NEW DELHI: Former home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi was Thursday appointed the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). As part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle, as many as 17 civil servants were appointed as secretaries and additional secretaries in various Central government departments. Rajiv Gauba, a 1982-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, took over as new Union home secretary following the retirement of Rajiv Mehrishi.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet also approved the appointment of Ashwini Attri, Anita Pattanayak and Ranjan Kumar Ghose as deputy CAG, said an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.
Former bureaucrat Sunil Arora has been appointed election commissioner, the law ministry said. After Nasim Zaidi retired as chief election commissioner (CEC) in July, there was a vacancy in the poll panel.
While Achal Kumar Joti is the CEC, Om Prakash Rawat is the other election commissioner. Arora’s appointment will take effect from the day he assumes charge. Arora (61) had been the Information and Broadcasting secretary, and secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
As part of the reshuffle, senior bureaucrat Rajiv Kumar was appointed secretary in the Department of Financial Services, while Anita Karwal has been named the CBSE chairperson. The DFS looks after the functioning of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and national pension system. Kumar has spearheaded reforms in the bureaucracy, including an online system for recording of bureaucrats’ annual performance appraisal reports and a 360-degree system to assess suitability of officers for senior-level jobs.