ACC Clears 17 Secretary-Level Appointments at the Centre
New Delhi: In a major bureaucratic reshuffle at the level of Secretary to the Government of India, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved a series of appointments and in-situ upgradations involving 17 senior officers across key ministries, departments and constitutional institutions. The decisions mark significant changes in the administrative leadership of several critical sectors, including the development of the North Eastern Region, higher education, Panchayati Raj, school education, labour and employment, urban development, mines, animal husbandry and dairying, minority affairs, human rights, skill development and national-level training administration.
The reshuffle involves a combination of new appointments to Secretary-level positions, movement of serving Secretaries to other key assignments, appointment of senior officers to vacant Secretary-level posts and elevation of four officers to the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India through in-situ upgradation. The changes also reflect a carefully linked chain of appointments, with several postings taking effect following the superannuation of incumbent officers or the movement of senior Secretaries to new assignments.
Among the most significant appointments is that of Shri Katikithala Srinivas, IAS (Gujarat 1989), presently Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, as Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region. His appointment places a senior officer with long administrative experience at the helm of a ministry responsible for coordinating and driving development initiatives across the North Eastern Region. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region plays an important role in facilitating development interventions, infrastructure expansion and coordination between the Union Government and the States of the region.
The reshuffle also brings a major change in the leadership of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Shri Vineet Joshi, IAS (Manipur 1992), Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, vice Shri Vivek Bhardwaj, IAS, upon his superannuation on July 31, 2026. The appointment comes at a time when Panchayati Raj institutions remain central to the decentralisation of governance and the implementation of development programmes at the grassroots level.
Following Shri Vineet Joshi’s movement to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Shri Naresh Pal Gangwar, IAS (Rajasthan 1994), Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. He will succeed Shri Vineet Joshi in the higher education department. The appointment brings a senior officer with experience in the agriculture and allied sectors to one of the most important policy and administrative positions in the education sector.
The movement of officers creates a further transition in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani, IAS (Odisha 1996), presently Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, has been appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. He will subsequently take over as Secretary of the department following the appointment of Shri Naresh Pal Gangwar as Secretary, Department of Higher Education.
In another important appointment, Shri Piyush Goyal, IAS (Nagaland 1994), Secretary, Ministry of Mines, has been appointed Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. The appointment places a senior civil servant at the senior administrative position of the national human rights institution. His movement to the NHRC has also resulted in a change in the leadership of the Ministry of Mines.
Shri Keshav Chandra, IAS (AGMUT 1996), presently in the cadre, has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Mines, vice Shri Piyush Goyal upon his appointment as Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission. The appointment marks his elevation to one of the key economic and natural resource-related ministries of the Union Government.
The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, will also have a new Secretary-level leadership. Shri T. K. Anil Kumar, IAS (Karnataka 1996), presently Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, has been appointed Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education. The department is responsible for policy formulation and implementation in the school education sector, making the appointment significant for the administration of one of the largest public education systems in the world.
Another important appointment concerns Ms. Archana Varma, IAS (Assam Meghalaya 1996). She has been appointed Mission Director, National Water Mission, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India, through temporary upgradation of the post to Secretary level. She will subsequently take over as Secretary, Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, vice Ms. Ansuli Arya, IAS, upon her superannuation on September 30, 2026.
The appointment represents a significant administrative transition involving two important areas of governance. While the National Water Mission is linked to the country’s water conservation and management priorities, the Department of Official Language plays a key role in the implementation of the Union Government’s official language policy.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will also see further changes in its senior leadership. Ms. D. Thara, IAS (Gujarat 1996), presently Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Capital Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, by operating a vacant Secretary-level post. The appointment adds to the broader changes in the ministry following the movement of Shri Katikithala Srinivas to the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
Shri Satendra Singh, IAS (Jharkhand 1996), presently Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Urban Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. His appointment brings a senior officer from the Cabinet Secretariat to a key position dealing with urban governance and development.
The reshuffle also includes an important appointment to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie. Shri B. Rajender, IAS (Bihar 1996), presently in the cadre, has been appointed Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Department of Personnel and Training, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. The post has been temporarily upgraded to Secretary level. He will succeed Shri Sriram Taranikanti, IAS, upon his superannuation on July 31, 2026.
The LBSNAA is the premier institution for training members of the Indian Administrative Service and other civil services. The appointment of a senior officer to its leadership is therefore significant for the future training and professional development of the country’s administrative leadership.
Another major appointment is that of Shri Chandra Bhushan Kumar, IAS (AGMUT 1996), presently in the cadre, as Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment. He will succeed Ms. Vandana Gurnani, IAS, upon her superannuation on July 31, 2026. The Ministry of Labour and Employment is responsible for a wide range of issues concerning labour policy, employment, social security and the welfare of workers.
The ACC has also approved the appointment of Shri Suchindra Misra, IDAS (1992), presently Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. His appointment brings an officer with experience in the commerce and industry administration to the leadership of a statutory national commission.
The broad reshuffle is accompanied by a separate set of in-situ upgradations. Under the decision, four senior officers have been upgraded to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India as a measure personal to them, through temporary upgrading of the posts held by them.
Shri Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, IAS (Uttar Pradesh 1996), Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, has been granted in-situ upgradation to the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India while continuing in his present assignment. The position of Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner is associated with important national demographic and statistical responsibilities.
Shri Santosh Kumar Yadav, IAS (Uttar Pradesh 1996), Chairman, National Highways Authority of India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has also been granted in-situ upgradation to the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. The post of Chairman, NHAI, has been restored to Secretary level for the purpose of the appointment.
The NHAI remains a key institution in the country’s road infrastructure development, and the decision ensures that the incumbent Chairman holds the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.
Similarly, Shri Rajeev Singh Thakur, IAS (Rajasthan 1996), Adviser, NITI Aayog, has been granted in-situ upgradation to the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. His elevation takes place while he continues in his present assignment at the national policy think tank.
The fourth officer to receive in-situ upgradation is Shri Dllip Kumar, IAS (Punjab 1996), Director General (Training), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He will continue as Director General (Training) in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.
The appointments collectively represent a substantial reconfiguration of senior administrative leadership at the Centre. Several of the decisions are interconnected, with one appointment triggering a sequence of subsequent changes across ministries. The movement of Shri Vineet Joshi to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj leads to the appointment of Shri Naresh Pal Gangwar in the Department of Higher Education, while Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani is positioned to take over the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Similarly, the appointment of Shri Piyush Goyal to the National Human Rights Commission results in the appointment of Shri Keshav Chandra as Secretary, Ministry of Mines.
The decisions also reflect the continued importance of Secretary-level leadership in the Union Government’s policy and administrative framework. The officers appointed or upgraded will be responsible for guiding major programmes, overseeing large departments and institutions, and coordinating policy implementation across a wide range of sectors.
The appointments span governance areas that are central to India’s development priorities. The North Eastern Region, higher education, school education, Panchayati Raj, urban development, labour and employment, water management, infrastructure, mines, human rights, minority affairs, official language, skill development and civil service training will all see changes in senior leadership under the ACC decision.
The reshuffle also brings together officers from different services and cadres, including senior IAS officers from Gujarat, Manipur, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Karnataka, Odisha, Assam-Meghalaya, AGMUT, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, as well as an officer of the Indian Defence Accounts Service. The appointments underline the wide range of administrative experience represented at the highest levels of the Central Government.
With several appointments linked to upcoming retirements in July and September 2026, the decisions also provide continuity in the leadership of key departments. The succession arrangements ensure that vacancies arising from superannuation are addressed in advance and that incoming officers can assume charge in an orderly manner.
The appointment of officers to Secretary-level posts is among the most significant administrative decisions in the Central Government, given the role played by Secretaries in policy formulation, inter-ministerial coordination, programme implementation and advising the political executive. The latest ACC decision therefore marks a major change in the senior bureaucratic structure at the Centre.
The 17 appointments and upgradations are expected to bring new administrative perspectives to several important areas of governance. With a combination of lateral movement, succession appointments, temporary upgradation of posts and in-situ elevation, the reshuffle represents one of the significant senior-level bureaucratic changes at the Centre.
Indian Bureaucracy News wishes all the officers the very best in their new assignments and responsibilities.