building and training. The following officers received the Presidential commendation.

List of Awardees for the year 2021:

“Exceptionally Meritorious Service at Risk to Life” 

1. Shri Vipin Pal, Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Delhi Zonal Unit, Jodhpur. 

2. Shri Albert George, Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Cochin Zonal Unit.

“Specially Distinguished Record of Service” 

PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONERS/COMMISSIONERS

1. Shri S. Thirunavukkarasu, Additional Director General, Directorate General of Systems, Chennai. 

2. Shri Amitesh Bharat Singh, Additional Director General, Directorate General of Taxpayer Services, Bengaluru. 

DEPUTY COMMISSIONERS/ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS

3. Shri Venugopalan Nair, Assistant Director, National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN), Zonal Training Institute, Chennai 

4. Shri Dibyendu Das, Assistant Director, Directorate General of Human Resource Development, New Delhi. 

5. Shri Vijaysinh Pratapsinh Bihola, Assistant Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Gandhidham Regional Unit. 

SUPERINTENDENTS / SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS

6. Shri Himansu Sekhar Sha, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), Bhubaneshwar. 

7. Shri Rajiv Ranjan Kumar, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) Headquarters, New Delhi. 

8. Shri Mohanan Maloth Valappil, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Service Tax Intelligence (DGGI), Cochin Zonal Unit. 

9. Shri Suvakanta Pradhan, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Hyderabad Zonal Unit. 

10. Shri Suhrud Avinash Rabde, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai Zonal Unit. 

11. Shri Ramakant Yashwant More, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai Zonal Unit. 

12. Shri P. Kannabiran, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai Zonal Unit, Coimbatore. 

13. Shri A. Lakshmi Kanthan, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai Zonal Unit, Coimbatore. 

14. Shri S. Vijayakumar, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai Zonal Unit. 

15. Shri Arghya Bhattacharya, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata Zonal Unit. 

16. Shri M.K. Madhivanan, Superintendent, Central Goods and Services Tax, Chennai. 

17. Shri Mahesh Kumar, Superintendent, Central Goods and Services Tax, Bengaluru 

18. Smt. Anita Jadhav, Superintendent, Central Goods and Services Tax, Pune. 

INSPECTORS / INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS

19. Shri Ajit Suresh Limaye, Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), Pune Zonal Unit. 

MINISTERIAL OFFICERS

20. Shri Prasanna V.S. Jois, Senior Technical Assistant (Telecom), Customs Bengaluru. 

21. Shri Madan Das, Driver Grade- I, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata Zonal Unit. 

22. Shri Rajpal Singh, Driver Grade- I, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Headquarters, New Delhi.

List of Awardees for the year 2022

“Specially Distinguished Record of Service” 

PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONERS/COMMISSIONERS 

1. Shri Rajesh Pandey, Principal Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit; 

2. Shri V.B. Prabhakar, Director, Cabinet Secretariat, New Delhi; 

ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONERS / JOINT COMMISSIONERS

3. Shri Bipin Kumar Upadhyay, Additional Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Bengaluru Zonal Unit; 

4. Shri Samar Nanda, Additional Director, Directorate General of Analytics & Risk Management, New Delhi; 

DEPUTY COMMISSIONERS/ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS

5. Shri A. Venkadesh Babu, Assistant Commissioner, Customs (Preventive) Zone, Tiruchirappalli; 

6. Shri Anand Kumar Savalam, Assistant Commissioner, Customs Zone, Chennai; 

SUPERINTENDENTS / SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS/ADDL. ASST. DIRECTOR

7. Shri Wandavasi Dorakanti Chandrasekhar, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence, Visakhapatnam Zonal Unit; 

8. Shri Ajit Vishram Savant, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit; 

9. Smt. Nirmala Menon Kale, Additional Assistant Director, Directorate General of Human Resource Development, New Delhi; 

10.  Shri Sharad Kumar Tripathi, Superintendent, Central Goods & Services Tax Zone, Bhopal; 

11.  Smt. L. Aparna, Superintendent, Central Goods & Services Tax Zone, Chennai; 

12.  Smt. Veena Rao, Superintendent, Customs (Preventive) Zone, Delhi;

13.  Shri Avadhoot B. Khadilkar, Superintendent, Central Goods & Services Tax Zone, Pune; 

14.  Shri S. Kalyani Sundari Nagarajan, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence, Coimbatore Zonal Unit; 

15.  Shri Brijendra Singh, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence, Lucknow Zonal Unit; 

16.  Shri S. Venkata Subramaniam, Superintendent, Central Goods & Services Tax Zone, Mumbai;

17.  Shri Sreesh T.K., Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Cochin Zonal Unit; 

18.  Shri Ranjan Sen, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Kolkata Zonal Unit; 

19.  Shri Karri Venkata Mohan Rao, Additional Assistant Director, National Academy of Customs, Indirect Tax and Narcotics, Visakhapatnam;

20.  Shri Girish Gupta, Superintendent, Additional Private Secretary to the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, New Delhi; 

21.  Shri Vivek V., Superintendent, Customs and Central Goods & Services Tax Zone, Thiruvananthapuram; 

22.  Smt. N. Krishnaveni, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Bengaluru Zonal Unit; 

23.  Shri Rakesh Ranjan, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Lucknow Zonal Unit; 

24.  Shri S. Karunakaran, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Chennai Zonal Unit; 

25.  Shri V. Balaji, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Chennai Zonal Unit; 

INSPECTORS / INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS

26.  Shri Sansar Singh, Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence Headquarters, New Delhi; 

MINISTERIAL OFFICERS

27.  Shri Prabodh Kumar Upadhyay, Senior Translator, Directorate of Legal Affairs, New Delhi; 

28.  Shri Deepak Singh, Administrative Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence, Delhi Zonal Unit; 

29. Shri Suryakant Kashiram Waze, Head Havaldar, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit.

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