The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved a major reshuffle at the bureaucratic secretary level, transferring and posting more than a dozen officers from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) across key central government ministries and departments. This included the appointment of Chanchal Kumar as Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The order, issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on March 31, 2026, affects immediate changes across ministries ranging from Information and Broadcasting to Rural Development, Tourism, Finance and Education.
New illustrations by Nivedita Shukla Verma
Nivedita Shukla Verma, a 1991 batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been transferred from the Chemicals and Petrochemicals Department as Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. In addition, she was assigned the position of Secretary of the Department of Pensions and Retirees’ Welfare.
Her previous duties will be assumed by Tever Singh, a 1994 batch officer of Punjab cadre.
Swap Sanjay Gaju and Chanchal Kumar
In a direct exchange of posts, Sanjay Jaju (Care: Telangana, 1992), who is currently Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
He replaces Chanchal Kumar (Bihar, 1992), who is moving in the opposite direction, taking over as Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Narendra Bhushan gets the land portfolio
Narendra Bhushan, a 1992 batch IAS officer of UP cadre, who is currently posted in his cadre, has been appointed as Secretary, Land Resources Department, Ministry of Rural Development.
New head of the Rainfed Areas Authority
Chandra Sekhar Kumar (Odisha, 1992), who was Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, has been appointed Executive Director of the National Rainfed Areas Authority (NRAA) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Rural development gets new security
Rohit Kansal (AGMUT, 1995), Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles, has been appointed Secretary, Rural Development Department. He takes over from Shailesh Kumar Singh (Jharkhand, 1991), who retired on March 31, 2026 – the same date as the order.
Further, Bharat Harbanslal Khera (Himachal Pradesh, 1996), Additional Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, has been appointed Officer on Special Duties (OSD) in the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) with the rank and pay of Secretary, Government of India. He will formally take charge upon the retirement of the incumbent, Subhas Chandra Lal Das (AGMUT, 1992), on April 30, 2026.
The NIC DG goes to the National Testing Agency
In an appointment amid the controversy surrounding the examination body in recent years, Abhishek Singh (Nagaland, 1995), the current Director General of the National Informatics Center (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has been transferred to the post of Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) under the Ministry of Education.
He will hold the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India, with the office temporarily elevated for the purpose.
NTA conducts several high-stakes competitive exams in India, including NEET, JEE (Main) and UGC-NET, and has been subject to intense public and parliamentary scrutiny over the integrity and administration of the exams.
Other transfers
His departure from the Minority Affairs Ministry created a vacancy which was filled by Srivatsa Krishna, a 1994 batch officer of the Karnataka cadre, who was transferred from the Tourism Ministry.
Bhuvnesh Kumar (UP, 1995), who is currently the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), will now take over as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism in place of Srivatsa Krishna.
Sanjay Lohia, of the 1994 batch of Assam-Meghalaya (AM) cadre, who is currently Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, has been appointed as Special Secretary, Department of Financial Services. His appointment was made possible by the promotion of the temporarily vacant post of Joint Secretary in the Ministry. He has been appointed to take over as Full Secretary, Department of Financial Services following the retirement of the incumbent, Nagaraju Madirala.
Two were promoted
Separately, the ACC approved on-site promotions for two senior IAS officers.
Sanjay Rastogi (Odisha, 1991), Director General of the National Archives of India under the Ministry of Culture, has been given the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India while continuing in his present position. Likewise, Sajjan Singh Yadav (AGMUT, 1996), Additional Secretary in the Expenditure Department of the Ministry of Finance, has been appointed Special Secretary with the rank and pay of Secretary.
On-site promotions are normally granted as personal measures to officers whose current positions are considered to warrant a higher grade, and do not affect their official appointments or responsibilities in any substantive way.
Combined, Tuesday’s ACC order affects 12 secretary-level positions and two position promotions.
