Senior IAS officer Ashwini Bhide (IAS:1995:MH) has been appointed as the new Municipal Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), creating history as the first woman to head the civic body.
Bhide replaces outgoing commissioner Bhushan Gagrani (IAS:1990:MH), who is set to retire from service on Tuesday, March 31.
Prior to this appointment, IAS Ashwini Bhide was serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office under Devendra Fadnavis. She is known for her strong administrative skills and decisive leadership, having handled several key assignments in Maharashtra.
Earlier, she also served as the Managing Director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), where she played a crucial role in executing major infrastructure projects.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday (March 30, 2026) carried out a major reshuffle in the police administration, assigning new responsibilities to 27 IPS officers. The changes include the transfer of one Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and 16 Superintendents of Police (SPs), as part of a broader administrative exercise across the state.
New Delhi, March 30, 2026: REC Limited has been conferred with the “ESG and Responsible Business Award” at the Net Green Foundation Earth Awards 2026 held in New Delhi.
The award recognises the company’s strong performance in green energy financing and its continued contribution to inclusive and sustainable development.
The honour was presented at UNESCO House, New Delhi, by Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Minister of Industries, Food, Environment and Forest, Government of Delhi, and Benno Boer.
This marks the fourth ESG-related recognition for REC in 2026, reinforcing its position in sustainable financing and responsible business practices.
The company has been actively contributing to India’s transition towards a low-carbon economy through its focus on green energy projects, ESG initiatives, and inclusive development programmes.
The central government has promoted three 1991-batch IRS officers to the rank of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr. CCIT) at Level-17 of the pay matrix.
According to an order issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday (March 30, 2026), the promotions have been approved for the panel year 2026.
The officers promoted are Vidisha Kalra, Suresh Battini and Sanjeev Singh. The promotion is effective from April 1, 2026, or from the date they assume charge, whichever is later.
The officers will continue to hold their current posts until formal posting orders are issued.
The central government has promoted three 1993-batch IRS officers to the rank of Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) at Level-16 of the pay matrix.
According to an order issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday (March 30, 2026), the promotions have been granted for the panel year 2026.
The officers promoted are N.C. Swain, Raman Chopra, and Virendra Ojha. The promotion will take effect from April 1, 2026, or from the date they assume charge, whichever is later.
The officers will continue to hold their current posts until formal posting orders are issued.
In a fresh administrative move, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has assigned additional charges to three senior officers of the rank of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr. CCIT).
According to an order issued on Monday (March 30, 2026), the new assignments will come into effect from April 1, 2026, and will continue until further orders.
Preeti Garg (IRS-IT:1989), Pr. CCIT, Bengaluru, has been given additional charge of Pr. CCIT, Hyderabad. She takes over from M Anil Kumar (IRS-IT:1990).
Debjyoti Das (IRS-IT:1990), Pr. CCIT (Exemption), has been assigned additional charge of Pr. DGIT (I&CI), Delhi, in place of Amitav (IRS-IT:1990).
Surabhi Verma Garg (IRS-IT:1990), Pr CCIT, Kolkata, has been given additional charge of two positions — Pr. CCIT, Patna and Pr. CCIT, Bhubaneswar. She replaces Jayant Misra (IRS-IT:1989) and M Anil Kumar respectively.
The central government has granted proforma promotion to IRS officer Rahul Navin (IRS-IT:1993). According to an order issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on March 30, 2026, Navin has been promoted from Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr. CIT) to the grade of Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) for the panel year 2026.
Navin is currently serving as Special Director in the Directorate of Enforcement, New Delhi, on deputation. The promotion will be effective from March 9, 2026.
Ashok Kumar Panda, currently serving as Director (Finance) at the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), is going to be its new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), as his name has been recommended for the post by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PSEB). Panda also held an additional charge of Director (Commercial) at the public sector enterprise before T N Natarajan was deputed to that post.
Starting his career as a Management Trainee with SAIL after completing his electrical engineering, Panda brings with him three decades of experience in different plants and units at SAIL.
He holds a specialization in Finance from XIM, Bhubaneshwar, and later acquired a Ph.D. in Business Finance.
His achievements include reducing borrowings by Rs 20,000 crore through deleveraging efforts and implementing cost reduction initiatives that include identification of shop-wise technical levers and implementing action plans to resolve inefficiencies towards improving the bottom line.
Panda is also said to have played a key role in determining the fair price of rails supplied to the railways. Besides, he was also instrumental in revising the Fixed Asset Sales Accounting Policy in the public sector undertaking.
In order to overcome bureaucratic crunch, the Chandigarh Administration has sought recommendations of officers from the Punjab government, following which the Punjab govt sent panels of four IAS officers and six PCS officers to it for deputation. One IAS officer and two PCS officers are to be selected to the UT administration from these panels.
The IAS officers whose names have been forwarded include 2013 batch officers Harpreet Sudan and Amit Talwar and 2014 batch officers Preeti Yadav and Jaspreet Singh. Except Amit Talwar, who was promoted to IAS from the Punjab Civil Services (PCS) cadre, the remaining three—Harpreet Sudan, Preeti Yadav, and Jaspreet Singh—are direct recruits.
Among the four IAS officers proposed, Talwar is the only one with previous experience serving in the Union Territory, holding several key positions, including additional deputy commissioner (ADC) and Director, transport. The other three officers have never served with the Chandigarh administration.
But all four IAS officers have held important administrative assignments in Punjab, including postings as Deputy Commissioners (DCs). Harpreet Sudan and Amit Talwar served as DCs of Amritsar, while Preeti Yadav and Jaspreet Singh served as DCs of Patiala and Jalandhar, respectively.
According to official sources, the Punjab govt forwarded the IAS panel at the request of the Chandigarh administration.
Besides the IAS panel, the Punjab govt has also sent a panel of six PCS officers to the Chandigarh administration to select two officers. Officers nominated in the PCS panel are Avneet Kaur, Avikesh Gupta, Balbir Raj Singh, Ravinder Singh Arora, Inder Pal, and Deepankar Garg.
Sources in the UT administration said as the panel has been officially forwarded, the selection process would take place at the highest level, with the final decision to be taken by Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria.
These officers will be scrutinized on several parameters, including work experience, professional image, service conduct, past service record, and other relevant aspects.
The fresh panels were sent after the Chandigarh administration recently returned earlier panels received from Punjab and Haryana, citing anomalies. While Punjab has now sent a revised panel, the Haryana government is yet to send a fresh panel.
Bihar is soon going to receive a batch of 25 new IAS officers in its kitty, which include 11 directly recruited and 14 promoted to the IAS from the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS). With this induction, the number of IAS officers holding positions in the state will increase from 280 to 305, besides 30 IAS officers currently on the central deputation. The sanctioned posts for IAS officers in the state are 359. It means Bihar still has a shortage of 24 IAS officers.
The IAS officers joining directly in April 2026 and those promoted between May and June 2026 will be posted in the state. This will provide some relief to the overburdened bureaucrats in Bihar and accelerate development work.
According to reliable information, four of these directly recruited IAS officers are natives of Bihar, two of Rajasthan, and one each of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. Having passed the UPSC exam in 2025, these officers are currently undergoing training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LASANA). They will be deployed after completion of their training.
These officers include Rajkrishna Jha, Kumud Mishra, Prince Raj, and Deepak Kumar from Bihar, Saurabh Sinha from Dumka, Jharkhand, Farkhunda Qureshi from Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, Ketan Shukla from Uttarakhand, Nilesh Goyal from Rajasthan, Amit Meena from Rajasthan, and Ankur Tripathi from Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. Their tenures will be from 2056 to 2061.
These officers are supposed to begin their service in Bihar until April 17th. Afterward, they will be deployed by the state government to various positions in the districts, where they will work under the guidance and direction of senior officers.
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