Govt appoints Pankaj Jain new Oil Secy, Sanjay Singh Steel Secy

New Delhi: In a major secretary-level reshuffle, the government on Monday appointed senior IAS officer Sanjay Kumar Singh as Steel Secretary, while 1990 batch IAS Pankaj Jain will be the new Petroleum Secretary.

Singh, who is a -batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, is currently Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Department of Pensions & Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW), while Jain is currently additional secretary, Department of Financial Services in Ministry of Finance.

Similarly, Rohit Kumar Singh, a 1989-batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed new Consumer Affairs Secretary in place of Leela Nandan, who has been shifted to Environment Ministry as its new Secretary.

In an interesting appointment, Bharat Lal, a 1988-batch Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer of Gujarat cadre, has been appointed as the Secretary to the Lokpal. Lal, who is said to be close to PMO, is the first officer of the IFoS cadre who has been elevated to the Secretary level.

As Lal is scheduled to retire on January 31, 2022, the government has appointed him on a contract basis for a period of one year beyond the date of his superannuation on usual terms and conditions applicable to re-employed Central Government officers. Presently, Lal is an additional secretary in Jal Shakti Ministry. V Srinivas, a 1989 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, will be Secretary, DARPG and DoPPW in place of Sanjay Kumar Singh. He is currently Special Secretary in the DARPG.

Manoj Joshi, Special Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries has been appointed as OSD in the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs. Joshi will take over as Housing Secretary upon the superannuation of Durga Shanker Mishra this month-end, the government order said. Punjab cadre 1987-batch IAS Vini Mahajan, who is presently in her parent cadre, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Rajeev Ranjan, Special Secretary, Department of Expenditure has been appointed as Secretary, National Commission for Backward Classes.