The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday appointed senior IAS officer Alok Kumar as the new Chairman of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).
Alok Kumar, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the UP cadre, is known for his sincerity and integrity.
Currently, he is serving as the Principal Secretary, MSME & Export Promotion, as well as Principal Secretary, Infrastructure & Industrial Development & NRI Department.
Gyanesh Kumar (IAS:1988:KL) took charge as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Wednesday, while Dr. Vivek Joshi (IAS:1989:HY) assumed office as an Election Commissioner.
Kumar, who had been serving as an Election Commissioner since March 15, 2024, was elevated to the top post, replacing Rajiv Kumar (IAS:1984:JH), who demitted office on Tuesday. The other Election Commissioner, SS Sandhu (IAS:1989:UK), was appointed to the poll panel along with Kumar on March 14, 2024.
In his message to voters after assuming charge, Mr. Kumar said, “First step for nation-building is voting. Therefore, every citizen of India who has completed 18 years of age should become an elector and should always vote.” Mr. Kumar asserted that the “Election Commission was, is and will always be with the voters”.
Before joining the Election Commission, Kumar held key positions in the Government of India, including Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and senior roles in the Ministries of Home Affairs and Defence. He also served in the Government of Kerala as District Collector of Ernakulam, MD of Kerala State Cooperative Bank, and Resident Commissioner of Kerala House in New Delhi, among other roles.
Dr. Vivek Joshi, who has now taken over as an Election Commissioner, has vast experience in governance at both the central and state levels. Before this role, he served as Chief Secretary of Haryana, Secretary in the Department of Personnel & Training, and Secretary in the Department of Financial Services. He was also Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India and Member Secretary of the Fifth State Finance Commission of Haryana.
With Gyanesh Kumar as CEC and SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as Election Commissioners, the Election Commission is now fully constituted.
The Jharkhand government on Tuesday (18.02.2025) enacted bureaucratic reshuffle by assigning fresh responsibilities to 15 IAS officers.
The most notable appointment is that of Pooja Singhal, who has been posted as Secretary, Information Technology & e-Governance Department, with an additional charge as CEO, Jharkhand Communication Network Limited.
Her appointment comes amid controversy, as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a petition before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, seeking an order to prevent her from being assigned any post. Singhal is currently facing trial in connection with the MGNREGA scam and a money laundering case. The court is expected to deliver its verdict on the ED’s petition on February 21, 2025.
The names of the officers and their postings are as follows;
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With Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi (IAS:1989:HY) appointed as Election Commissioner on Monday, the state government has begun the search for his successor.
The new Chief Secretary is expected to be chosen from among five 1990-batch IAS officers—Sudhir Rajpal, Sumita Misra, Anurag Rastogi, Anand Mohan Sharan, and Raja Sekhar Vundru. According to sources, Rastogi is the frontrunner for the position, despite being set to retire on June 30, 2025.
Currently, all five officers serve as Additional Chief Secretaries in different departments—Rajpal in Health, Misra in Home, Rastogi in Finance, Sharan in Environment, and Vundru in Agriculture. In terms of seniority, Rajpal ranks highest, followed by Misra.
Rajpal is due to retire on November 30, 2026, Misra on January 31, 2027, Sharan on August 31, 2025, and Vundru on July 31, 2026.
Joshi had been serving as Haryana’s Chief Secretary since November 2024, following the retirement of TVSN Prasad (IAS:1988:HY) on October 31. He was repatriated to Haryana on October 26, 2024, at the request of the state government, and subsequently appointed to the post.
Mrithinjai Srikanthan (IRS-C&IT:2013), who was recommended for central deputation by the Department of Revenue, has been selected for appointment as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Expenditure, Delhi, for four years. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Tuesday (18.02.2025), Mr. Srikanthan will serve in the post under the central staffing scheme for a period of four years from the date of taking over charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
With Vivek Joshi (IAS:1989:HY) being appointed as the new Election Commissioner, the Haryana government will soon name his replacement as Chief Secretary. However, before making the appointment, the government must address certain technicalities related to the gradation list of IAS officers.
Traditionally, the Chief Secretary position is given to the senior-most IAS officer in the cadre. As per the Haryana IAS list on the official website of the Chief Secretary’s office, the current seniority order among 1990-batch IAS officers places Sudhir Rajpal at the top, followed by Sumita Misra, Anurag Rastogi, Anand Mohan Saran, and Raja Sekhar Vundru.
However, a seniority dispute has emerged as three IAS officers from the 1990 batch—Ankur Gupta, Anurag Rastogi, and Raja Sekhar Vundru—have challenged the current gradation list. Although Ankur Gupta has already retired, the issue raised by them could impact the appointment of the new Chief Secretary. In March 2024, these officers sought a revision in the cadre’s seniority list, arguing that Sudhir Rajpal was transferred from Himachal Pradesh to Haryana in 1994. They also raised concerns over Sumita Misra’s original cadre allocation, claiming she was initially allotted to the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, though there is no explicit indication of a cadre change on the official website.
Citing the Indian Administrative Service (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, they contended that an IAS officer transferred from one cadre to another at their request should be placed below all officers of the same category with the same year of allotment. Based on this rule, they argued that since they originally belonged to the Haryana cadre, they should be placed above Sudhir Rajpal and Sumita Misra in the gradation list. The officers had submitted a representation on the matter to then-Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal.
Determining IAS officers’ seniority falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India, rather than the Haryana government. The Haryana government and DoPT have already discussed the matter, and the DoPT had earlier written to the state government instructing it to resolve the inter-se seniority issue among 1990-batch IAS officers by considering Rules 5 and 6 of the IAS (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, 1987.
In response, the Haryana Chief Secretary’s office wrote back to the DoPT, requesting a copy of the CAT (Chandigarh Bench) judgment concerning the allotment of Haryana cadre and seniority of IAS Sudhir Rajpal. The state government also sought clarification on Sumita Misra’s original cadre and whether she was initially allocated to another state before joining Haryana, requesting relevant documents for verification.
With the seniority dispute unresolved, the Haryana government must address the issue before appointing the next Chief Secretary.
(By-Rajeev Singh)
Senior IAS officer Vivek Joshi (IAS:1989:HY), currently serving as Chief Secretary of Haryana, was appointed as Election Commissioner on Monday. He fills the vacancy in the Election Commission of India, created by the elevation of Gyanesh Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
The official announcement was made through a gazette notification, stating:
“In exercise of powers conferred by Section 4 of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 (Act No. 49 of 2023), the President is pleased to appoint Dr. Vivek Joshi, IAS (HY:1989) as Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India, with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.”
Joshi has been serving as Chief Secretary of Haryana since November 1, 2024, following the retirement of TVSN Prasad (IAS:1988:HY). He was repatriated to Haryana on October 26, 2024, at the request of the state government, and subsequently appointed to the post.
Prior to his repatriation, Joshi held the post of Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) at the central level.
Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar (Retd.IAS:1988:KL) was appointed as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Monday, succeeding Rajiv Kumar (Retd. IAS:1984:JH), whose tenure ends on February 18, 2025. He was the senior of the two Election Commissioners after Rajiv Kumar. The second Election Commissioner is S.S. Sandhu (Retd. IAS:1988:UK).
Gyanesh Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners. His appointment was announced just hours after a meeting of the Election Committee, comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. During the meeting, Rahul Gandhi submitted a note of dissent against the selection.
As the new CEC, Kumar will oversee upcoming Assembly elections in five states: West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu (opposition-ruled) and Bihar and Assam (NDA-ruled). While Bihar is set for elections later this year, the rest will go to polls in 2026.
Kumar will serve as CEC until January 26, 2029, during which he will preside over 20 Assembly elections, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections in 2027, and preparations for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu were appointed as Election Commissioners on March 14, 2024, assuming office the next day. On March 16, 2024, the Election Commission announced the Lok Sabha election schedule.
Prior to his tenure at the Election Commission, Gyanesh Kumar served in the Union Home Ministry, where he played a key role in drafting the bill that abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.
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Pankaj Jain (IAS:2012:MP) has been appointed as Private Secretary to the Minister for Coal & Mines G Kishan Reddy for five years. His appointment specifically pertains to Ministry of Mines.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (17.02.2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Mr. Jain for a period of five years from the date of taking over charge of the post or on co-terminus basis or till he ceases to function as Private Secretary to Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
He will assume the role at Deputy Secretary level.
The central deputation tenure of Rajeev Kumar (IOFS:2000) as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs has been extended for one year. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (17.02.2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of Ministry of Home Affairs for a period of one year beyond 05.03.2025 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
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