ACC named Sudhansh Pant as new Health Secretary; Chanchal Kumar as Aviation Secretary

As a part of the top level bureaucratic reshuffle, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Sudhansh Pant, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of 1991 batch Rajasthan Cadre, as the new Secretary (Officer on Special Duty – OSD), Department of Health and Family Welfare(DoH&FW) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoH&FW).

• He is currently serving as the Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways(MoPSW).
• He will succeed the incumbent Rajesh Bhushan, who is set to retire on 31st July 2023.

Note: T K Ramachandran, the Chairman of V O Chidambaranar Port Trust, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu(TN) will succeed Sudhansh Pant as the Secretary, MoPSW.

Chanchal Kumar, MD of NHIDCL, appointed as Civil Aviation Secretary

Chanchal Kumar, a 1992 batch IAS Officer of the Bihar cadre, has been appointed as the Secretary (OSD), Ministry of Civil Aviation(MoCA). He is currently serving as the Managing Director(MD) of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

• He will take charge as the Civil Aviation Secreatry on 1st August 2023 succeeding Rajiv Bansal, who is set to retire from the post on 31st August 2023.

Pankaj Agrawal appointed as Power Secretary

Pankaj Agrawal, 1992 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh (MP) cadre, has been appointed as the Secretary (OSD), Ministry of Power(MoP). He is currently serving as the Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence(MoD).

• He will succeed Alok Kumar, Secretary, MoP, upon his superannuation on 30th June 2023.

Other Appointments: 

i.Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, retired IAS officer was appointed as the Chairman & Managing Director(CMD) of  Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd(SECI) for a period of 2 years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, on usual terms and conditions.

ii.Bharat Lal, retired Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer of the Gujarat cadre, was appointed as the Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission for a period of 1 year or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

• He will succeed Devendra Kumar Singh who is set to retire on 30th June 2023.
• He is currently serving as the Director General, National Centre for Good Governance.

iii.Atal Dulloo, lAS officer of  Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT)-Jammu & Kashmir(J&K) cadre has been appointed  as Secretary, Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs(MoHA). He is set to succeed Dharmendra S. Gangwar, upon his superannuation on 30th June 2023.

• He is currently posted as Additional Chief Secretary in J&K.

iv.Vibhu Nayar, lAS of Tamil Nadu Cadre, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of External Affairs(MEA), was appointed as the  Special Secretary & Financial Advisor(OSD), MEA.

• He will take charge on 1st November 2023 succeeding Anil Kumar Jha, who is set to retire on 30th November 2023.

v.S. Gopalakrishnan, IAS (TN) Special Secretary, DoH&FW was appointed as Director General, National Productivity Council, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT).

• He will succeed Sundeep Kumar Nayak,  upon his superannuation on 31st July 2023.

vi.Debashree Mukherjee, Special Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, was appointed as Secretary in the same succeeding Pankaj Kumar, who is set to retire on 30th September 2023.

vii.Nivedita Shukla Verma, IAS of Uttar Pradesh(UP) cadre (1991) Special Secretary, Department of Defence, MoD, was appointed as Secretary(OSD), Department of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (MoC&F) succeeding Arun Baroka, who is set to retire on 31st August 2023.

viii.Renu Gonela Pillay was appointed as the as Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment succeding Upma Srivastava who is set to retire on 31st July 2023.

ix.Seema Jam was appointed as the Member Finance, Space Commission in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. She will also hold the additional charge of Member Finance, Earth Commission and Atomic Energy Commission.

• She will succeed Talleen Kumar who is set to retire on 31st July 2023.

x.Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, was appointed as the Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, MoC&F.

xi.Subhas Chandra Lal Das,Director General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was appointed as the Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MoMSME).

• Atul Kumar Tiwari has been serving as the Secretary (additional charge) of MoMSME