Centre appoints new SSC chief in key rejig

The order issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) said that Gopalakrishnan would take charge on October 31, upon the VRS of current chairman Rakesh Ranjan.

The Centre on Saturday announced key appointments at the secretary rank in the government, with 1991-batch IAS officer S Gopalakrishnan being appointed the chairman of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC).

Centre appoints new SSC chief in key rejig

The order issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) said that Gopalakrishnan would take charge on October 31, upon the voluntary retirement from service (VRS) of current chairman Rakesh Ranjan.

Ranjan was appointed the SSC chairman on May 29 and was set to retire in August 2026.

Earlier in July, UPSC chairperson Manoj Soni too resigned from the post, citing personal reasons, even though he was set to remain in the post till May 15, 2029.

UPSC and SSC conduct entrance examinations for different senior and junior posts in the government.

Apart from Gopalakrishnan, V Umashankar of the 1993 batch has been appointed as secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways.

Vikram Dev Dutt, who was the director general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has been appointed a coal secretary. The DoPT order did not mention if any officer has been given charge of DGCA.

Similarly, Subrata Gupta of the 1990 batch will take charge as the secretary in the ministry of food processing industries after retirement of the present secretary, Anita Parveen.