New Delhi: In a significant bureaucratic reshuffle, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has cleared the transfer and appointment of over a dozen Additional Secretary-level officers across various central ministries and departments. The wide-ranging move also includes several in-situ elevations to strengthen key policy-making positions.
As part of the reshuffle, Sanjay Rastogi (IAS: 1991: OR) has been appointed as the new Director General of the National Archives of India , moving from his role as Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. Similarly, Anil Kumar Singhal (IAS: 1993: AP) has taken over as Chief Executive Officer of the National Rainfed Area Authority , under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, after the Centre temporarily downgraded the post from Secretary to Additional Secretary level.
Sudeep Jain (IAS: 1994: TN) will now serve as Member Secretary of the National Commission for Women , while Dheeraj Sahu (IAS: 1996: UP) has been named Additional Secretary in the Department of School Education & Literacy . Meanwhile, A. Anbarasu (IAS: 1996: AGMUT) has been appointed as Additional Secretary & Director General (Acquisition) in the Ministry of Defence .
In the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Lav Aggarwal (IAS: 1996: AP) takes charge as Additional Secretary, succeeding Gyanesh Bharti (IAS: 1998: AGMUT) , who has now been moved to the Election Commission of India as Deputy Election Commissioner . Likewise, Sunil Kumar Barnwal (IAS: 1997: JH) has been appointed as CEO of the National Health Authority , and Manish Bhardwaj (IAS: 1997: GJ) has become Secretary of the National Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The reshuffle also sees Akash Tripathi (IAS: 1998: MP) officially appointed as MD of SECI , while Hirdesh Kumar (IAS: 1999: AGMUT) takes over as CEO of NATGRID under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Additionally, Diwakar Nath Misra (IAS: 2000: AM) joins the Ministry of Finance as Additional Secretary in the Department of Revenue.
The Ministry of Electronics & IT has also received a key change with Akhil Kumar (IPS: 1994: UP) being appointed as Managing Director & CEO of Digital India Corporation , while Sandeep Sarkar (IDAS: 1995) becomes Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Department of Agricultural Research & Education . Anu P. Mathai (IES: 1996) has also been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs , following a temporary upgrade of a vacant post.
Further, the government has approved in-situ upgradations , elevating Shantanu (IAS: 1997: TR) as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region, and Pawan Kumar Sharma (IAS: 1999: MP) as Additional Secretary in the Department of Defence.
This sweeping administrative reshuffle underlines the Centre’s focus on strengthening governance, ensuring efficiency in policy execution , and aligning senior bureaucratic leadership with the country’s evolving development priorities.
