The Union Government on Tuesday named Sanjeev Nandan Sahay as Secretary, Ministry of Power, in place of S.C. Garg, who had sought Voluntary Retirement from Service (VRS) after he was unceremoniously shunted out from the Ministry of Finance, where he had been Secretary, Economic Affairs, in July this year.
Outgoing Power Secretary Garg’s application was accepted and, as rules prescribe, his three month period of service will come to an end on October 31, 2019, a year before his superannuation in the normal course.
Mr. Sahay’s appointment is part of the bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Modi administration in several crucial Departments and Ministries. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved changes at Secretary levels in ten Ministries/ Departments. It also decided to upgrade 13 IAS officers of the 1987 batch to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and pay of Secretary.
UIDAI CEO
Another important appointment is that of Pankaj Kumar, a 1987 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the body that governs and implements Aadhaar.
With his appointment, the government has started appointing IAS officers belonging to the 1987 batch as Secretaries, after 25 officers were empanelled recently to hold the post of Secretary in the government.
Another notable change in top bureaucracy is the repatriation of Anil Kumar Khachi, who was appointed as Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management in July, but has been replaced by Tuhin Kanta Pandey, who has been brought in from the Odisha State cadre. Mr. Khachi has been repatriated to his parent cadre of Himachal Pradesh on personal grounds.
PSU stake sale
Mr. Pandey’s appointment as DIPAM Secretary comes come at a time when the government has set an ambitious target of ₹1.05 lakh crore to be realised through stake and asset sale of Central Public Sector Undertakings.
Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer of the 1986 batch, Alok Tandon, has been appointed as Secretary in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, besides holding additional charge of the Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare.
A 1985 batch IAS officer Sailesh, who is currently Minority Affairs Secretary, will move to Department of Public Enterprises, while National Highways Authority of India Chairman Nagendra Nath Sinha will be the new Secretary, Department of Border Management in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Rajesh Bhushan, Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, has been appointed as Secretary (Coordination) in the Cabinet Secretariat. He, too, is 1987 batch IAS officer and was among the 25 officers recently empanelled by the government.
