Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Monday carried out a major bureaucratic reshuffle, reassigning several senior IAS officers across key departments, including Higher Education, Sports, Health, Agriculture, Power, Finance and Transport.
Among the most notable appointments, B Ashok, whose suspension was revoked on June 6, has been appointed Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department. Another officer whose suspension was recently revoked, N Prashanth, has been posted as Special Secretary, Sports Department.
The reshuffle also saw significant changes in the leadership of departments dealing with health, agriculture, power, local self-government, finance and public administration.
B. Ashok Gets Higher Education Portfolio
Senior IAS officer B. Ashok, a 1998-batch officer, has been entrusted with the Higher Education Department as Principal Secretary.
The appointment comes days after the revocation of his suspension, marking his return to a key policymaking position in the state administration.
N. Prashanth Posted as Special Secretary, Sports
N. Prashanth has been appointed Special Secretary in the Sports Department.
In addition to his new role, he will hold full additional charge of:
- Youth Affairs
- Zoos
- Museum
- Archaeology
- Archives
The posting also follows the revocation of his suspension earlier this month.
Rathan U. Kelkar Gets Multiple Additional Responsibilities
Rathan U Kelkar, who recently assumed charge as Secretary to the Chief Minister, has been assigned several additional responsibilities.
He will hold full additional charge as Secretary of:
- Newly created Department for Welfare of the Elderly
- Coastal Shipping Department
- Inland Navigation Department
- Information and Public Relations Department
The creation of a dedicated Department for Welfare of the Elderly is among the notable administrative developments in the reshuffle.
Additional Chief Secretaries Receive Expanded Portfolios
Bishwanath Sinha
Bishwanath Sinha, Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Vigilance), will now also oversee:
- Coir Development Department
- Housing Department
He will continue to hold the additional charge of Water Resources.
K.R. Jyothilal
K R Jyothilal, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), has been given additional charge of:
- Planning and Economic Affairs Department
- Member-Secretary, Kerala State Planning Board
He will continue overseeing:
- Taxes Department
- Rebuild Kerala Initiative
- Public Procurement Advisory Department
Rajan N. Khobragade
Rajan N Khobragade, Additional Chief Secretary (Health and Family Welfare), will continue to hold additional charge of the AYUSH Department.
Major Changes in Power, Agriculture and Health
M.G. Rajamanickam Appointed KSEB CMD
M G Rajamanickam has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of the Kerala State Electricity Board.
He will additionally hold charge of:
- Power Department
- Environment Department
- Parliamentary Affairs Department
Minhaj Alam Shifted to Agriculture
Minhaj Alam, the outgoing KSEB CMD, has been transferred as:
- Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture
- Agriculture Production Commissioner
Sharmila Mary Joseph Gets Health
Sharmila Mary Joseph has been appointed Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare.
She will also hold additional charge of:
- Food and Civil Supplies
- Consumer Affairs
New Assignments for Senior Officers
Raju Narayanaswamy
Raju Narayanaswamy has been posted as Principal Secretary, Sainik Welfare Department.
Biju K.
Biju K becomes Secretary, Forests and Wildlife Department.
He will additionally oversee:
- Skill Development Department
- Cashew Department
- General Administration Department
- Tourism Department
Tinku Biswal
Tinku Biswal will continue as additional charge holder for Director General, Institute of Management in Government.
Transport, Revenue and Public Works Departments Get New Officers
T.V. Anupama
T V Anupama has been transferred as Secretary, Transport Department.
She will also hold additional charge of:
- Airports
- Metro Rail
- Personnel and Administrative Reforms
In addition to her existing responsibilities relating to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes Development.
Adeela Abdulla
Adeela Abdulla becomes Special Secretary, Public Works Department.
Jeevan Babu
Jeevan Babu has been posted as Special Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management.
Suhas S.
Suhas S becomes Special Secretary, Water Resources Department.
Local Self-Government and Infrastructure Changes
Shanavas S.
Shanavas S has been appointed Special Secretary, Local Self Government Department.
He will additionally hold charge as:
- Managing Director, Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd.
- Special Officer, Capital Region Development Project
Divya S. Iyer
Divya S Iyer has been posted as Principal Director, Local Self Government Department.
Education and Cooperative Sector Appointments
Afsana Perween
Afsana Perween has been appointed Director, Collegiate Education.
She will also hold additional charge of Controller of Entrance Examinations.
Snehil Kumar Singh
Snehil Kumar Singh has been appointed Director of General Education.
He will additionally serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Education Rejuvenation Mission.
Prem Krishnan S.
Prem Krishnan S has been appointed Registrar of Cooperative Societies.
Other Key Appointments
- Geromic George appointed Officer on Special Duty, Finance (Expenditure).
- Geromic George will additionally serve as Managing Director of Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd and CEO of Kerala Maritime Board.
- Asif K Yusuf appointed Director, NORKA.
T V Subhash posted as Special Secretary, Agriculture Department.
Complete List of Transfers
- Bishwanath Sinha (1992 batch) – Additional Chief Secretary (Home & Vigilance); given additional charge of Coir Development and Housing Departments.
- K.R. Jyothilal (1993 batch) – Additional Chief Secretary (Finance); given additional charge of Planning & Economic Affairs and Member Secretary, Kerala State Planning Board.
- Puneet Kumar (1993 batch) – Resident Commissioner, Kerala House, New Delhi; relieved of all additional charges.
- Dr. Rajan N. Khobragade (1993 batch) – Relieved of Cultural Affairs, Personnel & Administrative Reforms charges; continues AYUSH additional charge.
- Minhaj Alam (1996 batch) – Transferred as Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Agriculture Production Commissioner.
- Dr. Raju Narayanaswamy (1991 batch) – Posted as Principal Secretary, Sainik Welfare Department.
- Dr. Sharmila Mary Joseph (1997 batch) – Posted as Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare.
- Tinku Biswal (1997 batch) – Relieved of Agriculture Department charge; continues as DG, IMG (additional charge).
- Dr. B. Ashok (1998 batch) – Posted as Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department.
- Dr. Rathan U. Kelkar (2003 batch) – Given additional charge of Coastal Shipping & Inland Navigation, Information & Public Relations, and Welfare of Elderly Department.
- Biju K. (2006 batch) – Transferred as Secretary, Forests & Wildlife Department.
- N. Prashanth (2007 batch) – Posted as Special Secretary, Sports Department.
- M.G. Rajamanickam (2008 batch) – Appointed Chairman & Managing Director, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
- T.V. Anupama (2010 batch) – Posted as Secretary, Transport Department.
- Jeevan Babu K. (2011 batch) – Posted as Special Secretary, Revenue & Disaster Management Department.
- Suhas S. (2012 batch) – Posted as Special Secretary, Water Resources Department.
- Seeram Sambasiva Rao (2012 batch) – Relieved of Environment and Survey & Land Records charges.
- Dr. Adeela Abdulla (2012 batch) – Posted as Special Secretary, Public Works Department.
- Shanavas S. (2012 batch) – Posted as Special Secretary, Local Self Government Department.
- Abdul Nasar B. (2012 batch) – Given additional charge of Harbour Engineering and Social Justice Departments.
- Dr. D. Sajith Babu (2012 batch) – Posted as Special Secretary, General Education Department.
- Gopalakrishnan K. (2013 batch) – Posted as Director, Environment & Climate Change.
- T.V. Subhash (2013 batch) – Posted as Special Secretary, Agriculture Department.
- Anjana M. (2013 batch) – Given additional charge of Culture, NORKA, and Science & Technology Departments.
- Sheeba George (2013 batch) – Posted as Special Secretary, Woman & Child Development.
- H. Dineshan (2013 batch) – Posted as Commissioner, Land Revenue.
- Divya S. Iyer (2014 batch) – Posted as Principal Director, Local Self Government Department.
- Afsana Perween (2014 batch) – Posted as Director, Collegiate Education.
- Geromic George (2015 batch) – Posted as Additional Secretary & OSD, Finance (Expenditure).
- Vigneshwari V. (2015 batch) – Given additional charge of Executive Director, Kudumbashree.
- Dr. Renu Raj (2015 batch) – Posted as Additional Secretary, Health & Family Welfare.
- Shibu A. (2015 batch) – Posted as Additional Secretary, Revenue Department.
- Devidas N. (2015 batch) – Given additional charge of Director, Minority Welfare.
- Vinod V.R. (2015 batch) – Posted as Additional Secretary, Public Works Department.
- Asif K. Yusuf (2016 batch) – Posted as Director, NORKA.
- Snehil Kumar Singh (2016 batch) – Posted as Director of General Education.
- Prem Krishnan S. (2017 batch) – Posted as Registrar, Cooperative Societies.
- Sreedhanya Suresh (2019 batch) – Posted as Commissioner, Food Safety.
- Rahul Krishna Sharma (2019 batch) – Posted as Special Commissioner, GST.
- Mohammed Shafiq (2020 batch) – Posted as Additional Commissioner, GST.
- Safna Nazarudeen (2020 batch) – Given additional charge of Joint Commissioner, Land Revenue.
- Anu S. Nair (2020 batch) – Appointed State Mission Director, National Health Mission.
- Dr. Arun J.O. (2020 batch) – Posted as Director, Survey & Land Records Department.
- Sabin Sameed (2020 batch) – Given additional charge of Information & Public Relations and Institute of Land & Disaster Management.
- Misal Sagar Bharat (2021 batch) – Posted as Project Director, Kerala State Transport Project.
- Harshil R. Meena (2021 batch) – Posted as Managing Director, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation.
- Ranjith D. (2021 batch) – Given additional charge of Director, Backward Classes Development Department.
New Ex-Cadre Posts Created:
- Commissioner, Land Revenue
- Principal Director, Local Self Government Department
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