In a bureaucratic reshuffle at the middle level, the Modi administration has appointed 21 officers of the rank of joint secretary in various Ministries and departments.
A prominent posting is that of the Gujarat-cadre IAS officer K. Srinivas, who has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training. Mr. Srinivas is currently Principal Secretary (Revenue) in the State government. He had served as Personnel Secretary when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the State.
Jatindra Nath Swain and K. Rajaraman, both of the Tamil Nadu cadre, have been appointed Joint Secretaries in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Department of Expenditure, respectively.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the appointments and, subsequently, orders were issued by the Personnel Department.
The list includes Anil Srivastava, who has been posted as Adviser to NITI Aayog, Upma Srivastav as Joint Secretary, Civil Aviation Ministry, P.K. Borthaumar as Joint Secretary, Agriculture, Shantmanu as Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Pramod Tiwari as Joint Secretary, Food and Public Distribution, and Nidhi Chibber as Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence.
Only nine from IAS
Of the 21 appointed joint secretaries, only nine are from the Indian Administrative Service, while the remaining are from other services, which are getting prominence under the current dispensation that has been posting non-IAS officials in key departments.
Government sources said a major Secretary-level reshuffle is on the cards. Replacements have to be made for Secretary of Economic Affairs Shaktikanta Das, whose extension is ending this month, and Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar, who is set to superannuate this month.
Dozen vacancies
“There will be a reshuffle at the Secretary level to fill a dozen vacancies, including in Defence and Economic Affairs,” a senior official told The Hindu .
At present, the Personnel Department is engaged in the process of empanelling 1984- and 1985-batch IAS officers for secretary-level appointments.
“The list will be out soon and the reshuffle will take place thereafter,” the official, involved in the appointment process, said.
