New Delhi: Senior IAS Santosh Kumar Sarangi has officially taken charge as the Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). A 1994-batch officer of the Odisha cadre, Sarangi succeeds Nidhi Khare, a 1992-batch IAS officer who had been holding the additional charge of the post since January 2025, alongside her responsibilities as Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Sarangi’s appointment has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). Before assuming this new role, he served as Director General of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Sarangi also served as the District Magistrate in Odisha’s three districts and held leadership positions in education, tourism, mining, tribal affairs, and science and technology departments. At the central level, he held the post of Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry from 2013 to 2019, also serving as Chairman of APEDA and the Tea Board of India. More recently, he served as Additional Secretary in the Department of School Education and Literacy and concurrently chaired the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
An alumnus of the University of Delhi, Sarangi holds a Master’s degree in political science and further pursued a Master’s in Public Policy from Duke University, USA. His distinguished administrative career spans both state and central government roles.
His extensive administrative experience is expected to bring renewed momentum to India’s clean energy initiatives under the MNRE.
