New Delhi: The Government of India has approved the non-functional upgradation (NFU) of over half a dozen Indian Economic Service (IES) officers of the 2007 batch to the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) – equivalent to the Joint Secretary-level scale – with effect from April 1, 2025.
This upgradation grants them the financial and status benefits of Joint Secretary rank in the Government of India, even if they do not hold that designation functionally, in line with Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) norms.
Officers Elevated to SAG Scale (Joint Secretary-Level)
- Chandrani Gupta – Chief Vigilance Officer, Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company (Department of Heavy Industries)
- Bhumika Verma – Director, Department of Expenditure
- Swayamprava Pani – Additional Development Commissioner, Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles
- Prasanth C – Director, BIMSTEC Secretariat
- Mukesh Kumar – Director, President’s Secretariat
- Urmila – Deputy Secretary, NITI Aayog
- Praveen Kumar – Director, Department of Commerce
The NFU mechanism aims to address career stagnation for Group A officers by providing financial parity with IAS officers of equivalent seniority who have moved to higher positions.
This decision underscores the government’s ongoing efforts to recognize seniority, ensure parity across services, and retain experienced officers in key policy and administrative roles.
