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Govt rejigs departments with secretary-level changes
The Appointments Committee approved several secretary-level appointments, including Dr. Anju Rathi Rana as Member Secretary of the Law Commission.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet(ACC) on Thursday approved several secretary level appointments in the government including that of the Law Commission’s Member secretary.
A copy of the order issued by DoPT said,”The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the following: Dr Anju Rathi Rana, ILS, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Law & Justice as Member Secretary, 23 Law Commission of India, with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post till the end of the term of the Commission or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
According to the DoPT notification, the ACC also approved — Manoj Joshi (IAS, KL:89), currently Secretary in the Department of Land Resources, as Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. His predecessor, Amit Agrawal (IAS, CG:93), moves to the Department of Telecommunications as Secretary.
Neeraj Mittal (IAS, TN:92), who headed Telecommunications, has been shifted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas as Secretary. He replaces Pankaj Jain (IAS, AM:90), who is set to take charge as Member Secretary of the Eighth Central Pay Commission.
V. Vidyavathi (IAS, KN:91), serving as Tourism Secretary, will now lead the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Srivatsa Krishna (IAS, KN:94) has been brought from his cadre posting to replace her as Tourism Secretary.
Atish Chandra (IAS, BH:94), Special Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, has been appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. He will take over as Secretary of the department on February 28, 2026, after the retirement of incumbent Devesh Chaturvedi (IAS, UP:89).
The ACC has also cleared the appointment of Sunil Paliwal (IAS, TN:93), currently Chairperson of Chennai Port Trust, as Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India. The post has been temporarily upgraded to Secretary level for his appointment.
The ACC is composed of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.
