Petroleum Secretary S. Sundareshan was shifted to the Heavy Industries Ministry on Monday. He will be replaced by G. C. Chaturvedi, a 1977 batch IAS officer from the U.P. cadre.
Mr. Sundareshan, 57, took over as the Petroleum Secretary on February 1, 2010. A 1976 batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, Mr. Sundareshan is a management graduate from the University of Leeds, U.K. He will replace B. L. Meena, who retired on April 30. Mr. Sundareshan joined the Petroleum Ministry in 2007 as Additional Secretary and was later elevated after the superannuation of M. S. Srinivasan.
Mr. Chaturvedi is now the special DG in the Commonwealth Games' Organising Committee.
The change comes at a crucial time when the Petroleum Ministry is faced with crucial issues such as the Vedanta's takeover of Cairn India, the continued declining gas output from Reliance Industries' KG- D6 block and mounting losses of oil companies.