The Centre on Friday transferred Higher Education Secretary R. Subrahmanyam to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment as Secretary. Amit Khare was named the new Higher Education Secretary. Mr. Khare, formerly with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, was holding additional charge of School Education after Rina Ray was shifted in October.
The Human Resource Development Ministry — under which Higher Education falls — has been negotiating with students of Jawaharlal Nehru University over growing protests against the fee hike.
The agitation has spilled over into the capital’s roads, with students becoming the target of police violence and spurring similar protests at a number of other educational institutions as well.
The Centre also made key appointments in the top bureaucracy with T.V. Somnathan as Secretary, Expenditure and Ravi Mittal as Secretary, Information and Broadcasting. A senior IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Mr. Somanathan fills a post lying vacant since October.
Mr. Somanathan, a 1987-batch IAS officer, is at present serving in Tamil Nadu. His appointment fills in the vacancy created after G.C. Murmu was made Lieutenant-Governor of the newly created Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.
Mr. Mittal, a 1986-batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, is at present Special Secretary, the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance.
Arun Goel has been made Secretary, Heavy Industries, having been shifted from the Ministry of Culture while Sunil Kumar has been made Secretary, Panchayati Raj. Mr. Goel is a senior IAS officer of the 1985 batch belonging to the Punjab cadre. Sunil Kumar is a U.P. cadre officer of the 1987 batch.
Rajesh Bhushan has been moved from the Cabinet Secretariat where he was serving as Secretary (coordinations) to the Department of Rural Development as Secretary. V.P. Joy will be the new Secretary (Coordination).
Praveen Kumar, currently a Special Secretary with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, will take over as Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship following the retirement of K.P. Krishnan on December 31.
Interestingly, S.K. Mishra, Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED), who was recently empaneled as Secretary, has been upgraded to the secretary rank officer, scotching speculations regarding his transfer from the powerful agency. Mr. Mishra is a 1984 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer.
The Government has also effected reshuffle in the additional secretary level officials in the various departments and Ministries.
