Bureaucratic Reshuffle: 13 officers appointed at Joint Secretary, equivalent levels

New Delhi: In a bureaucratic-level reshuffle, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the Prime Minister, has approved the appointments of as many as 13 officers at the Joint Secretary/ Joint Secretary equivalent level on Tuesday. Of the total officers, four are from Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the rest from other services like- Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Forest Service (IFoS), Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS), Indian Postal Service (IPoS) and Central Secretariat Service (CSS), among others. Here is the full list of newly appointed officers:

Rajat Agarwal (IAS) has been appointed as Executive Director, in India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) under the Department of Commerce. Agarwal is a 2003 batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He has been appointed to the post in place of Vibhu Nayar (IAS) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Presently, he is serving as Excise Commissioner of Punjab.

Subhash Chandra Agarwal (IRS) has been appointed as Additional DGFT in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), New Delhi under the Department of Commerce. Agarwal is an IRS officer of 1994 batch. He has been appointed to the post in place of Nikunj Kumar Srivastava (IAS) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Amitabh Prasad (IA&AS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence under the Ministry of Defence. He has been appointed to the post in place of Satish Singh (IRSME) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Rajender Kumar (IOFS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Food & Public Distribution. He has been appointed to the post in place of Partha Sarathi Das (IA&AS) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for an overall tenure of seven years up-to December 3, 2024, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Devendra Kumar Nim (IP&TA&FS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. He has been appointed to the post in place of Harish C Chaudhary (IFoS) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure up-to the date of his superannuation on January 31, 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Rajendra Ratnoo (IAS) has been appointed as Executive Director of the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. He has been appointed to the post for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for an overall tenure of five years up-to February 7, 2024, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Rahul Kapoor (IRAS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). He has been appointed to the post in place of Sanjay Kumar (IAS) with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a combined tenure of seven years up-to January 14, 2025, subject to availability of cadre clearance or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Shahnawaz Alam (IP&TA&FS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs. He has been appointed to the post in place of Niva Singh (IRAS) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure up-to the date of his superannuation on April 30, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Vikas Anand (IAS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. He has been appointed to the post in place of Rekha Yadav (IRPS) from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Sumita Singh (CSS) has been appointed as Director in the ISTM under the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT). She has been appointed to the post in place of SD Sharma (CSS) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Raj Kumar (IPoS) has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) under the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT). He has been appointed to the post for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for an overall tenure of seven years up-to July 31, 2023, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, by upgrading the post of Director level held by the officer to Joint Secretary level.

Sonal Mishra (IAS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. She has been appointed to the post in place of Anuradha Vemuri (IFoS) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Ajay Gupta (IRSS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles. He has been appointed to the post in place of Sanjay Sharan (IPoS) for a period with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure up-to the date of his superannuation on August 31, 2026, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, by utilising a sanctioned post of Commissioner of Payments created at the level of Joint Secretary under the Ministry.

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