New Delhi: Former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Friday claimed there was no connection between his transfer from the finance ministry to the power ministry and him applying for voluntary retirement. He said that he had discussed the VRS with the Prime Minister’s Office on July 18, before he was shunted out.“I had discussed my VRS (voluntary retirement) with the Prime Minister’s Office on July 18…much ahead of the transfer order. There is no connection between the two,” Garg told reporters in a media briefing.Elaborating further, he said the VRS proposal was sent much before the transfer order and he was grateful to the government for its support.Asked whether his VRS proposal has been accepted by the government, he replied that there is a due process and the proposal is under consideration.Also Read: Shunted Out of Finance Ministry, Subhash Chandra Garg Applies for RetirementEarlier in the day, Garg took over as the new power secretary.Garg, the senior most officer in the Ministry of Finance, was shifted to the Power Ministry on Wednesday. Thereafter he announced that he had applied for voluntary retirement from service on Thursday.Garg revealed that he had applied for voluntary retirement through a tweet on Thursday.Handed over charge of Economic Affairs today. Learnt so much in the Finance Ministry and Economic Affairs Dept. Will take charge in Power Ministry tomorrow. Have also applied for Voluntary Retirement from the IAS with effect from 31st October. Last tweet from this handle.— Subhash Chandra Garg (@SecretaryDEA) July 25, 2019Asked why he did not sign the Bimal Jalan Committee report (on RBI reserves), he replied that the panel had not completed its deliberations.About challenges in the power sector he said, “I have on my hand in the power ministry….distribution reforms, issues in transmission and getting power generation. The power sector is very important. I will do my best in the power sector”.Garg was in charge of the department of economic affairs (DEA). However, in a surprise move, he was named power secretary in an order issued late on Wednesday. Garg was closely and personally involved with several initiatives of the Modi government that will be implement over the next few months.These include the first-ever sovereign bond issue expected in October 2019, a strong stance in the battle with the RBI over appropriating its reserves and dealing with the after-effects of the Budget 2019 on India’s financial markets.As The Wire has reported, though his new position as the power secretary comes with the same salary and perks, it perceived as a demotion. Finance secretaries are usually shifted to another North Block post, in the home or defence ministries.“Most of the times, upon retirement, key finance ministry bureaucrats are given given a plum constitutional posting in the Election Commission, Finance Commission or the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG),” The Wire had reported on Thursday.As the DEA secretary, he was in charge of fiscal policy, RBI-related matters, and was closely involved in the preparation of the Union Budget.The development took place just a day after the parliamentary procedure for approval of Modi 2.0 government’s maiden union budget for 2019-20 was completed.The 1983 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, Garg came to the centre in 2014, and was appointed executive director in the World Bank, where he stayed till 2017, when he was appointed DEA secretary in June 2017. In March 2019, he was elevated as the finance secretary, following retirement of A.N. Jha.(With PTI inputs)