Centre Approves Senior-Level Bureaucratic Reshuffles & Appointments in Various Departments across Various Ministries

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, approved a series of postings in various departments and ministries.

Details of ACC approved Appointments:

i.Dr. Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch IAS official of the Haryana cadre, appointed as Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training  (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MoPPG&P).

• He is currently serving as the Secretary to the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance(MoF) (since 2022).
• Union Home Secretary, Ajay Kumar Bhalla has been holding additional charge as Secretary of DoPT since July 2024, following the retirement of Radha S Chauhan in June 2024.

ii.Nagaraju Maddirala, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Tripura cadre, is appointed as  Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance succeding Vivek Joshi.

• He has been serving as the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Coal (MoC) since 2020.

iii.Rajesh Kumar Singh, 1989 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, has been appointed as an Officer on Special Duty(OSD) in Department of Defence, Ministry of Defence(MoD).

• He will succed Aramane Giridhar, who is set to retire on 31st October 2024.
• Rajesh Kumar Singh is currently serving as Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry(MoCI)(since April 2023).
• The ACC has also approved an extension in service of Rajesh Kumar Singh, as Secretary, DoD beyond the age of superannuation, for a period up to 31 October 2026 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

iv.Amardeep Singh Bhatia, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre, is appointed as Secretary of the DPIIT succeding Rajesh Kumar Singh.

• He has been serving as the Additional Secretary of the Department of Commerce, MoCI since 2023.

v.Katikithala Srinivas, 1989-batch IAS Officer of Gujarat cadre, is appointed as Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

• He will succed Anurag Jain, who has been sering as Secretary (Additional Charge) of MoHUA since March 2024.
• Katikithala is currently serving as the Secretary of the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) (since 2023). He also holds additional charge as Secretary of National Commission for Minorities (NCM) since June 2024.

vi.Chandra Sekhar Kumar, a 1992 batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, is appointed as Secretary of the MoMA succeding Katikithala Srinivas.

• He is currently serving as Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) since 2020.

vii.Neelam Shammi Rao, a 1992 batch IAS officer of the MP cadre, is appointed as Secretary of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), MoMA succeding Katikithala Srinivas.

• She has been serving as the Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoL&E) since 2021.

viii.Manoj Govil, a 1991 batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) cadre, is appointed as Secretary of the Department of Expenditure, MoF.

• He will succed Dr T.V. Somanathan, who has been appointed as the Cabinet Secretary in August 2024.
• Manoj Govil has been serving as the Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA) since 2022.

ix.Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the MP cadre, is appointed as Secretary of the MoCA, succeding Manoj Govil.

• She has been serving as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Authority (NHA).

x.Vandana Gurnani, a 1991-batch IAS Officer of the Karnataka Cadre, is appointed as Secretary (Coordination) of the Cabinet Secretariat. She is presently posted in her cadre.

• She replaces Pradip Kumar Tripathi, who was appointed as the Lokpal Secretary in May 2024.

xi.Punya Salila Srivastava, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, is appointed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare (DoHFW), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

• She will succed Apurva Chandra, who is set to retire on 30th August 2024.
• She has been serving as an Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as the OSD of the DoHFW since 2021.

xii.Deepti Umashankar, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, is appointed as the OSD to the President of India.

• She will replace Rajesh Verma, who is set to retire on 31 August 2024.
• She has been serving as the Establishment Officer (EO) and Additional Secretary of the DoPT since 2021.

xiii.Sukriti Likhi, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, is appointed as the OSD to the National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC) in the rank and pay of Secretary to the GoI.

• She will take over as Chairperson of the NACWC following the superannuation of Mukhmeet Singh Bhatia on 30th September 2024.
• She has been serving as the Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser (FA) of the Ministry of Steel since 2021.

xiv.Sanjeev Kumar, a 1993-batch IAS Officer of the Maharashtra cadre, is appointed as Secretary of the Department of Defence Production (DDP), MoD.

• He will replace Aramane Giridhar, whose tenure is set to end on 31st  October 2024.
• He has been the Chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) since 2021.

xv.Prashant Kumar Singh, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre, is appointed as OSD of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

• He will replace Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, who is set to retire on 30th September 2024.
• Currently, he is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), GoI.

xvi.Ashok Kumar Kaluaram Meena, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Orissa cadre, is appointed as OSD of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS).

• He will replace Vini Mahajan, who is set to retire on 31st October 2024.
• He has been the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) since 2022.

xvii.Pankaj Kumar Mishra, a 1989-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS)-Income Tax (IT) Officer, is appointed as a Member (Finance) of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Department of Atomic Energy in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. He is currently posted in his cadre.

• He will replace Seema Jain, who has held additional charge of Member (Finance) of the Earth Commission since 2023.

xviii.Neeraja Adidam, a 1990-batch Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh(UP) cadre, is appointed as OSD of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE).

• She will replace Ashish Upadhyaya, who is set to retire on 30th September 2024.
• she is currently serving as the Additional Secretary to the Department of Fertilizers (DoF), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (MoC&F).

Other in-situ Upgradation:

The ACC has also approved in-situ upgradation of 2 officials to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and pay of Secretary.

i.Sunil Paliwal, a 1993 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Tamil Nadu (TN) Cadre, as Chairman of the Chennai Port Trust (CPT) in Chennai, TN.

ii.Vikram Dev Dutt, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, as the Director General(DG) of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).