ACC Approves Appointment of 17 Senior Officers as Joint Secretaries

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of 17 senior officers from diverse services, batches, and cadres to key Joint Secretary positions across various ministries and departments. This strategic move is aimed at bolstering administrative efficiency and reinforcing governance at the central level.

1. IAS Rajesh Lakhani, a 1992-batch officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, has been appointed as the Commissioner of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) under the Department of School Education & Literacy. He will hold the position until his superannuation on May 31, 2029, succeeding IAS Vinayak Garg, a 1995-batch officer from the Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE).

2. IAS Manish Thakur, a 1998-batch officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for a tenure of five years, succeeding IAS R Jaya, a 1995-batch officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre.
3. IAS D Anandan, a 2000-batch officer of the Sikkim cadre, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Expenditure for a five-year term, replacing IAS Amit Singh Negi, a 1999-batch officer of the Uttarakhand cadre.

1. IAS Vijay Nehra (2001 batch, Gujarat cadre) – Appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare for five years until October 31, 2028, replacing IAS P Ashok Babu (2003 batch, Assam-Meghalaya cadre).
2. IAS Vikas Anand (2002 batch, AGMUT cadre) – Appointed as CEO, National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) under the Department of Public Enterprises for five years until February 16, 2028, replacing IRS (Income Tax) officer Vasundhara Upamanyu (1992 batch).
3. IRTS Officer Petal Dhillon (2002 batch) – Appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce for five years, replacing IRPS officer Anant Swarup (1992 batch).
4. IAS Abhinav Gupta (2004 batch, IRS Customs & Indirect Taxes) – Appointed as Additional Director General, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Department of Commerce for five years, replacing IRS (Customs & Indirect Taxes) officer S C Agarwal (1994 batch).
5. IRSS Officer Santosh Kumar Verma (1995 batch) – Appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs for five years by temporarily upgrading a vacant post of Director. He replaces IPoS officer Vineet Mathur (1994 batch).
6. IRS Officer Samar Nanda (2004 batch, Customs & Indirect Taxes) – Appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture for five years, replacing IAS Mugdha Sinha (1999 batch, Rajasthan cadre).
7. IAS Dr. Madhu Rani Teotia (2008 batch, AGMUT cadre) – Appointed as Additional Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National Health Authority (NHA) for a seven-year tenure until October 4, 2027, replacing IAS Basant Garg (2005 batch, Punjab cadre).
8. IAS Sanjay Mehrishi (1991 batch, IOFS cadre) – Appointed as Joint Secretary, National Health Authority (NHA) until his superannuation on June 30, 2027.
9. IA&AS Officer Praveer Kumar (1999 batch) – Appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for five years, replacing IAS Deepak Agarwal (2000 batch, Uttar Pradesh cadre).
10. IAS M N Ajay Nagabhushan (2004 batch, Karnataka cadre) – Appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for five years.
11. IRSSE Officer Sanjay Chilwarwar (1997 batch) – Appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) until August 31, 2029, replacing Lalit Bohra (1998 batch, IRTS officer).
12. IAS Udit Agrawal (2008 batch, Gujarat cadre) – Appointed as Joint Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie for five years, replacing IAS Radhika Rastogi (1995 batch, Maharashtra cadre).
13. ITS Officer Pankaj Kumar (1991 batch) – Appointed as Joint Secretary (Logistics), Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) until superannuation on October 31, 2028, replacing IAS V Radha (1994 batch, Maharashtra cadre).
14. ICAS Officer Dr. Shankari Murali (1991 batch) – Appointed as Joint Secretary & Financial Adviser, Department of Space until superannuation on February 28, 2027, replacing M Maheshwar Rao (1995 batch, Karnataka cadre), by temporarily downgrading the vacant post of Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser (AS&FA).