Mr. M. Nagaraju, IAS, is the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, a position he assumed on 19 August 2024. He is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1993 batch, Tripura cadre, with over three decades of diverse administrative and policy experience spanning local, state, national, and international responsibilities.

At the DFS, Mr. Nagaraju plays a pivotal role in shaping and overseeing key financial sector policies relating to banking, insurance, pensions, and financial inclusion in India. Under his stewardship, the department has continued to advance financial inclusion, digital transformation, and reforms to strengthen the resilience and reach of the formal financial system. He has highlighted the growth of financial inclusion indices and the expansion of banking access through initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).

Before his current role, Mr. Nagaraju served in senior positions across the Government of India and state governments:

• At the state level, he held key leadership roles including District Magistrate, Director of Tribal Welfare, and Secretary/Principal Secretary of departments such as Health, Finance, and Industries & Commerce, where he worked on tribal development and institutional governance.
• At the national level, he served in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs as Director in the Japan/North America and World Bank divisions, and later as Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank in Washington, DC (2008–2012), contributing to global responses to major economic challenges.
• He also served as Joint Secretary and subsequently Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Coal, where he was involved in opening the coal sector to commercial mining.

Mr. Nagaraju’s academic credentials include graduation in Economics and post-graduation in Philosophy from the University of Hyderabad.

As DFS Secretary, he actively engages with critical issues in the financial sector — from advocating efficient microfinance practices and strengthened rural banking to urging enhanced fintech innovation and customer protection frameworks. He has emphasised the need for improved performance in lending, digital fraud mitigation, and stronger governance in public sector banks, reflecting the government’s drive toward inclusive economic growth and robust financial infrastructure.