New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Wednesday approved the appointment of 35 senior officers at the level of Joint Secretary (JS) and equivalent positions across a wide range of ministries and departments of the Government of India. The appointments span officers from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Forest Service (IFoS) and several Group ‘A’ Central Services, reflecting a broad-based administrative reshuffle at the senior policymaking level.
The newly approved appointments are expected to strengthen governance, policy execution, and inter-ministerial coordination across crucial sectors such as agriculture, commerce, defence, health, education, infrastructure, power, and social welfare.
Key Appointments in Agriculture and Allied Sectors
The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare will see two new Joint Secretaries –
- Chinmay Pundlikrao Gotmare (IAS:2009:AM) has been appointed as Joint Secretary for a combined tenure of seven years up to April 12, 2028, or until further orders. He replaces Purna Chandra Kishan (IAS:2005:RJ).
- Neha Verma (IFoS:2005:UD) has been appointed as Joint Secretary for an overall tenure of five years up to January 19, 2027, replacing Shubha Thakur (CSS).
Appointments in Commerce, Coal, and Corporate Affairs
Several key economic ministries witnessed multiple senior-level postings –
Manoj Kumar Gangeya (IRTS:2000) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Coal, for five years, replacing Bhabani Prasad Pati (IFoS:1994:GJ).
Amit Verma (IFoS:2005:UD) and Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh (IAS:2008:KN) have been appointed Joint Secretaries in the Department of Commerce, replacing Aishvarya Singh (IAS:2008:SK) and Siddharth Mahajan (IAS:2003:RJ) respectively.
Kapil Chaudhary (IRS C&IT:2001) has also been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, replacing Kesang Yangzom (IRS IT:1995).
Rahul Jain (IAS:2005:MP) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, for a combined tenure up to November 3, 2026, replacing Inder Deep Singh Dhariwal (IA&AS:1992).
Cultural, Defence, and Environmental Ministries
- Kamlesh Kumar Mishra (IRTS:2003) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, up to June 13, 2029, replacing Kaul Sanjay Moolchand (IAS:2001:KL).
- Shajan George P Verghese (CSS) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Defence, replacing Ajay Kumar (IAS:2006:GJ).
- Tanvi Garg (IAS:2009:UT) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, up to January 1, 2028, replacing Tarun Kumar Pithode (IAS:2009:MP).
Health, Food, and Social Sector Appointments
- Hanish Chhabra (IAS:2006:TN) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution, after completion of his cooling-off period on January 23, 2026, replacing Rajender Kumar (IFoS:1997).
- Sibin C (IAS:2005:PB) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, replacing Roli Singh (IAS:1994:RJ).
- Arindam Modak (ISS:1998) has been appointed Secretary (JS level), National Dental Commission, under the Health Ministry.
Home Affairs, Intelligence, and Internal Security
- Satyanarain Gupta (ITS:1993) has been appointed Joint Secretary, NATGRID, Ministry of Home Affairs, up to December 12, 2028, replacing Satya S. Lolla (IRS C&CE:1991).
- Nishtha Tiwari (IRS IT:2005) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, up to December 9, 2027, replacing Praveen Vashishta (IPS:1991:BH).
Urban Development, MSME, and Infrastructure
- Gurjeet Singh Dhillon (IOFS:2002) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, with temporary upgradation till March 25, 2026.
- Vinamra Mishra (IRSME:2003) and Keshvendra Kumar (IAS:2008:KL) have been appointed Joint Secretaries, Ministry of MSME, with Vinamra Mishra’s post temporarily upgraded.
- Sandeep Vasant Kadam (IAS:2008:HP) has been appointed Joint Secretary-cum-Mission Head, National Critical Mineral Mission, Ministry of Mines.
Minority Affairs, Personnel, and Constitutional Bodies
- Shyama Prasad Roy (CSS) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, replacing Charanpreet Singh Bakshi (IRS C&IT:1992).
- Atya Nand (CSS) has been appointed Joint Secretary, National Commission for Minorities.
- Jagdeep Gupta (IPoS:2004) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Capacity Building Commission, DoPT.
- Rajiv Kumar (IOFS:2002) has been appointed Additional Secretary (JS level), UPSC, replacing Jai Prakash Pandey (IRPS:2003).
Power, Revenue, Education, and Skill Development
- Aadhar Raj (IRTS:2004) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power.
- Shailesh Bagauli (IAS:2002:UD) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Revenue, replacing Naval Kishore Ram (IAS:2008:MH).
- Sukhgeet Kaur (IOFS:2000) has been appointed Member Secretary (JS level), NCTE, under the School Education Department.
- Asheesh Joshi (IAS:2006:UD) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy.
- Manasi Sahay Thakur (IAS:2009:HP) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
Statistics, Textiles, Tribal Affairs, and Water Resources
- Ashish Kumar Gupta (IOFS:2002) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, through temporary upgradation.
- Manisha Chatterjee (IRTS:1999) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, replacing Rajeev Saxena (IRSS:1995).
- Vrunda Manohar Desai (IRS IT:2003) has been appointed Textile Commissioner, Mumbai, replacing Roop Rashi (IA&AS:1994).
- Naval Kishor (IOFS:2003) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- Bhaskar Choradia (IRAS:2000) has been appointed Joint Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, replacing Yatinder Prasad (IA&AS:1993).
- Zaigham Ali Khan (IRAS:1999) has been appointed Member (Finance), Central Ground Water Board.
- Shiv Ratan (ITS:1996) has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs.
Administrative Significance of the Reshuffle
The large-scale approval by the ACC reflects a strategic effort to place experienced officers in key policy and implementation roles at the Joint Secretary level. These officers are expected to play a crucial role in driving flagship programmes, ensuring fiscal and administrative discipline, and strengthening governance outcomes across ministries.
