Priya Ranjan (IFoS:1998:RJ), Joint Secretary in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, will continue to hold additional charge of Managing Director, National Horticulture Board (NHB) for another nine months. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (December 15, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to extend his additional charge from September 23, 2025 to June 22, 2026, or until a regular incumbent is appointed or further orders, whichever is earlier.
Notably, Priya Ranjan has been holding the additional charge of MD, NHB since May 2023 and has received multiple extensions since then.
In a significant development, senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar (IAS:1999:BH), who is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), has been prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre Bihar. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (December 15, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved his repatriation on the request of the Bihar government, with the imposition of an extended cooling-off period.
Vinay Kumar has been serving in the MoRTH as Joint Secretary since November 2023 against a five-year tenure scheduled to continue until November 2028. He was empanelled for Additional Secretary-level posts in December 2024 and subsequently elevated. However, his central deputation has now been curtailed before completion following the state government’s request.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended Parthajit De for appointment as Director (Finance) of SJVN Limited. The recommendation was made following interviews conducted by the PESB on December 15, 2025.
Parthajit De is currently serving as General Manager (Finance) at NHPC Limited. His name will now be forwarded to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval, subject to vigilance clearance and completion of other procedural formalities.
The PESB had invited applications for the post of Director (Finance), SJVN Limited on July 14, 2025, with August 11, 2025 as the last date for submission of applications. The position has remained vacant since May 13, 2025.
The PESB interviewed a total of 10 candidates for the post. The list included:
Jitendra Yadav, General Manager (F&A) HOD/ Director (STPL)/CFO(SGEL), SJVN Limited
Sudhiranjan Mohini, Additional General Manager, Group Head of Eastern Plants- Accounts, Audit and CERC Compliance, NTPC Limited.
Ajay Kumar Garg, Chief General Manager (Finance), THDC India Limited
Guru Dutt, General Manager (Finance), NHPC Limited
Parthajit De, General Manager (Finance), NHPC Limited
Santanu Sinha, Additional General Manager Additional General Manager(Finance), UAG – In Charge of DBF and Hydro Region [including all RE Business Areas of NTPC Limited
Sanjay Kumar Gupta, General Manager-Finance, NHPC Limited
Anand Prakash Bajpai, Additional General Manager, THDC India Limited
Mohan Lal Kumawat, Executive Director (Finance)-External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), Law Division and Corporate Accounts and Taxation (CAT), REC Limited
Kapil Kumar Gupta, General Manager HO New Delhi, Engineers India Limited
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended B Mugunthan for appointment as Director (Finance) of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL). The recommendation was made after interviews conducted by the PESB on December 15, 2025.
B Mugunthan is presently serving as Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer in the Ministry of Railways. His name will now be forwarded to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval, subject to vigilance clearance and completion of other procedural requirements.
The PESB had invited applications for the post of Director (Finance), DFCCIL on August 21, 2025, with September 17, 2025 as the closing date. The position has been vacant since February 1, 2025, following the completion of the five-year tenure of Hira Ballabh (IRAS:1992), who retired on January 31, 2025. Currently, Rahul Kapoor, Executive Director (Finance–PPP & RM), Railway Board, is holding additional charge of the post.
The PESB interviewed a total of 10 candidates for the post. The list included:
Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Editor, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation Of India Limited
Alpna Dosaj, General Manager/Finance, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation Of India Limited
Ratti Ram Aggarwal, Group General Manager, Regional Manager, Central Warehousing Corporation
Mahesh Chand Bansal, Senior Executive Director (Finance) HoD, Corporate office, New Delhi, NBCC (India) Limited
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the redesignation of four officers from the 2012 batch of different services to the post of Director, with effect from January 1, 2026. The approval was granted on Monday (December 15, 2025). All four officers are presently serving at the level of Deputy Secretary in various central ministries and departments.
The officers whose posts have been upgraded include Richa Verma (IAS:2012:HP), serving in the Department of Higher Education; Shalini Agnihotri (IPS:2012:HP), posted in the Department of School Education; Padmakar Kushwaha (IA&AS:2012), serving in the Department of Atomic Energy; and Garima Sharma (IRS-IT:2012), also posted in the Department of Higher Education.
Senior IAS officer Nivedita Shukla Verma (IAS:1991:UP), Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, has been assigned additional charge of Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, with immediate effect. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (December 15, 2025), the competent authority has approved her additional charge till December 21, 2025.
The arrangement has been made during the period of absence on leave of Punya Salila Srivastava (IAS:1993:AGMUT), who is the regular Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
The central deputation tenure of Kapil Patidar (IES:2011) as Director in the Department of Economic Affairs has been extended by two years. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday (December 13, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal to extend his tenure beyond December 27, 2025, up to December 27, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Kapil Patidar has been serving in the Department of Economic Affairssince December 27, 2020, when he joined as Deputy Secretary for an initial tenure of four years. Ahead of the completion of this term in December 2024, his deputation was extended by one year till December 27, 2025. The ACC has now cleared a further two-year extension, allowing him to continue in the department at the Director level.
The central deputation tenure of Manashvi Kumar (IAS:2004:PB) as Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare (DoHFA) has been extended by two years. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Thursday (December 11, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal to extend his tenure beyond March 14, 2026, for a further period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Manashvi Kumar had initially joined central deputation in March 2021 as Director in the Department of Rural Development for a five-year term. He was empanelled for holding Joint Secretary-level posts in July 2022 and was subsequently shifted to the Department of Health and Family Welfare as Joint Secretary in October 2022 for the remaining period of his deputation. With his original tenure scheduled to end on March 14, 2026, the ACC has now cleared a two-year extension.
The Nayab Singh Saini government’s decision to send back two senior IPS officers occupying positions perceived to be cadre posts for IAS seems to have tilted the balance of power back in favour of the IAS lobby in Haryana.
The government recently transferred the IPS couple—Navdeep Singh Virk (IPS:1994:HR) and Kala Ramachandran (IPS:1994:HR)—both ADG-rank officers, to mainstream policing.
They were believed to be holding IAS cadre posts. While Virk was posted as Principal Secretary, Sports, Ramachandran was serving as Principal Secretary in the Heritage and Tourism department. Both these positions have traditionally been reserved for IAS officers.
The state govt’s move seems to be an attempt to restore a perceived balance of power between the two All India Services (AIS) officers who have been involved in a prolonged fight over this issue. The IAS cadre has consistently opposed the posting of non-IAS officers to these designated cadre posts.
The action also delivers a setback to those saying that state governments have unfettered discretion in posting AIS officers to cadre posts. Its impact is not limited to them. Nearly half a dozen non-IAS officers currently occupying IAS-cadre positions, which have historically remained the preserve of the IAS, have also developed a feeling of unease.
There has been a history of battle for the control of IAS-designated cadre posts by IPS officers in Haryana but it reached a flash point during Manohar Lal Khattar’s regime as the CM when he appointed controversial IPS officer Shatrujeet Kapoor (IPS:1990:HR) as chairman of Haryana’s power utilities — a post traditionally held by an IAS officer.
The decision triggered a storm, but Khattar handled it with a firm hand, asserting the government’s authority over postings. The result was an IAS-IPS cold war over cadre posts.
The issue resurfaced in 2021, when then Home Minister Anil Vij and Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan raised objections over the posting of non-cadre officers to IAS cadre posts. Vij had then argued that IPS officers should not be posted to IAS cadre positions without prior approval of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
The Centre had to intervene after nine non-IAS officers from the IPS, IFS and IRS were found deputed to IAS cadre posts by the state government. Vardhan is said to have strongly objected to it, citing IAS Cadre Rules.
The BJP government, however, has consistently maintained that postings of AIS officers fall within the sole discretion of the ruling dispensation.
In order to provide adequate representation to women, SC and ST officers at the Centre, the Union Government has asked the state governments to nominate women officers and those from the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) for appointment in key posts on central deputation.
The government usually invites nominations every year to fill key posts, such as joint secretaries, directors, Deputy Secretaries, and Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
The Ministry of Personnel, through a communique issued on December 10, 2025, to the Chief Secretaries of all states, has clearly sought nominations of only those officers who are not likely to be recalled by them on the grounds of availing promotion for at least two years. Through this move, the Centre seeks to ensure that every eligible officer has an opportunity to serve at the Centre at least once at the middle management level.
The communiqué also asks the CSs to ensure that an officer, “once placed on the offer list,” continues to be available for consideration throughout the year.
The sponsored officers are to be appointed on deputation to the posts under the Central Staffing Scheme (CSS) and for the posts of CVOs in CPSEs and other Central Government organisations. According to the DoPT, the nomination process will be routed through a dedicated portal from January 1, 2026. The states have been asked to ensure that the names of officers debarred from central deputation are not forwarded for appointments.
The communiqué says that proper cadre management requires an adequate number of officers to be deputed to the Centre under the CSS.
The purpose behind such a move is to build up the capabilities and contribute towards developing State perspectives in the Government of India or national perspectives in the State at the decision-making levels.
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