New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday (October 10, 2026) approved a major bureaucratic reshuffle at Joint Secretary or equivalent level, issuing appointment orders for 27 officers from various services across several ministries, departments and government organisations. Five officers have been appointed as Joint Secretaries in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as part of the reshuffle.
The names of the officers and their new postings are as follows:
1. Brijesh Panday (IAS:2004:TR) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Capital Development for five years from the date of assuming charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Thara D (IAS:1995).
2. Nikhil Varma (IRS-IT:2005) has been appointed Additional Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Delhi, under the Department of Commerce for five years from the date of assuming charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Vrunda Manohar Desai (IRS-IT:2003).
3. Tanvi Sundriyal (IAS:2010:MP) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for a combined tenure of five years up to August 25, 2030, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. She will replace Rahul Jain (IAS:2005:MP).
4. Inderjeet Singh (IAS:2010:RJ) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture for a combined tenure of five years up to August 26, 2030, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Amita Prasad Sarbhai (IRAS:1993).
5. Prakash Rajpurohit (IAS:2010:RJ) has been appointed Deputy Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India for a combined tenure of five years up to April 8, 2030, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Sanjay Kumar (IAS:2008:AGMUT).
6. Tamboli Ayyaj Fakirbhai (IAS:2009:CG) has been appointed Executive Director (Joint Secretary level) in the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) under the Department of Financial Services for a combined tenure of five years up to March 20, 2029, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
7. Rajesh Malik (IRSME:1994) has been appointed Executive Director in the Food Corporation of India (FCI), New Delhi, under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, for an overall tenure of five years up to February 5, 2029, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Ashutosh Joshi (IA&AS:1994).
8. Mohammed Y Safirulla K (IAS:2010:KL) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare for a combined tenure of five years up to August 27, 2030, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Nikhil Gajraj (IAS:2008:HY).
9. Ritu Sharma (IRS-IT:2005) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare for five years from the date of assuming charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier. She will replace Vandana Jain (CSS).
10. Varnali Deka (IAS:2009:AM) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Department of Health and Family Welfare for a combined tenure of five years up to August 28, 2030, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. She will replace Jyoti Yadav (IAS:2009:UK).
11. More Ashish Madhaorao (IAS:2006:AGMUT) has been appointed Additional Chief Executive Officer (Joint Secretary level) in the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Department of Health and Family Welfare for a combined tenure of five years up to June 15, 2030, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Madhu Rani Teotia (IAS:2008:AGMUT).
12. Vivek Khare (ITS:1996) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the National Testing Agency (NTA) under the Department of Higher Education for an overall tenure of five years up to December 2, 2029, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The order also provides for temporarily upgrading a newly created post of Deputy Secretary/Director to Joint Secretary level in the NTA for an initial period of two years.
13. Ravi Shankar (IAS:2007:GJ) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs for a combined tenure of five years up to July 31, 2028, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace M Ramachandrudu (IAS:2009:BH).
14. Chittaranjan Dash (IRS-IT:1998) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs for an overall tenure of five years up to January 11, 2028, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Praveen Kumar Rai (IDAS:2003).
15. P Manoj Kumar (ISS:1998) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs for an overall tenure of five years up to December 1, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Parthasarathi Gurrala (CSS).
16. Abhishek Bhagotia (IAS:2007:AM) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs for a combined tenure of seven years up to April 3, 2029, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Nishtha Tiwari (IRS-IT:2005).
17. Navin Agarwal (IRPS:1997) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Legal Affairs for an overall tenure of five years up to March 14, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Ajay Gupta (IRSS:1993).
18. M Ramachandrudu (IAS:2009:BH) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs for a combined tenure of seven years up to August 26, 2029, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Ram Singh (IAS:2008:AM).
19. Sonia Pant (IES:2001) has been appointed Adviser (Joint Secretary level) in NITI Aayog for five years from the date of assuming charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier. She will replace Surender Mehra (IFoS:1999).
20. Nitin Kumar (CSS) has been appointed Additional Secretary (Joint Secretary level) in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) under the Department of Personnel and Training for five years from the date of assuming charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Ajay Kumar Kanouja (CSS).
21. C Murugan (IAS:2007:WB) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for a combined tenure of five years up to September 15, 2030, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Kamlesh Chaturvedi (IFoS:1988).
22. Rajneesh Kumar Tomar (IRSME:1998) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (Joint Secretary level) of National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for an overall tenure of five years up to November 2, 2030, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Rajesh Malik (IRSME:1994).
23. Nishtha Tiwari (IRS-IT:2005) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (Joint Secretary level) of the Development and Welfare Board for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNCs) under the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for a combined tenure of seven years up to December 9, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. She will replace Apparao Veerell (IRSS:1993).
24. Manisha Trighatia (IAS:2002:UP) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Urban Development for five years from the date of assuming charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier. She will replace Roopa Mishra (IAS:2004:OR).
25. Avinash Jain (IRSE-Civil:2001) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation for an overall tenure of seven years up to February 6, 2029, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Subodh Yadav (IAS:1999:KN).
26. Pawan Kumar (IRS-C&IT:2005) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation for five years from the date of assuming charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He will replace Anand Mohan (IFoS:1996:RJ).
27. Anita Shah Akella (IA&AS:1996) has been appointed Joint Secretary in the National Commission for Women (NCW) under the Ministry of Women and Child Development for an overall tenure of five years up to May 25, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. She will replace Radhika Chakravarty (IPoS:1996).
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