Bureaucratic reshuffle in govt, Tarun Bajaj appointed DEA Secretary

The decision was taken on Sunday by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by the Prime Minister

In a major bureaucratic reshuffle in the top bureaucracy of the Narendra Modi government, senior IAS officers Tarun Bajaj and Arvind Kumar Sharma were on Sunday moved out of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
 

While Tarun Bajaj, Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, was appointed the new Department of Economic Affairs Secretary, Arvind Kumar Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises upon superannuation of incumbent Arun Kumar Panda on April 30.

Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan, who was due to superannuate on April 30, was given a three-month extension as part of a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the central government on Sunday amid the coronavirus crisis.

The decision assumes significance as the Health Ministry is at the forefront of checking the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the three-month extension in Sudan's service, beyond the date of her superannuation, i.e. April 30, a Personnel Ministry order said.

She will continue to function as the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare during the period, it said.

As many as 23 senior IAS officers have been appointed as secretaries in different central government departments as part of the bureaucratic rejig.

Rural Development Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has been appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Health and Family Welfare Department in the rank of secretary.

He is likely to take over as the secretary of the department after the expiry of Sudan's extended tenure of three months.

Nagendra Nath Sinha will be the new Secretary of Rural Development Department in place of Bhushan. He is at present Secretary, the Department of Border Management in the Home Ministry.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Ravi Mittal has been moved out as Secretary, Department of Sports, the order said.

Amit Khare, the Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, has been given additional charge as the Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

Khare has earlier served in the I&B Ministry.

In a surprising change, Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as Special Secretary (Logistics) in the Department of Commerce.

Leena Nandan, the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will be the Consumer Affairs Secretary in place of Agarwal.

Food and Public Distribution Secretary Ravi Kant has been moved out as the Secretary, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.

Senior bureaucrat Sudhanshu Panday will be the Food and Public Distribution Secretary in place of Kant. Panday is currently Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce.

Road Transport and Highways Secretary Sanjeev Ranjan has been moved out as the Shipping Secretary upon the superannuation of incumbent Gopal Krishna on April 30.

Aramane Giridhar, the Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in place of Ranjan.

CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal has been appointed as the Secretary, Department of Education and Literacy. She is a 1988-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.

Her colleague from the same cadre, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Gupta is currently Special Secretary, NITI Aayog.

Pradip Kumar Tripathi, the Special Secretary and Establishment Officer in the Department of Personnel and Training, will be the Secretary, the Ministry of Steel. He is a 1987-batch IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre.

Tarun Kapoor, the Vice Chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in place of M M Kutty, who superannuates this month-end.

Rajesh Verma, Special Secretary in the Department of Agriculture will be the new Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Anand Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, will be new Culture Secretary. He is at present Secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi will succeed him.

Ram Mohan Mishra has been appointed as the Secretary in the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. He is currently Special Secretary and Development Commissioner in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi who is currently Special Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Culture Ministry, will now be the Secretary in the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.

Shri Ajay Tirkey, will be the Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, while Niten Chandra has been appointed as the Additional Secretary, Central Agency Section, Department of Legal Affairs.