In a minor bureaucratic reshuffle at the secretary level four IAS officials were given fresh assignments.
Senior IAS officer Sindhushree Khullar, 1975 batch Union Territory cadre officer was granted two years extension as secretary Planning Commission.
Khullar will be appointed on contract basis after her retirement on March 31, according to a statement by Department of Personnel and Training.
Khullar also holds the charge of Mission Director for the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme aimed at providing subsidies to beneficiaries by transferring them into their bank accounts.
Similarly another IAS officer Koppula Raju has been appointed as additional secretary in the National Advisory Council (NAC) led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Raju, a 1981-batch officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, is at present joint secretary in the NAC tasked to provide inputs and support in the formulation of government policy and in its legislative business. Raju’s promotion was approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The ACC also approved the appointment of Kusumjit Sidhu, a 1979-batch Punjab cadre IAS officer, as additional secretary and financial adviser in ministry of commerce and industry while UK Sangma, a 1978-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre was appointed as secretary ministry of Development of North Eastern region.