The Himachal Pradesh government has appointed senior Indian Forest Service officer SanjaySood (IFS:1993) as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force). The appointment was cleared on the recommendation of the Special Selection Committee, according to an official notification issued on Tuesday.
Sood was serving as Managing Director of the HP State Forest Development Corporation Ltd. He has been placed in the Apex Scale with a pay of ₹2,25,000. The appointment takes effect immediately.
He will also hold the additional charge of Managing Director, HP State Forest Development Corporation Ltd., and Chief Project Director, JICA.
As per media reports, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) is contemplating asking the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for the Indian Telecommunication Service (ITS) cadre review and an increase in the officers’ annual intake.
Needless to point out that the ITS is an elite group A civil service with its officers being responsible for policy formulation, regulation, and operations across multiple ministries and departments. But the department rues the meagre intake of only about 25 officers annually. The plight of the department is reflected by the fact that at present there are nearly 1,200 ITS officers nationwide, including those on deputations. It provides reason for the DoT to knock the DoPT for cadre review and increased intake of officers annually.
A senior government official admitted that discussion is being held in this regard.
The experts feel that review would strengthen the cadre structure and boost functional roles for skilled manpower in the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), as well as the DoT and other ministries and organisations.
It is pertinent to mention here that the nature and role of telecommunication services have undergone a drastic change over the years, particularly with the advent of advanced technologies across varied sectors. Added to it, multinational assignments are increasing every day, necessitating the cadre review and an increase in annual intake on a priority basis.
The last cadre review took place in 2016 after a gap of 28 years. The DoPT had then agreed to have a recruitment review every five years to meet the growing manpower requirements. During the previous cadre review, the creation of one apex-level post of the Director General of Telecom was created, and the number of duty posts was fixed at 853.
Four IAS officers drawn from three different state cadres have been assigned the task of special roll observers in Tamil Nadu for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued the order to this effect on December 8. January 1, 2026, will be the qualifying date.
According to Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, the special roll observers will ensure strict adherence to the Commission’s directions, guaranteeing that no eligible elector is left unenrolled and no ineligible person is included in the electoral rolls.
The four officers are Raman Kumar (IAS:2009:BR), Kuldip Narayan (IAS:2005:BR), Neeraj Kharwal (IAS:2007:UK), and Vijay Nehra (IAS:2001:GJ).
Each of these special roll observers has been assigned the responsibilities of nine to ten districts.
These IAS officers will be overseeing all activities related to the SIR in the enumeration phase, the claims and objections period, and the disposal of notices phases till the final publication of the rolls.
IAS officer Raman Kumar will be the special roll observer for the Tiruvallur, Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Vellore, Tirupathur, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, and Kallakurichi districts.
IAS officer Kuldeep Kumar has been designated as the special roll observer for Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Tiruppur, the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, and Dharmapuri.
Similarly, IAS officer Neeraj Kharwal will look after Tiruchi, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, and Thanjavur.
And the most senior among them, IAS officer Vijay Nehra, has been named for Pudukkottai, Sivaganga, Madurai, Theni, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, and Kanniyakumari.
The fight between suspended Kerala IAS officer N. Prasanth (IAS:2007:KL) and Chief Secretary A Jayathilak (IAS:1991:KL) refuses to die down as Prasanth continues to attack Jayathilak through his social media account. In the latest, Prasanth has levelled a series of serious allegations accusing the Chief Secretary of overreach by repeatedly issuing government orders without the knowledge of the minister concerned.
As usual, Prasanth took to his social media account to launch his offensive against Jayathilak. He issued a highly damaging statement on Monday, claiming that this was part of a larger pattern of Jayathilak’s administrative overreach.
But the most damaging attack comes at the end when he describes a culture of bureaucrats “appropriating political power through flattery,” charging that such conduct violates the ethical foundations of the civil services.
Citing recent media reports, Prasanth alleged that Jayathilak had issued orders independently without even sending files to the department’s minister. He claims when Dr Jayathilak served in the SC/ST Department, the then minister K. Radhakrishnan had maintained close oversight over file movements.
However, during the minister’s absence, Jayathilak allegedly started acting as the minister himself and tried to push through files. Prasanth alleges that it was due to his opposition to Jayathilak’s objectionable actions that eventually led to disciplinary proceedings against him.
Prasanth further alleged that IAS officer KGopalakrishnan (IAS:2013:KL) was appointed CEO of the Unnathi mission without the knowledge of either the minister concerned or the Chief Minister.
Prasanth also claims that secretariat staff had informed him that Jayathilak used to frequently issue unilateral government orders when working in departments. He adds that orders issued without delegated authority have no legal validity and would not withstand judicial scrutiny.
Prasanth demands the cancellation of all such orders and the initiation of legal action against Jayathilak.
The Election Commission (EC) on Monday (December 8, 2025) appointed five senior IAS officers as Special Roll Observers (SROs) for different divisions in West Bengal. They will oversee the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to the EC order, Kumar Ravi Kant Singh(IAS:2008:UP), Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, has been posted to the Presidency division as SRO. Niraj Kumar Bansod(IAS:2008:CG), Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been appointed for the Medinipur division. Krishna Kumar Nirala(IAS:2005:CG), Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, will monitor the Burdwan division. Alok Tiwari(IAS:2007:UP), Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, will work as SRO for the Malda division. Pankaj Yadav(IAS:2001:HY), Joint Secretary in the Department of Rural Development, has been deployed to the Jalpaiguri division.
This comes after the EC appointed retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta(IAS:1990:WB) as Special Roll Observer for the SIR, and set up a 12-member team of IAS officers as Electoral Roll Observers to support District Election Officers (DEOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).
Officials in the CEO’s office said the posting of SROs will help improve supervision, transparency and compliance with EC rules during the revision process.
The Special Intensive Revision started on November 4 with the distribution of enumeration forms and will continue till December 11. The draft rolls will be released on December 16, and the final voter list will be published on February 14, 2026.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended Arvind Kumar for the post of Director (Finance), National Fertilizers Limited. The selection was made following the PESB interview held on December 9, 2025.
Arvind Kumar is currently serving as General Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Limited. His name will now be sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval, subject to the necessary vigilance clearances.
A total of 5 candidates were interviewed by the PESB for the post. The list included:
Hrishikesh Kumar, Senior Executive Director (Finance), NBCC (India) Limited
Arvind Kumar, General Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Ashok Kumar Mali, Chief General Manager-E8 (CFO -NUPPL), NLC India Limited
Amit Rautela, Chief Financial Officer- MEJA URJA NIGAM PVT LIMITED, NTPC Limited
Neeraj Kumar, Additional General Manager (Finance), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
The central government on Monday (December 8, 2025) announced the appointment of Central Prabhari Officers (CPOs) for seven districts under the Aspirational District Programme. The newly appointed officers are:
Ankita Pandey (IRS-IT:2009), Director in the Department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, has been appointed as CPO of Nicobar (Car Nicobar, Noncowrie) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Pankaj Srivastava (IRS-IT:2007), Director in the Department of Cooperation, has been appointed as CPO of West Karbi Anglong (Amri, Chinthong, Socheng) in Assam.
Pramod Kumar (IRS-IT:2008), Director in the Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare, has been appointed as CPO of Karbi Anglong (Nilip, Rongmongwe, Samelangso) in Assam.
Vipin Pal Singh (IRSEE:2002), Director in the Department of Housing & Urban Affairs, has been appointed as CPO of South 24 Parganas (Magra Hat-2, Thakurpukur Mahestola) in West Bengal.
Karuna Kumari (IAS:2010:AM), Director in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, has been appointed as CPO of Sheopur (Karahal, Sheopur, Vijaypur) in Madhya Pradesh.
Alagu Varsini (IAS:2012:TN), Deputy Secretary in the Department of Rural Development, has been appointed as CPO of Tiruchirappalli (Turaiyur) in Tamil Nadu.
Manasa Gangotri Kata (IRS-C&IT:2007), Director in the Department of Financial Services, has been appointed as CPO of Jogulamba Gadwal (Ghattu) in Telangana.
In yet another case of cadre allocation, the Telangana High Court has ruled in favour of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and issued a stay on the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)’s directions allocating IAS officer Amrapali Kata (IAS:2010:AP) to Telangana. Amrapali is currently serving as Managing Director of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism department. The court has directed her to file counter affidavit within six weeks.
Amrapali had been allotted to Andhra Pradesh by the DoPT in October last year.
Instead of following the DoPT’s direction, Amrapali approached the CAT, challenging the DoPT orders, and succeeded in getting relief as the CAT allocated her to the Telangana cadre as part of a “swapping” arrangement with another IAS officer, Harikiran (IAS:2009:TG).
The DoPT, however, moved the High Court saying the swapping procedure did not apply to Amrapali because Harikiran belongs to a reserved category, and hence it was not permissible. Hearing the DoPT’s appeal against the CAT order, the Telangana High Court passed an interim order suspending the CAT’s decision to allocate her to Telangana.
The matter will come up for the next hearing after six weeks.
Aravind Kumar Agrawal (CWES:1997), who is currently serving as Director in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has been prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre to avail the benefit of promotion. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (December 8, 2025), the competent authority has approved his repatriation.
Agrawal has been serving in the post since February 2019 after his initial five-year deputation, which was later extended by two more years. His extended tenure was scheduled to end in February 2026.
Get Latest Updates