The retired bureaucrat Arvind Mayaram has come under scrutiny again as investigators revisit long-running questions about his decisions in the Finance Ministry.
His career spans major reforms, global financial negotiations, and institution-building yet, it is his links to the British security printing firm De La Rue that really shadow his legacy. It rests at the crossroads of governance, secrecy and the vulnerabilities of a country’s currency system.
Who is Arvind Mayaram
Arvind Mayaram is an IAS officer of the 1978 batch from Rajasthan cadre, who wielded tremendous powers in New Delhi. He rose to the position of Finance Secretary before serving as principal economic adviser to the Rajasthan government. Over the years, he represented India in global forums such as the G20, BRICS and multilateral development banks.
Mother of Arvind Mayaram
His mother, the late Indira Mayaram, was an influential Rajasthan politician and a minister in the Ashok Gehlot cabinet. Her long public life shaped the political environment in which Mayaram grew up.
Arvind Mayaram Career
- Senior roles in Finance Ministry including Finance Secretary.
- India’s Alternate Governor at the World Bank, ADB and AfDB.
- India’s chief negotiator for the BRICS New Development Bank and AIIB.
- Key figure in designing India’s PPP framework and establishing the NSDC.
- He held major posts in rural development, tourism, industry and planning.
- Long association with UNCTAD for investment-related missions abroad.
- Currently Vice Chairman, Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council and Chairman of several key research institutes.
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Arvind Mayaram Linked with De La Rue
The controversy revolves around the extensions given to De La Rue for its supply of colour shift security thread used in Indian banknotes. Critics say these extensions circumvented open tendering when the company was already under question for quality failure and alleged irregularities.
- The CBI has charged Mayaram with approving a three-year extension on an expired contract.
- Investigators say De La Rue did not hold the exclusive patent it had claimed.
- The company had earlier been flagged by vigilance bodies after internal probes showed fabricated test certificates for banknote paper.
- This FIR by the CBI converts an earlier inquiry from 2017 into a formal case.
- The matter remains legally contested with no final determination yet.
What is the Background of De La Rue
De La Rue is a London-listed company long associated with banknote printing and security features. For decades, it supplied India with paper, threads and holograms. Its reputation dipped after disclosures in the Panama Papers, past qualitycontrol failures and allegations of excessive commissions paid through intermediaries.
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Previous Controversies in India
- In 1999, its Swiss partner’s major shareholder Roberto Giori was aboard hijacked Flight IC-814, sparking rumors about currency-related intelligence stakes.
- Batches of its currency paper reportedly failed tests in India in 2010.
- The company admitted that employees had falsified test certificates submitted to the RBI.
- It was blacklisted in 2010 amid disputes among competing suppliers.
- Thereafter, the company largely disappeared from Indian contracts after 2016.
Arvind Mayaram Mention in the Movie Dhurandhar
- The film Dhurandhar dives into the world of high-grade counterfeit currency and the covert operations tied to what many call “Project Karachi.” It also weaves in the political storm that followed India’s 2016 demonetization.
- Within this backdrop, conversations around the movie frequently bring up Arvind Mayaram’s name, suggesting his involvement in decisions that allowed the British firm De La Rue to continue supplying security paper used in Indian currency.
- In these public discussions, the charge is that the UPA government, during P. Chidambaram’s tenure as Finance Minister, allowed De La Rue to retain or regain its contract despite allegations that the company’s materials were also making their way to Pakistan. Critics argue this overlap may have helped Pakistan’s intelligence network produce fake currency that was nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
- It is also widely noted that Pranab Mukherjee, when he took over the Finance Ministry in 2010, had ordered De La Rue’s blacklisting after quality concerns surfaced. The company’s return to favour later, once Chidambaram returned to the ministry is often cited as a decision in which Mayaram, then a senior finance official, played a part.
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Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or endorsement of any claims under investigation.
