New Delhi: In a major administrative realignment, the government Wednesday reshuffled 16 IAS officers working at the Centre. New secretaries have been appointed to 15 ministries, and the announcement made for a new registrar general of India & census commissioner in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed as Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj’s successor. Bajaj will retire on 30 November. Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, will take over as the financial services secretary.
Meanwhile, the government has appointed Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, an IAS officer of 1995-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre, as the registrar general of India & census commissioner in the home ministry.
Road Transport and Highways Secretary Aramane Giridhar has been named the new defence secretary as part of the top-level bureaucratic reshuffle. A 1988-batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Giridhar will succeed Ajay Kumar, who will retire this month.
Alka Upadhyay, 1990-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as secretary at the road transport ministry.
Nagendra Nath Sinha, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, has been appointed as the steel secretary. He will succeed Sanjay Kumar Singh who will on 31 December.
It should be noted that the government has appointed all of them as ‘officers on special duty’ for two to three months before they take full charge as secretaries.
New appointments are usually made a month before an incumbent secretary retires. But this time around, the government has announced the appointments early. Officers who are currently serving in important departments and ministries know their successors at least two months before they superannuate.
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