Food, Consumer Secretaries removed, Heath Secy gets extension

New Delhi: Taking note of the complaints regarding the substandard supply of foodgrains through FCI warehouses, Food and Public Distribution Secretary Ravi Kant as well as Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been shunted out in the top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Central government on Sunday amid the coronavirus crisis.

As many as 23 senior IAS officers have been appointed as secretaries in different departments of the government on Sunday.

Kant, a 1984-batch Bihar cadre officer, has been shifted to the least important department of ex-servicemen welfare as its secretary, while Agarwal has been demoted to the Special Secretary (logistics) in Department of Commerce.

Senior bureaucrat Sudhanshu Panday will be the Food and Public Distribution Secretary in place of Kant. Panday is currently an Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce.

The 1987-batch UP cadre IAS Leena Nandan, who is Special Secretary in the Road Transport and Highways Ministry, has been given the charge of Consumer Affairs Secretary.

The transfer order has come as a badge of honour for incumbent Health Secretary Preeti Sudan, who was to superannuate on April 30, as she has been given a 3-month extension. The decision assumes significance as the Health Ministry is at the forefront of checking the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the 3-month extension in Sudan's service, beyond the date of her superannuation (April 30), an order issued by DoPT said.

Rural Development Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has been appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Health and Family Welfare Department in the rank of secretary and he is likely to take over as the secretary of the department after the expiry of Sudan's extended tenure of three months.

In place of Bhushan, Nagendra Nath Sinha (1987 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS) will be the new Secretary of Rural Development Department. Sinha is present Secretary of the Department of Border Management in the Home Ministry.

In a major decision, Amit Khare, who is Higher Education Secretary, has been given additional charge as the Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Khare has earlier served as a fulltime I&B Ministry secretary.

Tarun Bajaj, Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, will be the new Department of Economic Affairs Secretary.

Transport Secretary Sanjeev Ranjan has been moved out as Shipping Secretary upon the superannuation of incumbent Gopal Krishna on April 30. Aramane Giridhar, the Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat will be the new Transport Secretary.

CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal, a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre IAS, has been appointed as School Education Secretary. Her colleague from the same cadre, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta has been appointed as Environment Secretary.

Pradip Kumar Tripathi, a 1987-batch J&K cadre IAS, has been appointed as a new steel secretary, while his batch-mate Tarun Kapoor, the Vice Chairman of DDA, has been appointed as the Petroleum Secretary in place of MM Kutty, who superannuates this month-end.

Rajesh Verma, Special Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, will be the new corporate affairs secretary in place of 1983-batch Odisha cadre IAS Injeti Srinivas, who superannuates this month-end.

Anand Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, will be a new Culture Secretary. He is at present Secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi will succeed him.

Arvind Kumar Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office will be the new MSEM Secretary upon the superannuation of incumbent Arun Kumar Panda on April 30. Ram Mohan Mishra has been appointed as the Secretary in the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, who is currently Special Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Culture Ministry will now be the Secretary in the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.

Ajay Tirkey will be the new WCD Secretary, while Niten Chandra has been appointed as the Additional Secretary, Central Agency Section, Department of Legal Affairs. Chandra is at present Secretary, Central Information Commission (CIC) where he will be succeeded by Satbir Bedi, the chairperson of the National Council for Teacher Education.

Meanwhile, the ACC has also approved the in-situ upgradtion of the post of Jyoti Arora, who is presently an additional secretary and FA in Electronics Ministry, as a special secretary in the same ministry.

Similarly, her batch-mates B Anand and Neel Kamal Darbari upgraded in the rank and pay of secretary to the government of India.

Rajiv Bansal, 1988-batch Nagaland IAS, who is CMD Air India, has been upgraded to in the rank and pay of secretary.