ACC Clears 21 Top-Level Secretary Appointments in Central Ministries

Indian Bureaucracy, New Delhi, April 18, 2025| The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) announced several Secretary-level appointments and in-situ upgrades across various Central Government ministries (April 18, 2025). The changes involve several critical departments and Statutory Bodies including Home Affairs, Finance, Commerce, Public Enterprises, with some transitions occurring due to upcoming superannuations. Here’s a look at the officers and their new roles.

1. Smt Meeta R Lochan IAS (Maharashtra 1990), presently on central deputation and posted as Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is appointed as Secretary – National Commission for Backward Classes, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, relieving Smt A Neeraja, IFoS (Uttar Pradesh 1990).
2. Shri K Moses Chalai IAS (Manipur 1990), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Secretary, Inter State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, is appointed as Secretary – Department of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Finance.
3. Shri Manoj Govil IAS (Madhya Pradesh 1991), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, is appointed as Secretary – Coordination, Cabinet Secretariat, relieving Smt Vandana Gurnani IAS (Karnataka 1991).
4. Smt Vandana Gurnani IAS (Karnataka 1991), presently on Central Deptutaion and posted as Secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat, is appointed as Secretary – Ministry of Labour & Employment.
5. Shri Rajit Punhani IAS (Bihar 1991), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Secretary, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, is appointed as Secretary – Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, relieving Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari IAS (Karnataka 1990).
6. Shri Ashish Srivastava IAS (Madhya Pradesh 1992), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Advisor, Inter State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, is appointed as Secretary – Inter State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, relieving Shri K Moses Chalai IAS (Manipur 1990).
7. Shri Vumlunmang Vualnam IAS (Manipur 1992), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, is appointed as Secretary – Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, relieving Shri Manoj Govil IAS (Madhya Pradesh 1991).
8. Shri Nikunja Bihari Dhal IAS (Odisha 1993), presently Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister, Odisha, Bhubaneswar, is appointed as Secretary – Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, relieving Shri Umang Narula IAS (AGMUT 1989).
9. Shri Rakesh Kumar Verma IAS (Punjab 1993), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Additional Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, is appointed as Director General (DG) – India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, a Secretary level position in Government of India.
10. Smt Anuradha Thakur IAS (Himachal Pradesh 1994), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, is appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) – Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance in interim and will take over as Secretary – Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, relieving Shri Ajay Seth IAS (Karnataka 1987) from June 30, 2025.
11. Shri Rajesh Agarwal IAS (Manipur 1994), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is appointed as Special Secretary – Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry in interim and will take over as Secretary – Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, relieving Shri Sunil Barthwal IAS (Bihar 1989), from September 30, 2025.
12. Shri Arvind Shrivastava IAS (Karnataka 1994), presently Additional Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, is appointed as Secretary – Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
13. Shri Vivek Aggarwal IAS (Madhya Pradesh 1994), presently Additional Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, is appointed as Secretary – Ministry of Culture.
14. Shri Santosh Kumar Sarangi IAS (Odisha 1994), presently Director General, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is appointed as Secretary – Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
15. Smt Pallavi Jain Govil IAS (Madhya Pradesh 1994), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Director General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, is appointed as Secretary – Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, relieving Smt Meeta R Lochan IAS (Maharashtra 1990), from May 31, 2025.
16. Smt Nidhi Chhibber IAS (Chhattisgarh 1994), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog, is appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) – Ministry of Food Processing Industries in interim, and will take over as Secretary – Ministry of Food Processing Industries, relieving Shri Subrata Gupta IAS (West Bengal 1990), from May 31, 2025.
17. Shri Samir Kumar Sinha IAS (Assam-Meghalaya 1994), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Additional Secretary & Director General (Acquisition), Department of Defence, is appointed as Secretary – Ministry of Civil Aviation, relieving Shri Vumlunmang Vualnam IAS (Manipur 1992).
18. Shri Hari Ranjan Rao IAS (Madhya Pradesh 1994), presently on Central Deputation and posted as Additional Secretary, PMO, is appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) – Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in interim, and will take over as Secretary – Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, relieving Smt Sujata Chaturvedi IAS (Bihar 1989) from June 30, 2025.
19. Shri Rajesh Kumar Sinha IAS (Kerala 1994), presently Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, is in-situ upgraded to the post of Special Secretary – Ports, Shipping & Waterways, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.
20. Smt Ranjana Chopra IAS (Odisha 1994), presently Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Culture, is in-situ upgraded to the post of Special Secretary & Financial Advisor – Ministry of Culture, thin e rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.
21. Shri Bharat Lal IFoS (Gujarat 1988) (Retd.) is granted a one-year extension, on a contract basis beyond June 30, 2025, as Secretary General – National Human Rights Commission. He will continue to hold the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes all the officers the very best.