India, Oct. 1 -- Rajesh Agrawal, a 1994-batch, Manipur cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Service, on Wednesday took over as commerce secretary after his predecessor Sunil Barthwal retired from the post on Tuesday, according to an official statement.

Agrawal, who has been posted in the commerce ministry since December 2022, is the chief negotiator for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Statistics and a Master's degree in Operations Research from Delhi University. He also pursued an Executive Post-Graduate Diploma in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).

Agarwal is an accomplished administrator with three decades ...