Mr Samir Kumar Sinha, a senior IAS officer from the 1994 batch of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been appointed as the new Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Hailing from Ara in Bihar, Mr Sinha, who currently serves as Additional Secretary & Director General (Acquisition) in the Department of Defence, will succeed Vumlunmang Vualnam, an IAS officer of 1992 batch from Manipur cadre. Mr Vualnam has been appointed as the Secretary, Department of Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance.
Mr Sinha, 55, is a post-graduate in history from Delhi University and also a PG diploma holder in public management and policy from IIM-Ahmedabad. He began his administrative career as an Assistant Commissioner in the Cachar district and has held several important positions across Assam, including SDO (Sadar) in Kokrajhar, SDO (Civil) in Bijni, and Staff Officer to the Chief Secretary of Assam. He also served as Deputy Commissioner in both Tinsukia and Kamrup districts.

In April 2008, Mr Sinha joined in the department of financial services under finance ministry as a deputy secretary where he got an elevation to the rank of director in July that year.
With decades of experience in both state and central government roles, Sinha is expected to bring strategic leadership to the Ministry of Civil Aviation as India’s aviation sector continues its rapid growth.