Indian Bureaucracy News, Lucknow, March 29, 2026 | The state government, in a late Sunday evening order, notified transfer and additional charge assignments for nine (09) IAS officers in the state.
The recent administrative reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh has drawn particular attention to changes in the Department of IT and Electronics, which also oversees the state-run Electronics Corporation. The transfer of both the Principal Secretary of the department and the Managing Director of the corporation, in close succession, has come at a time when the state’s technology outreach to the wider industry has come under scrutiny by the principal opposition party of the state, Samajwadi Party.
The development follows closely on the heels of the controversy surrounding the ₹25,000 crore MoU signed between the Uttar Pradesh government and Bengaluru-based startup Punch AI, co-founded by Siddharth Bhatia and Arjit Jain. The agreement, positioned by the state leadership as a major push towards building an artificial intelligence ecosystem in the state, came under sharp criticism from the opposition questioning how such a large MoU was signed with a company reportedly having revenues of only around ₹42.9 lakh and incorporated only in 2025, before entering into agreements with the state government in 2026.
Amid the ongoing controversy, Punch AI co-founder Siddharth Bhatia stated that the MoU does not involve any public funds and is designed to attract private investment into the state. He described it as a phased public-private partnership backed by external investors, adding that no government money, infrastructure, or resources have been taken. According to him, the only direct public interface would be through an AI Commons platform offering AI services in local languages.
Addressing concerns around the company’s financial profile, Bhatia said reports citing revenue of ₹42.9 lakh were inaccurate and stemmed from confusion with another similarly named entity. He maintained that the figure pertains to a different company and described Punch AI as a well-funded startup, adding that its financial details are not publicly disclosed.
The state government has maintained that the ₹25,000 crore MoU is non-binding and preliminary in nature, with no guarantee of final approval. It remains subject to detailed evaluation before any project moves forward.
The Detailed list of officers with their present and new postings is given below.
- Shri M Devaraj IAS (Uttar Pradesh 1996), presently Principal Secretary, Department of Appointment & Personnel, Uttar Pradesh, is given additional charge of Director General – Uttar Pradesh Academy of Administration and Management.
- Shri Anurag Yadav IAS (Uttar Pradesh 2000), presently Principal Secretary, IT and Electronics Department, is transferred and appointed as Principal Secretary Social Welfare and Sainik Kalyan Department, Uttar Pradesh.
- Shri Alok Kumar IAS (Alok Kumar-III, Uttar Pradesh 1998), presently Principal Secretary, Planning and Programme Implementation, Uttar Pradesh with additional charge of Nodal Officer, One Trillion Dollar Economy and Nodal Officer, Zero Poverty Campaign, Uttar Pradesh, is given additional charge of Principal Secretary – IT and Electronics Department, Uttar Pradesh.
- Shri Sorabh Babu IAS (Uttar Pradesh 2000), presently Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Rural Engineering Service (RES), Uttar Pradesh, is given additional charge of Director General – Deen Dayal Upadhyaya State Institute of Rural Development (DDU-SIRD), Uttar Pradesh.
- Shri T K Shibu IAS (Uttar Pradesh 2012), presently Special Secretary, UP APC Branch, Uttar Pradesh, is given additional charge of Managing Director (MD) – UP State Agro Industrial Corporation Limited (UP Agro).
- Shri Ravi Ranjan IAS (Uttar Pradesh 2014), presently Managing Director (MD), UP Electronics Limited, with additional charge of MD, UP Agro, is transferred and appointed as Special Secretary – Medical, Health and Family Welfare department, Uttar Pradesh.
- Dr Bipin Kumar Misra IAS (Uttar Pradesh 2017), presently Municipal Commissioner, Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is transferred and appointed as Additional Managing Director – Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC).
- Shri Himanshu Kaushik IAS (Uttar Pradesh 2018), presently awaiting posting, is appointed as Director (MD) – UP Electronics Corporation Limited.
- Smt Saumya Gururani IAS (Uttar Pradesh 2019), awaiting posting upon return from maternity is appointed as Municipal Commissioner – Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Indian Bureaucracy News wishes all the officers the very best.