Govt names Rajesh Kumar Singh as Defence Secretary in a Major Bureaucratic Reshuffle

Summarize with:

New Delhi: The Government of India has announced a significant reshuffle in key bureaucratic positions across various ministries. Rajesh Kumar Singh, a 1989-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, has been appointed as the new Defence Secretary. Singh will serve as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Defence before officially assuming the role on 31 October 2024, following the retirement of Aramane Giridhar.

Other notable transfers include:

– Deepti Umashankar has been appointed as the new Secretary to the President of India.
– Punya Salila Srivastava, currently Special Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, has been named the new Health Secretary. She will first serve as OSD in the Department of Health and Family Welfare before officially assuming the position after Apurva Chandra’s retirement on 30 September 2024.
– Katikithala Srinivas, who is presently serving as the Minority Affairs Secretary, will take over as the Secretary for Housing and Urban Affairs.
– Vivek Joshi, the outgoing Financial Services Secretary, has been appointed as Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
– Nagaraju Maddirala, currently Additional Secretary in the Coal Ministry, will succeed Joshi as the Financial Services Secretary.
– Manoj Govil, IAS, who was serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has been appointed as Secretary of the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
– Vandana Gurnani, IAS, has been appointed as Secretary (Coordination) in the Cabinet Secretariat.
– Chandra Sekhar Kumar, IAS, will now serve as Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, succeeding Katikithala Srinivas.
– Neelam Shammi Rao, IAS, has been appointed as Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs.
– Jafar Malik, IAS, has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

These appointments come as part of the government’s efforts to strengthen leadership across key sectors.