ACC appoints 13 Secretaries, approves in-situ upgradation of four officers

New Delhi: In a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Thursday (July 23, 2026) approved the appointment of 13 officers to Secretary-level posts across various Ministries and Departments. The ACC also approved the in-situ upgradation of four senior officers to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. Notably, this is the first time that IAS officers from the 1995 batch have been appointed to Secretary-level posts after being empanelled for holding Secretary-level positions on February 28, 2026.

The appointments are as follows:

1. Katikithala Srinivas (IAS:1989:GJ), currently serving as Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
2. Vineet Joshi (IAS:1992:MN), Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, vice Vivek Bharadwaj (IAS:1990:WB) upon his superannuation on July 31, 2026.
3. Naresh Pal Gangwar (IAS:1994:RJ), Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, vice Vineet Joshi.
4. Piyush Goyal (IAS:1994:NL), Secretary, Ministry of Mines, has been appointed as Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.
5. T.K. Anil Kumar (IAS:1995:KN), Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education.
6. Sushil Kumar Lohani (IAS:1995:OR), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. He will take over as Secretary of the Department upon the appointment of Naresh Pal Gangwar as Secretary, Department of Higher Education.
7. Archana Varma (IAS:1995:AM), Mission Director, National Water Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, has been appointed as Mission Director, National Water Mission in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India by temporarily upgrading the post. She will subsequently take over as Secretary, Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, vice Anshuli Arya (IAS:1989:BH) upon her superannuation on September 30, 2026.
8. Keshav Chandra (IAS:1995:AGMUT), presently posted in the cadre as Chairman of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Mines, vice Piyush Goyal upon his appointment as Secretary, Ministry of Mines.
9. D. Thara (IAS:1996:GJ), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Capital Development, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, by operating a vacant Secretary-level post.
10. B. Rajender (IAS:1996:BH), presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), DoPT, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India by temporarily upgrading the post, vice Sriram Taranikanti (IAS:1992:TR) upon his superannuation on July 31, 2026.
11. Chandra Bhushan Kumar (IAS:1995:AGMUT), presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, vice Vandana Gurnani (IAS:1991:KN) upon her superannuation on July 31, 2026.
12. Satendra Singh (IAS:1995:JH), Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Urban Development, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
13. Suchindra Misra (IDAS:1992), Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has been appointed as Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.

ACC approves in-situ upgradation of four officers

The ACC has also approved the in-situ upgradation of the following officers to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India as a measure personal to them:

1. Mritunjay Kumar Narayan (IAS:1995:UP), Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs.
2. Santosh Kumar Yadav (IAS:1995:UP), Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, by restoring the post to Secretary level.
3. Rajeev Singh Thakur (IAS:1995:RJ), Adviser, NITI Aayog.
4. Dilip Kumar (IAS:1995:PB), Director General (Training), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.