Centre Promotes 13 Top Administrators As Joint Secretaries

In the latest development, the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, promoted 13 administrators including senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers to joint Secretary, joint secretary equivalent level.

After naming senior administrator Amit Khare as a new advisor to the PM Modi, now the Appointments Committee has named senior Himachal-cadre IAS officer Meera Mohanty as joint secretary in the PMO, for a combined tenure “upto 01/05/2022 from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders,” according to the official circular released by the government.

According to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Vipul Bansal, 2005-batch IAS officer has been appointed as joint secretary, Department of Commerce, “for an overall tenure of five years upto 18/01/2022 from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier, which is further extendable for two additional years on availability of cadre clearance from the State Government,” stated the circular.

Also, Ritesh Chauhan, Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer of 2005-batch has been appointed as CEO, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and joint secretary, agriculture under the Department of Agriculture And Farmers Welfare, “for a combined tenure of seven years upto 22/09/2023 from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” as per the order.

Apart from Bansal and Chauhan, Amitesh Kumar Sinha, Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) officer, 1997-batch has been shifted as joint secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, IAS officer Sameer Shukia appointed as joint secretary, Department of Financial Services for an overall tenure of five years, by the Appointments Committee. 

The other senior administrators appointed as joint secretaries consist of names like N Yuvaraj, IAS officer of Andhra cadre, is appointed as the new joint secretary in the Department Of Pharmaceuticals and Vandana Kumar, IDAS officer as joint secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.  

Senior Odisha cadre Indian Forest Service officer Uma Nanduri has been appointed as Joint Secretary, the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ Secretariat under the Ministry of Culture. "Appointment of Uma Nanduri, IFoS (OD: 1993), as Joint Secretary, the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Secretariat under the Ministry of Culture, for a tenure of five years from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier," the read the notification. 

Meanwhile, the name of Vandana Kumar, Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer, batch 1992 has been cleared for the Joint Secretary under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy "for a combined tenure of seven years upto 21/07/2023 from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier vice Shri Amitesh Kumar Sinha, IRAS (1997)," according to the order. 

Also, Harish Chandra Chaudhary, Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer, is appointed as joint secretary, NHRC under the Ministry of Home Affairs which comes under Union Home Minister Amit Shah. 

Further, the DoPT order revealed the appointment Saumya Gupta, IAS officer of Tripura cadre as joint secretary, Department of Higher Education, for a tenure of five years, meanwhile, Ashish Kumar, IAS officer, Tamil Nadu cadre, is going to be the joint secretary under the Ministry of Home Affairs, for an overall period of five years.

Kuldip Narayan, IAS officer of 2005-batch in the Ministry of Housing And Urban Affairs and Pawan Kumar Sain, Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) Cadre IAS officer is going to be the joint secretary, economic advisory council to PiW, NITi Aayog, for a combined tenure of seven years. 

Abhishek Sharma

BW Reporters Abhishek Sharma is a Correspondent with BW Businessworld.