ACC clears major reshuffle of Additional Secretary-rank officers

In a significant bureaucratic move, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Monday (August 25, 2025) approved a large-scale reshuffle of senior officers. The exercise covered more than a dozen Additional Secretary-rank officials across various ministries and departments.

The shake-up also includes the in-situ elevation of two IAS officers, aimed at strengthening leadership positions in key sectors of governance.

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

1. Sanjay Rastogi (IAS: 1991: OR), Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, has been assigned new role as Director General of the National Archives of India.
2. Anil Kumar Singhal (IAS: 1993: AP) has been appointed as new Chief Executive Officer of the National Rainfed Area Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
3. Sudeep Jain (IAS: 1994: TN), Additional Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, has been appointed as Member Secretary for the National Commission for Women.
4. Dheeraj Sahu (IAS: 1996: UP), Managing Director, Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Department of School Education & Literacy.
5. A Anbarasu (IAS:1996:AGMUT), presently serving in the cadre, has been appointed as new Additional Secretary & Director General (Acquisition) in the Ministry of Defence.
6. Lav Aggarwal (IAS: 1996: AP), currently in his cadre, has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Women & Child Development, succeeding Gyanesh Bharti (IAS:1998:AGMUT).
7. Gyanesh Bharti (IAS: 1998: AGMUT), Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Women & Child Development, has been moved to the Election Commission of India as the new Deputy Election Commissioner.
8. Sunil Kumar Barnwal (IAS:1997:JH), Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Authority.
9. Manish Bhardwaj (IAS:1997:GJ), Deputy Director General, Unique Identification Authority of India, has been appointed as new Secretary of the National Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs, in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.
10. Akash Tripathi (IAS: 1998: MP), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, has been transferred and posted as Managing Director of Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd.
11. Hirdesh Kumar (IAS: 1999: AGMUT), Managing Director, Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has been posted as new CEO of NATGRID, Ministry of Home Affairs.
12. Diwakar Nath Misra (IAS: 2000: AM), who was in the cadre, has been posted as new Additional Secretary in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
13. Akhil Kumar (IPS: 1994: UP), presently posted in the cadre, has been appointed as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Digital India Corporation.
14. Sandeep Sarkar (IDAS: 1995), presently posted in the cadre, has been appointed as Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Department of Agricultural Research & Education.
15. Anu P Mathai (IES:1996), presently posted in the cadre, has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs through a temporary upgrade of a vacant post.

In-situ upgradation has also been granted to two IAS officers:

1. Shantanu (IAS: 1997: TR) has been elevated from Joint Secretary to Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region.
2. Pawan Kumar Sharma (IAS: 1999: MP) has been elevated from Joint Secretary to Additional Secretary in the Department of Defence.