Senior IPS officer Dr. Shamsher Singh (IPS:1991:GJ) has been appointed as Additional Director General (ADG) in the Border Security Force (BSF). He is currently serving in the cadre state Gujarat as Director General of Police, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
According to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday (19.01.2025), the competent authority has approved appointment of Mr Aggarwal to the post from the date of assumption of charge of the post, for a tenure up to the date of his superannuation on March 31, 2026.
Senior IPS officer Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal (IPS:1994:TN) has been appointed as Additional Director General (ADG) in the Border Security Force (BSF) for four years. He is currently serving in the cadre state Tamil Nadu as Special Director General of Police, Armed Police.
According to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday (19.01.2025), the competent authority has approved appointment of Mr Aggarwal to the post for a period of four years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Notably, the Tamil Nadu government had, on December 29, 2024, promoted four IPS officers, including Mr. Aggarwal, to the rank of Director General of Police (DGP).
Akash Tripathi (IAS:1998:MP), CEO, MyGov, will continue to hold the additional charge of the post of Managing Director/Chief Executive Director (MD/CEO), Digital India Corporation (DIC) for another six months.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday (18.01.2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of M/o Electronics & Information Technology for entrustment of additional charge of MD/CEO of DIC for a period from October 1, 2024 to May 1, 2025.
Notably, the Modi government made a significant reshuffle at the Additional Secretary level on January 3, 2025, transferring four IAS officers and one Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer. As part of this reshuffle, Akash Tripathi, CEO of MyGov, was transferred to the Ministry of Power as Additional Secretary.
The apparent overlap is due to the fact that Mr. Tripathi, despite being assigned to the Ministry of Power, has not been relieved of his responsibilities as CEO of MyGov and MD/CEO of Digital India Corporation, and he continues to hold these roles concurrently.
Senior IPS officer GP Singh (IPS:1991:AM) was on Saturday (18.01.2025) appointed as Director General (DG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He is currently serving as Director General of Police (DGP) of Assam.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the MHA to appoint Mr Singh to the post of DG, CRPF, in level-16 of the pay matrix from the date of assumption of charge of the post, for a tenure up to the date of his superannuation on November 30, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Singh will take charge from Special DG of the CRPF, Vitul Kumar (IPS:1993:UP), who is currently holding officiating charge for the post of DG-CRPF. Kumar was given officiating charge on December 30 last year for the post of DG-CRPF upon the retirement of the incumbent force chief Anish Dayal Singh (IPS:1988:MH) on December 31, 2024.
Suprakash Adhikari has been selected for appointment as Director (Technical), NHPC Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on January 18, 2025. Presently, he is serving as Executive Director (O&M) and Design (E&M), NHPC Limited
He will be appointed to the post of Director (Technical) after receiving vigilance clearances and approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
The following 12 applicants were interviewed in the selection meeting:
Ashok Kumar Nauriyal, Executive Director Head of Projects, Ratle HE Project, NHPC Limited
Suprakash Adhikari, Executive Director (O&M) and Design (E&M), NHPC Limited
Ramesh Mukhiya, Managing Director, Chenab Valley Power Projects (P) Limited
Andhra IPS officer PV Sunil Kumar (IPS:1993:AP) seems to be heading for more trouble as the state government has appointed Special Chief Secretary(Revenue) RP Sisodia (IAS:1991:AP) as the Inquiring Authority to investigate the charges against him. Director General of Vigilance and Enforcement Harish Kumar Gupta (IPS:1992:AP) has been named as the Presiding Officer.
It was made public through a Government Order, issued by Chief Secretary K Vijayanand (IAS:1992:AP), on Friday.
Sunil Kumar is facing charges of misconduct when he was Additional Director General of Police (CID). He is alleged to be responsible for the custodial torture of then Member of Parliament and present Deputy Assembly Speaker, K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju.
As Sunil Kumar had denied the charges, the government decided to conduct a regular inquiry under Rule 8(2) of the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969. Accordingly, Sisodia was appointed as the Inquiring Authority and Gupta as the Presiding Officer.
Union Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy has said that the government is considering merging pellet maker KIOCL with iron ore major NMDC. The minister said that as KIOCL is in critical condition and has also reported losses, the government is considering merging it with NMDC.
He said it on the sidelines of a press meet called to announce a revival package of Rs 11,440 crore for Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL).
NMDC, an entity under the Steel Ministry, caters to India’s 20 per cent of iron ore demand.
On the other hand, KIOCL Ltd, under the Ministry of Steel, operates a 3.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) iron-oxide pellet plant and a blast furnace unit to manufacture 2.16 lakh tonne per annum pig iron at Mangaluru, Karnataka.
It is worth noting that speculation about a potential merger has been circulating since last year. In October 2024, NMDC had denied such reports, clarifying that no official discussions or formal communication regarding the merger had taken place at that time.
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) overruled the order of the Kerala government to appoint senior IAS officer B Ashok (IAS:1998:KL) as the head of the newly constituted Local Self Government Reforms Commission. The CAT ordered B Ashok IAS to continue as principal secretary to the Government (Agriculture) and as Agricultural Production Commissioner.
The Bench, comprising Justice K Haripal and Member V Rama Mathew, issued the order on Friday.
Ashok has been serving as principal secretary to the Government (Agriculture) and Agricultural Production Commissioner. But he was recently transferred from Agriculture department to the LSG Reforms Commission. He has been protesting against it.
After lodging his complaint with the Chief Secretary, Ashok moved a petition with the CAT challenging the government order appointing him as the head of the newly constituted Local Self Government Reforms Commission.
Ashok’s counsel, Girija K Gopal, argued that the post of Local Self Government Reforms Commission is not equivalent to the position of Principal Secretary. It was pleaded on Ashok’s behalf that the appointment order was issued as a forced or mandatory deputation, compelling the applicant to leave his cadre post without obtaining his consent.
Furthermore, the decision was made without formally constituting the Commission or determining its staff structure, including the fact that it should be led by an officer of Principal Secretary rank.
It was also submitted that the order also violated the mandatory requirements of the All India Services (Cadre) Rules, 1954, the Consolidated Deputation Guidelines for All India Services, and the Indian Administrative Services (Pay) Rules, 2016, as well as binding judicial precedents.
Therefore, the Tribunal found the order liable to be set aside.
If you are steeped in suffering, you find a savior too. The hapless people of Parvathipuram-Manyam district of Andhra Pradesh have come to realize this. Known for low literacy and high mortality rates, people of this region have long endured inhospitable terrain, wildlife conflicts, and a lack of access to good healthcare and infrastructure, leaving the entire district getting stuck in abject backwardness.
But one man, an IAS officer of 2014 batch, Nishant Kumar, emerged as a suffering- saviour. He reversed the trend of high mortality rates, a curse of this region, through his visionary programme. During his tenure as a district collector, between 2021 and 2024, he launched a programme called ‘Prism 10’ aimed at tackling maternal and child health issues. The programme brought impressive results, on the basis of which Nishant Kumar has been selected for the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in the category of ‘Innovation-District’ for the year 2023.
Before the ‘Prism 10’ programme was launched in 2022, the Infant Mortality Rate (IFR) stood at an alarming 24 (per 1,000 live births) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) at 129 (per 1 lakh live births). The immunisation cover was only 48 percent in the district.
‘Prism 10’ was designed to have a targeted approach. The first step was to rope in adoption officers, who were drawn from the village and ward secretariat system, self-help groups, anganwadi workers, and health department staff. They were instructed to specifically work for high-risk pregnant women and infants.
The next step was to use technology to achieve goals. Modern analytics was used to identify medical gaps and provide immediate services. Digital health platforms were pressed into action.
The expansion of medical services was another critical component of ‘ Prism 10’ project, for which twenty-nine mobile health clinics were pressed into service to provide health in remote areas. Through the “family doctor” programme, 282 community health offices strengthened the medical facilities in the tribal and interior areas. Anaemia action groups were tasked with reducing maternal and child anaemia. Secretariats were ordered to monitor the monthly progress of the project. In the next two years, results were visible everywhere.
The result: by 2024, the IMR had fallen from 24 to 8 and MMR from 129 to 67. The immunisation went up drastically from 48 percent to 97 percent.
Punya Salila Srivastava (IAS:1993:AGMUT), Secretary in the Department of Health & Family Welfare, has been given additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Ayush. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Friday (17.01.2025), the competent authority has approved assignment of additional charge of the post to Ms Srivastava from 18.01.2025 to 25.01.25 during the period of absence on leave of Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha.
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