21 Joint Secretary-level appointments approved across key ministries

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Thursday (May 8, 2026) approved 21 appointments at the level of Joint Secretary and Joint Secretary-equivalent posts across various ministries and departments of the Government of India.

The names of the officers and their appointments are as follows;

1. Deepa Chawla (IRAS:1998) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Office of Secretary (Security), under Cabinet Secretariat for an overall tenure of five years up to December 28, 2028. She succeeds D Sai Amutha Devi (IP&TA&FS:1995).
2. Gopal Singh (IFoS:2003:BH) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Coal for a tenure of five years. He will replace Lakhpat Singh Choudhary (IRSS:1997).
3. Amit Kumar (IAS:2010:JH) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce for a combined tenure of five years up to April 4, 2030. He succeeds Darpan Jain (IAS:2001:KN).
4. Shiv Pal Singh (IFoS:1997:UP) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation for an overall tenure of seven years up to May 15, 2029. He replaces Siddharth Jain (IAS:2001:AP).
5. Neha Bansal (IAS:2010:AGMUT) has been appointed as Additional Director General (Records Management) (JS level) in the National Archives of India (NAI), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Culture for an overall tenure of five years up to April 14, 2030.
6. Vijay Namdeorao Zade (IAS:2002:PB) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence Production for a tenure of five years. He succeeds Rajeev Prakash (IP&TA&FS:1995).
7. Prakash Rajpurohit (IAS:2010:RJ) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence Production for a combined tenure of five years up to April 8, 2030. He replaces Amit Satija (IAS:2008:AGMUT).
8. D Senthil Pandiyan (IAS:2002:UD) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation for an overall tenure of seven years up to May 23, 2028.
9. Sreenivasa Rao Gangi Reddy (IRPS:2004) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences for a tenure of five years. He succeeds D Senthil Pandiyan (IAS:2002:UD).
10. Surabhi Rai (IFoS:2005:AGMUT) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Fisheries for an overall tenure of five years up to May 19, 2028. She replaces Neetu Kumari Prasad (IAS:2001:TG).
11. Manisha Saxena (IRS-C&IT:2000) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Health Research for a combined tenure of five years up to December 13, 2027. She succeeds Auna Nagar (IFoS:1995:HP).
12. Vivek Kumar Daksh (IPoS:2002) has been appointed as Senior Deputy Director General (Administration) in the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), under the Department of Health Research for a tenure of five years. He replaces Manisha Saxena (IRS-C&IT:2000).
13. M Ramachandrudu (IAS:2009:BH) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs for an overall tenure of five years up to August 26, 2027. He replaces Saheli Roy (CSS).
14. P Praveen Siddharth (IRS-IT:2001) has been appointed as Member (Finance), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for a tenure of five years. He replaces Chetan P S Rao (IRS-IT:2002).
15. Ajay Kumar Nema (ITS:1994) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Justice for a tenure up to July 31, 2030, i.e. date of his superannuation. He replaces Niraj Kumar Gayagi (IDAS:1997).
16. J Saravanan (IRS-IT:2005) has been appointed as Financial Adviser in the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai, under the Ministry of MSME for a tenure of five years. He replaces Pankaj Bodke (IRS-C&IT:2000).
17. Amit Agarwal (IRSE-Civil:2002) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for a tenure of five years. He replaces Alok Prem Nagar (IFoS:1995:HP).
18. Palka Sahni (IAS:2004:BH) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for an overall tenure of five years up to February 2, 2028. She replaces Mamta Varma (IRMS:1994).
19. Jayasree M G (ISS:1998) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Rural Development for a tenure of five years. She replaces Smriti Sharan (IPoS:1993).
20. S Sasikumar (IFoS:2002:WB) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Rural Development for an overall tenure of seven years up to July 7, 2028. He replaces Amit Shukla (IFoS:1999:TR).
21. Sandeep Rewaji Rathod (IAS:2009:TR) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for a combined tenure of five years up to February 23, 2030. He replaces Biswaranjan Sasmal (IRS-IT:1993).