New Delhi, April 18: Senior IAS officers Arvind Shrivastava and Samir Kumar Sinha have been appointed as Revenue and Civil Aviation Secretaries, respectively, as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Friday. The move comes just ahead of Civil Services Day, with 18 senior IAS officers being reassigned to key positions across various ministries.
Shrivastava, a 1994-batch Karnataka cadre officer, currently serves as Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. Sinha, his batchmate from the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, takes over the Civil Aviation Ministry from Vumlunmang Vualnam, who has been appointed as Expenditure Secretary.
Vivek Aggarwal, also a 1994-batch officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been named Culture Secretary, while Hari Ranjan Rao has been posted as Officer on Special Duty in the Sports Ministry, and will assume charge as Sports Secretary upon the retirement of Sujata Chaturvedi in June.
Among other significant changes:
Anuradha Thakur will take over as Economic Affairs Secretary after Ajay Seth’s retirement.
Rajesh Agarwal is in line to succeed Sunil Barthwal as Commerce Secretary in September.
K Moses Chalai will now head the Department of Public Enterprises.
Vandana Gurnani is the new Labour Secretary.
Rajit Punhani is set to take charge of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in July.
Nikunja Bihari Dhal has been appointed as Parliamentary Affairs Secretary.
Santosh Kumar Sarangi will lead the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Pallavi Jain Govil will head the Department of Youth Affairs.
Nidhi Chhibber has been designated as the next Food Processing Industries Secretary, taking over in May 2025.
The Centre also extended Bharat Lal’s tenure as Secretary General, NHRC, by one year beyond June 30, 2025, and promoted Rajesh Kumar Sinha and Ranjana Chopra as Special Secretaries in their current roles in the Shipping and Culture Ministries, respectively.
The reshuffle places experienced bureaucrats in strategic ministries, underscoring the Centre’s intent to bolster administrative leadership in key policy areas.
