New Delhi: The Delhi government has appointed 2014-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Awanish Kumar as the new Commissioner (Excise) in a major bureaucratic reshuffle involving 34 IAS and Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officers. The order was issued by the Services Department on Thursday, October 8, 2026, under the directions of Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
Kumar, an AGMUT cadre officer, was serving as Director of Higher Education and Technical Training and Education in Delhi before being transferred to the Excise Department. His new assignment places him in charge of an important department responsible for administering the capital’s excise-related regulatory framework.
The reshuffle extends beyond the Excise Department, with changes across several important administrative portfolios, including power, health, education, transport, social welfare, planning, irrigation and flood control, and food and civil supplies. The order also assigns additional responsibilities to senior officers and reshuffles several DANICS officers.
Among the most significant changes, 1992-batch IAS officer Bipul Pathak will continue as Additional Chief Secretary (Social Welfare) while taking on additional charges in several departments. Meanwhile, 1994-batch IAS officer Navin Kumar Choudhary has been assigned the General Administration Department, along with additional responsibilities for Irrigation and Flood Control and Food and Civil Supplies.
Who Is IAS Officer Awanish Kumar?
Awanish Kumar is a 2014-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, which covers Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories. He entered the civil services through the UPSC Civil Services Examination as a direct-recruit officer.
According to published officer profiles, Kumar was born on August 1, 1986, and his home state is Bihar. He is reported to know Bhojpuri, Hindi and English. His officer identification code is 01UT113A02.
Kumar has served in multiple administrative assignments across the Union Territory administrations of Delhi, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. His career has included district administration, municipal governance, trade and taxation, information technology, health and family welfare, higher education and technical education.
His appointment as Delhi’s Commissioner (Excise) marks another significant assignment in his administrative career, following his recent return to Delhi after serving in the Lakshadweep administration.
Read also: Delhi Reshuffles 34 IAS, DANICS Officers; Awanish Kumar Appointed Excise Commissioner
Educational Qualifications: Economics and a Ph.D
Kumar has an academic background in economics, with qualifications from two prominent institutions in Delhi.
He completed his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics from Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi. He subsequently pursued postgraduate studies in economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, through its Centre for International Trade and Development (CITD) and Centre for Economic Studies and Planning (CESP).
Published officer profiles also list an M.Phil. in Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics among his qualifications.
His academic specialisation in economics is relevant to his experience in administrative areas involving taxation, trade, public finance and economic governance. However, his career has not been limited to financial and regulatory departments; it has also covered district administration, education and Union Territory governance.
Awanish Kumar’s Administrative Career and Key Postings
Early Career in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In the early stages of his career, Kumar served as Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. He subsequently held administrative assignments in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
His responsibilities included serving as Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate in Car Nicobar and North and Middle Andaman. These positions involved district-level administration and coordination of government functions in geographically distinct island territories.
His early assignments provided experience in district administration and the delivery of public services across remote areas, where coordination between local administration and the Union Territory government is particularly important.
December 2021: Assignment to South Delhi Municipal Corporation
In December 2021, Kumar was appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Commissioner of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). He was also given additional charge as Deputy Commissioner of the corporation’s West Zone.
The assignment placed him in municipal administration, an area involving civic services, local governance and coordination of departmental responsibilities. His additional charge in the West Zone meant that he also had responsibilities at the operational level within the municipal structure.
March 2022: Special Commissioner for Trade and Taxes
In March 2022, Kumar was transferred as Special Commissioner (Trade and Taxes), Government of Delhi.
He was also assigned additional responsibilities as Special Secretary (Information Technology) and Officer on Special Duty in Health and Family Welfare.
The combination of these assignments brought together regulatory administration, information technology and health-related government functions. His work in trade and taxation also preceded his later appointment to the Excise Department, another area involving regulatory administration and revenue-related responsibilities.
October 2023: District Magistrate of Central Delhi
In October 2023, Kumar was transferred as District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner of Central Delhi.
The position placed him at the head of district-level administration in a key part of the national capital. District magistrates oversee a broad range of administrative functions, including coordination among government departments and implementation of statutory responsibilities within their jurisdictions.
The assignment added district administration experience in Delhi to his earlier postings in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
April 2026: Additional Charge in Lakshadweep
In April 2026, while serving as Secretary to the Lakshadweep Union Territory Administration, Kumar was given additional charge as Director of Census Operations and Citizen Registration for Lakshadweep.
The assignment expanded his responsibilities to include census operations and citizen-registration-related administration alongside his work in the Union Territory government.
His Lakshadweep posting also formed part of his broader experience across the AGMUT cadre, which requires officers to serve in different Union Territories and participating states over the course of their careers.
August 2026: Return to Delhi as Director of Higher Education
In August 2026, Kumar was transferred back to the Delhi segment of the AGMUT cadre and appointed Director of Higher Education and Technical Training and Education.
He held this position before the latest reshuffle moved him to the Excise Department.
The transition from education administration to the Excise Department represents a change in his functional responsibilities, taking him from an area focused on higher education and technical training to a regulatory department with responsibilities relating to excise administration.
October 2026: Appointed Commissioner (Excise)
The latest order appoints Kumar as Commissioner (Excise), Government of Delhi.
The Excise Department is responsible for administering the applicable excise framework in the capital, including regulatory functions relating to licences and the sale and distribution of regulated products, in accordance with government policy and the law.
Kumar’s new assignment comes as part of a wider reshuffle intended to redistribute responsibilities across several departments. The official order establishes his new posting, while the detailed terms of his departmental responsibilities will be governed by the applicable rules and subsequent government directions.
Major Delhi Administrative Reshuffle: Bipul Pathak Gets Additional Charges
The appointment of Awanish Kumar is one of several changes in the latest reshuffle. Several senior officers have been assigned additional responsibilities alongside their existing portfolios.
Bipul Pathak to Continue as Additional Chief Secretary (Social Welfare)
1992-batch IAS officer Bipul Pathak will continue as Additional Chief Secretary (Social Welfare). Under the new arrangement, he has also been assigned additional charges as Managing Director of the Delhi SC/ST/OBC Minorities and Women and Child Development departments.
Pathak has additionally been assigned the charge of Financial Commissioner. The combination of these responsibilities places several important administrative and financial functions under his supervision.
Navin Kumar Choudhary Assigned General Administration Department
1994-batch IAS officer Navin Kumar Choudhary has been assigned the General Administration Department (GAD).
He has also been given additional charges of Irrigation and Flood Control and Food and Civil Supplies. The assignments add multiple administrative and operational portfolios to his responsibilities.
Dilraj Kaur Retains Education Responsibilities
Dilraj Kaur will continue as Principal Secretary (Education). She will also retain charge of Higher Education and Technical Training and Education.
Her continued responsibilities in these departments are part of the changes made to the capital’s education administration under the reshuffle.
Satyendra Singh Dursawat Posted as Director
Satyendra Singh Dursawat has been appointed Director of Technical Training and Education and Higher Education.
The posting accompanies the transfer of Awanish Kumar from the education portfolio to the Excise Department and reallocates responsibility for the two education-related areas.
B S Jaglan Transferred from MCD
B S Jaglan has been transferred from the post of Additional Commissioner at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to Controller (Weights and Measures).
The change moves him from municipal administration to a regulatory assignment involving weights and measures.
DANICS Officers Also Reshuffled
The reshuffle also includes appointments involving DANICS officers, extending the changes beyond the IAS cadre.
Harshit Jain has been posted as Joint Secretary to the Chief Minister’s Office. The appointment places him in an administrative role within the office responsible for coordinating the chief minister’s work.
Harminder Singh has been appointed Additional Private Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor. The posting assigns him responsibilities within the Lieutenant Governor’s office.
These changes form part of the broader exercise involving 34 IAS and DANICS officers across Delhi’s administrative structure.
What the Reshuffle Means for Delhi Administration
The latest reshuffle changes the allocation of responsibilities across several departments, including excise, education, social welfare, power, health, transport, planning, taxation and general administration.
For Awanish Kumar, the appointment as Commissioner (Excise) marks a move from education administration to a regulatory portfolio. His earlier experience in trade and taxation, district administration, municipal governance and Union Territory administration forms the broader background to his latest posting.
The additional responsibilities assigned to Bipul Pathak and Navin Kumar Choudhary, meanwhile, consolidate several departmental functions under senior officers. The continuation of Dilraj Kaur in the education portfolio and the appointment of Satyendra Singh Dursawat to the director-level education positions also establish the new allocation of responsibilities in that sector.
Together, the postings represent a significant administrative reshuffle in the national capital, involving both senior IAS officers and DANICS officers. The Services Department order issued on October 8, 2026, sets out the latest changes in departmental leadership and responsibilities.
Read also: Who Is Chandraker Bharti? 1996-Batch IAS Officer Re-Designated Financial Commissioner in J&K
