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Centre effects major bureaucratic reshuffle
New Delhi: The government on Friday effected a major bureaucratic reshuffle appointing senior Indian Administrative Service officer TV Somanathan as the expenditure
New Delhi: The government on Friday effected a major bureaucratic reshuffle appointing senior Indian Administrative Service officer TV Somanathan as the expenditure secretary, Ravi Mittal as the I&B secretary, and shifting higher education secretary R Subrahmanyam to the social justice ministry.
Senior bureaucrat Amit Khare has been appointed the new higher education secretary.
Significantly, the change in the higher education department came against the backdrop of a prolonged agitation over an increase in fee at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Subrahmanyam, a 1985-batch Andhra Pradesh-cadre IAS officer, was leading the HRD ministry’s efforts in resolving the crisis, but the agitation has been continuing despite the ministry’s intervention.
Khare, a 1985-batch Jharkhand-cadre officer will continue to hold additional charge of the school education department.
The new I&B secretary Mittal is a 1986-batch IAS officer from the Bihar cadre and was serving as special secretary, department of financial services.
Somanathan, a 1987-batch IAS officer, is serving in his cadre state Tamil Nadu. He has been appointed as the expenditure secretary, a personnel ministry order said. Former expenditure secretary Girish Chandra Murmu was named the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on October 25.
Among the other major appointments carried out by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), culture secretary Arun Goel, a Punjab-cadre officer(1985), was named secretary, department of heavy industry.
Maharashtra-cadre IAS officer Kshatrapati Shivaji who is executive director, Asian Development Bank, was named secretary, department of administrative reforms and public grievances. He will also hold additional charge of the post of secretary, department of pensions and pensioners welfare.
A 1987-batch officer of the Bihar cadre, Rajesh Bhushan, who is secretary (coordination) in the cabinet secretariat, was appointed secretary, department of rural development. VP Joy, IAS (1987) will now be secretary (coordination) in the cabinet secretariat.
Sunil Kumar was appointed secretary, ministry of panchayati raj, while Barun Mitra was appointed as officer on special duty, department of justice, ministry of law and justice. Praveen Kumar, a 1987-batch IAS officer was named the next secretary, ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship. Kumar is currently special secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy.
