New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on 22 August approved a significant bureaucratic reshuffle at the top levels of the bureaucracy, appointing 14 secretary-rank officers across central ministries and departments.
The reshuffle includes several officers designated as Officers on Special Duty (OSD), who will assume charge following the retirement of incumbents later this year.
The reshuffle has placed senior IAS Rajit Punhani (1991 batch, Bihar cadre), currently Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). He succeeds Ganji Kamala V Rao (Retd., 1990 batch, MP cadre).
Taking over Punhani’s previous role, IAS Debashree Mukherjee (1991 batch, AGMUT cadre) will now serve as Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, moving from her post in the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
In other key appointments, IAS Alka Upadhyaya (1990 batch, MP cadre) has been shifted from the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying to the National Commission for Minorities as Secretary. She succeeded in her earlier role by IAS Naresh Pal Gangwar (1994 batch, Rajasthan cadre).
Meanwhile, IAS V. L. Kantha Rao (1992 batch, MP cadre) has moved from the Ministry of Mines to lead the Department of Water Resources. His previous ministry will now be headed by IAS Piyush Goyal (1994 batch, Nagaland cadre).
Several officers have been appointed as OSDs, set to assume full charge after the superannuation of incumbents.
IAS Vijay Kumar (1992 batch, AGMUT cadre), Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, will join the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, succeeding T. K. Ramachandran.
IAS Sukriti Likhi (1993 batch, Haryana cadre) will take over as Secretary in the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare in the Ministry of Defence after Niten Chandra’s retirement in October 2025.
Similarly, IAS Ranjana Chopra (1994 batch, Odisha cadre) has been designated as OSD in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, to succeed Vibhu Nayar on 31 October.
IAS Niraj Verma (1994 batch, Assam-Meghalaya cadre) will become Secretary of the Department of Justice after the retirement of Raj Kumar Goyal in August.
Other notable appointments include IAS Atish Chandra (1994 batch, Bihar cadre), who has been elevated as Special Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office; IAS Sanjay Garg (1994 batch, Kerala cadre), named OSD in the Bureau of Indian Standards, set to replace Pramod Kumar Tiwari in October; and IAS Roli Singh (1994 batch, Rajasthan cadre), appointed Chairperson of the National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention, succeeding Sukriti Likhi.
Completing the reshuffle, Trishaljit Sethi (IPoS, 1990 batch) has been named Secretary of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
Discussion about this post