Major Bureaucratic Reshuffle: 13 Senior Officers Posted at Secretary Level; Four Elevated to Secretary Rank
Transfer/Postings: ACC Clears Appointment of 13 Officers to Secretary-Level Positions, Four Get In-Situ Special Secretary Upgrade
Babushahi News Network
New Delhi, July 23, 2026:
In a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Thursday approved the appointment of 13 senior IAS and Central Services officers to Secretary-level positions across various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India. The ACC also granted in-situ upgradation to four officers to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.
Among the key appointments, Katikithala Srinivas (IAS: Gujarat, 1989) has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, while Vineet Joshi (IAS: Manipur, 1992) has been named Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
Naresh Pal Gangwar (IAS: Rajasthan, 1994) has been appointed Secretary, Department of Higher Education, and Piyush Goyal (IAS: Nagaland, 1994) will take over as Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.
Among officers elevated from the Additional Secretary level, T.K. Anil Kumar (IAS: Karnataka, 1996) has been appointed Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, while Sushil Kumar Lohani (IAS: Odisha, 1996) has been posted as Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying and will assume charge as Secretary after the incumbent's transfer.
Other notable appointments include Archana Varma (IAS: Assam-Meghalaya, 1996), Keshav Chandra (IAS: AGMUT, 1996), D. Thara (IAS: Gujarat, 1996), B. Rajender (IAS: Bihar, 1996), Chandra Bhushan Kumar (IAS: AGMUT, 1996), Satendra Singh (IAS: Jharkhand, 1996) and Suchindra Misra (IDAS: 1992), who have been assigned Secretary-level responsibilities in various ministries and departments.
The ACC also approved in-situ upgradation of four officers to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. They are:
- Mritunjay Kumar Narayan (IAS: Uttar Pradesh, 1996) – Registrar General of India & Census Commissioner.
- Santosh Kumar Yadav (IAS: Uttar Pradesh, 1996) – Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
- Rajeev Singh Thakur (IAS: Rajasthan, 1996) – Adviser, NITI Aayog.
- Dilip Kumar (IAS: Punjab, 1996) – Director General (Training), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
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