Bureaucratic Reshuffle: Govt announces major Secretary-level appointments across ministries

New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved a major reshuffle at the Secretary-level in the Government of India, with key appointments across several ministries and departments on August 21.

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According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Alka Upadhyaya (IAS, MP:90), Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, has been appointed as Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs. She will be succeeded by Naresh Pal Gangwar (IAS, RJ:94), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, who takes charge as Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

Rajit Punhani (IAS, BH:91), Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. He replaces Ganji Kamala V Rao (IAS, KL:90, Retd.), whose term of re-employment ends on August 31, 2025. Consequent to this, Debashree Mukherjee (IAS, AGMUT:91), Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. VL Kantha Rao (IAS, MP:92), Secretary, Ministry of Mines, will take over as Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.

In the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Vijay Kumar (IAS, AGMUT:92), Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India, has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry and will take over as Secretary on September 30, 2025, upon the superannuation of TK Ramachandran (IAS, TN:91).

Other key appointments:

Sukriti Likhi (IAS, HY:93) has been appointed as OSD in the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence. She will take over as Secretary on October 1, 2025, succeeding Niten Chandra (IAS, OR:90) upon his superannuation.

Ranjana Chopra (IAS, OR:94), appointed as OSD, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, to assume charge as Secretary from October 1, 2025, after the retirement of Vibhu Nayar (IAS, TN:90).

Niraj Verma (IAS, AM:94), appointed as OSD, Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice, and will assume charge as Secretary upon the retirement of Raj Kumar Goyal (IAS, AGMUT:90) on August 31, 2025.

Piyush Goyal (IAS, NL:94), CEO, NATGRID, appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Mines.

Sanjay Garg (IAS, KL:94), appointed as OSD, Bureau of Indian Standards, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution. He will later assume charge as Director General, BIS, succeeding Pramod Kumar Tiwari (IAS, AM:91) on October 31, 2025.

Roli Singh (IAS, RJ:94), appointed as Chairperson, National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention, replacing Sukriti Likhi.

Trishaljit Sethi (IPoS:90), Director General (Training), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, appointed as Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission.

The DoPT order noted that in some cases, the posts have been temporarily upgraded to the Secretary level.

This round of high-level appointments marks one of the most significant bureaucratic reshuffles of 2025, impacting several crucial ministries including Skill Development, Mines, Ports & Shipping, Defence, and Law & Justice.

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