Bureaucratic rejig: Ashok Lavasa appointed Expenditure Secy

Senior IAS officers Ashok Lavasa and Ajay Mittal were today appointed as Expenditure and Information and Broadcasting secretaries respectively in a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle.
In all, 14 new secretaries have been appointed in various central government departments.
Lavasa, currently Environment Secretary, will take over from Ratan P Watal, who superannuates on April 30, an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
Ajay Narayan Jha, Special Secretary in Department of Expenditure, will be new Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in place of Lavasa, it said.
Mittal, at present working in his cadre state Himachal Pradesh, will be new Information and Broadcasting Secretary. He will take over from incumbent Sunil Arora, who retires this month end.

Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Snehlata Shrivastava has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Justice. She is currently Special Secretary in Department of Financial Services, the DoPT said.

The portfolios of Anuj Kumar Bishnoi and Vijay Shankar Pandey have been swapped. Bishnoi will now be Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, in place of Pandey, who has been named as new Secretary Department of Fertilisers.
There has been reshuffle in other departments too. Devendra Chaudhary has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.
Chaudhary, a 1981 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, is at present Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and Department of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare. He was involved in civil services day celebrations on April 20-21 here.

Chirravuri Viswanath, Secretary for Department of Consumer Affairs will be new Secretary DARPG and for Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare in place of Chaudhary.
Hem Kumar Pandey has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, a post held by Viswanath.
Senior IAS officer Leena Nair will be new Secretary,
Ministry of Women and Child Development. Nair, who is at present Chairperson, Marine Products Exports Development Authority under Department of Commerce, has been appointed in place of V Somasundaran, who superannuates on May 31.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved appointments of Nair as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Women and Child Development with immediate effect in the rank and pay of Secretary, the DoPT order said.

Susheel Kumar, Special Secretary in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has been appointed as Secretary (Border Management), Ministry of Home Affairs.
Kumar has been appointed in place of Anoop Kumar Srivastava, who has been named as Secretary, Department of Official Language in the same ministry.
Jai Priye Prakash, Special Secretary in Cabinet Secretariat, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals.
Prabhas Kumar Jha, a 1982 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. He is currently working as Special Secretary and Financial Adviser in Department of Food and Public Distribution.