ACC Clears Seven Senior IAS Officers for Key Roles; IAS Amit Agrawal Made Secretary, DoT

New Delhi: The Appointments Committee (ACC) of the Cabinet has cleared a major round of bureaucratic changes involving seven senior IAS officers across important ministries such as Telecommunications, Petroleum, Pharmaceuticals, Tourism, Social Justice, Ports and Shipping, and Agriculture. Accordingly, IAS Amit Agrawal, a 1993 batch Chhattisgarh cadre officer and the outgoing Pharmaceuticals Secretary, has been moved to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Other appointments include

• IAS Manoj Joshi, a 1989 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer and current Secretary of the Department of Land Resources, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals. He replaces IAS Amit Agrawal.
• IAS Neeraj Mittal, a 1992 batch Tamil Nadu cadre officer who previously headed the Department of Telecommunications, has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, replacing IAS Pankaj Jain.
• IAS Pankaj Jain, a 1990 batch officer, has been appointed Member Secretary of the Eighth Central Pay Commission.
• IAS V Vidyavathi, a 1991 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer and outgoing Tourism Secretary, has been named Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• IAS Srivatsa Krishna, a 1994 batch Karnataka cadre officer, will take over as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism.
• IAS Sunil Paliwal, currently Chairperson of the Chennai Port Trust, has been appointed Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India. The role has been temporarily placed at Secretary rank.
• IAS Atish Chandra, a 1994 batch Bihar cadre officer and Special Secretary in the PMO, has been appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. He will assume full charge as Secretary of the department on February 28, 2026.

These appointments aim to streamline leadership positions in sectors that are central to economic growth and social development.

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