NEW DELHI: In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the transfers and postings of 48 officers belonging to different service at the Joint Secretary and Joint Secretary equivalent level across various ministries and departments of the Government of India.
The most striking among the appointments is the posting of Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service officer of 2010-batch Hardik Satishchandra Shah as the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (Joint Secretary Level).
In the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) said, “Hardik Satishchandra Shah, lAS (GJ: 2010) has been appointed as the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (Joint Secretary Level) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) from the date of assumption of the charge of the post on co-terminus basis or until further orders whichever is earlier.”
According to the DoPT order all these appointments are made at the Level 14 of the Pay Matrix, reinforcing key administrative positions across sectors. The move reflects the Centre’s continued efforts to strengthen governance by placing experienced officers in strategic roles across ministries including defence, finance, infrastructure, social sectors and policy institutions.
Among the other key and notable changes, which have been made include UP cadre IAS officer Pankaj Kumar, who has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power, mate Kajal, also an IAS from UP cadre will join the DPIIT as Joint Secretary, while another UP cadre IAS officer K Balaji has been appointed as the Joint Secretary in the Department of Telecommunications.
Sakshi Mittal, an IAS from AGMUT cadre, moves to Department of Economic Affairs as the Joint Secretary and Harmeet Singh Pahuja, an IAS officer from Manipur cadre has been moved as the Joint Secretary in the DoPT.
Incidentally, the Ministry of Defence has witnessed the maximum changes at the JS level, as Telangana cadre IAS Preeti Meena, Manipur cadre IAS Shailesh Kumar Chourasia and Railway services officer Vinod Kumar Ajeet Kumar Srivastava have got posting the Ministry.
Similarly, in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) two IAS officers and one IPS officer got their posting at the JS level. IAS officers of Tripura and Sikkim cadres Mahatme Sandeep Namdeo and Karma R Bonpo respectively have got new assignments, as Bihar cadre IPS officer Rakesh Rathi has also been made JS in the Ministry.
In the Ministry of Finance Sakshi Mittal, an A GMUT cadre IAS and Laya Madduri, an Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer, have been appointed as Joint Secretary. Priyanka Das, an IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been sent to the Ministry of Civil Aviation as Joint Secretary.