Jishnu Barua

Jishnu Barua (born 1 September 1962) is an Indian civil servant and historian serving as the 6th Chairperson of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission since 2023. He previously served as the 49th Chief Secretary of Assam from October 2020 to August 2022. In a career spanning over three decades, Barua has held various positions in the Assam state government and Indian national government.

The son of a former Chief Secretary of Manipur, Barua studied at St. Stephen's College, Delhi where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and a Master of Arts in history. He became an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre in 1988. Barua served as the deputy commissioner (DC) of the North Cachar Hills from 1994 to 1995 and then as the DC of Jorhat from 1996 to 1997. He moved to work in central deputation in 2001 as private secretary to Minister Satyabrata Mookherjee, and then served as the director of police in the Ministry of Home Affairs until 2006. He then earned a Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies from the National Defence College before returning back to the Assam state government as Commissioner and secretary to the Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi. In 2009, he was given the additional charge of home and political affairs, before becoming Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Gogoi and the Borders Area Department.

In 2014, Barua returned to central deputation as Joint Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training, serving until 2017. He then returned to the Assam government as Principal Secretary to the Power Department, before being promoted to Additional Chief Secretary. He then served as Additional Chief Secretary in various departments, lastly in the Home and Political and Revenue and Disaster Management Departments from January to October 2020.

In October 2020, Barua was appointed the 49th Chief Secretary of Assam, succeeding Kumar Sanjay Krishna. As Chief Secretary and chairman of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), he oversaw the Assam government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also Chief Secretary during the 2020 Bodoland Territorial Council election and the 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly elections. His tenure also encompassed several border disputes between Assam and states; in July 2021 he signed an agreement in the Assam-Nagaland dispute and reached an agreement in the Assam-Mizoram dispute. He retired as Chief Secretary in August 2022, and was appointed the Chairperson of the CERC in February 2023.