In a significant development, senior IPS officer Praveen Vashista (IPS:1991:BH) has been appointed as Special Secretary(Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). He will replace incumbent Sivagami Sundari Nanda (IPS:1988:AGMUT), who is set to retire on December 31, 2024. Until her retirement, Vashista will serve as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the MHA.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the curtailment of tenure Praveen Vashista as Additional Secretary in MHA to enable him to take up new assignment of OSD in MHA.
The Chhattisgarh government has appointed former IAS officer Rita Shandilya as new Member of Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC). She has also been given the charge of acting Chairperson of the Commission until the full-time Chairperson is appointed. Previously, Dr Praveen Verma was serving as the acting Chairman. He was appointed as a Member during the tenure of the previous Congress government in the state.
Sushil Kumar Singh (IRSME:1993), Chairperson, Deendayal Port Authority, has been given additional charge of the post of Chairperson (JS level), Mumbai Port Authority, for a period of six months. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (14.10.2024), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways for entrustment of additional charge of the post to Mr. Singh for six months w.e.f 01.10.2024 or till regular appointment to the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The BJP is set to form the government in Haryana for the third consecutive time after securing a historic victory in the assembly elections. On October 17, Nayab Singh Saini will be sworn in as Chief Minister for a second term at Parade Ground, Panchkula, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance. Despite earlier predictions suggesting a Congress win, the election outcome has ensured that significant changes in the state’s bureaucracy are unlikely.
However, one key change is imminent. Current Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad (IAS:1988:HY) is set to retire on October 31. Speculation is rife that DoPT Secretary Vivek Joshi (IAS:1989:HY) may be repatriated to the Haryana cadre to assume the role of Chief Secretary. Joshi, who has a substantial tenure remaining until May 31, 2026, is seen as a leading contender for the post.
In recent years, there have been at least three instances where Secretary-level officers at the Centre were repatriated to their parent cadres to assume the role of chief secretaries. The most recent example is Road Transport & Highways Secretary Anurag Jain (IAS:1989:MP), who was repatriated to serve as the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh. Similarly, Coal Secretary Amrit Lal Meena (IAS:1989:BH) and Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant (IAS:1991:RJ) were repatriated to lead Bihar and Rajasthan as Chief Secretaries, respectively.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has recently assigned additional charge of three Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) posts: AYCL, Kolkata; NALCO, Bhubaneswar; and Pawan Hans Limited (PHL), to officers who are already serving as CVOs.
They are;
Chandrani Gupta (IES:2007), CVO of The Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company Ltd (BBJ), Kolkata, has been given additional charge of CVO of Andrew Yule & Company Limited (AYCL), Kolkata for a period of one year.
Harsimran Singh (IRSE-Civil:2001), CVO of Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), Kolkata, has been given additional charge of CVO of National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO), Bhubaneswar for three months till the appointment of a regular CVO in NALCO.
Nikhil Kumar Kanodia (IPS:2003:OR), CVO of Airport Authority of India (AAI), Delhi, has been given additional charge of the post of CVO of Pawan Hans Ltd (PHL) for a period of three months.
The central government on Monday (14.10.2024) appointed Punjab cadre IAS officer Diprava Lakra (IAS:2005:PB) as new Finance Secretary, Union Territory of Chandigarh for three years.
According to order issued by DoPT, ” The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for appointment of Shri Diprava Lakra IAS (PB:2005) to the post of Finance Secretary, UT of Chandigarh on Inter-Cadre deputation from Punjab Cadre to AGMUT Cadre for a period of three years, in relaxation of the policy.”
The Finance Secretary’s post had fallen vacant on June 18 after the tenure of Vijay Namdeorao Zade (IAS:2002:PB) ended and he was relieved. Zade had joined the UT administration in May 2021 for three-year tenure. In May 2024, his tenure was extended by one month in view of the Lok Sabha elections, as he was the Chief Electoral Officer of Chandigarh.
In the first week of June, Punjab initially sent a panel of three IAS officers-Amit Dhaka (IAS:2006:PB), Mohammed Tayyab (IAS:2007:PB) and Amit Kumar (IAS:2008:PB)-for the Finance Secretary post. However, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had rejected this panel and requested a fresh one. Following this, the UT administration had sought a fresh panel from the Punjab government.
The Punjab government then sent a fresh panel of three IAS officers — Basant Garg, Diprava Lakra and Daljit Singh Mangat — all from the 2005 batch of the Punjab cadre IAS officers, leading to Lakra’s appointment.
Director General Paramesh Sivamani on Tuesday (16.10.2024) took over as the as the new 26th Chief of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). He was serving as officiating as the Director General after the demise of his predecessor DG Rakesh Pal last month.
On Monday, the Modi government made the announcement about appointment of Additional Director General Paramesh Sivamani as Chief of the maritime force. He has served the organisation in various capacities in ashore and afloat appointments with distinction over the past three decades.
DG Paramesh Sivamani specialises in Navigation & Direction and his sea commands include all major vessels of ICG which include Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Samar’ & Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Vishwast’. The Flag Officer was at the helm of Coast Guard Region (East), Coast Guard Region (West), Coast Guard Commander Eastern Seaboard). He is an alumnus of the National Defence College, New Delhi and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
DG Paramesh Sivamani was elevated to the rank of Additional Director General in September 2022, and was subsequently posted at the Coast Guard Headquarters, New Delhi. He was given the additional charge of Director General Coast Guard in August 2024.
During the period, many significant operations and exercises were accomplished that includes the seizure of drugs/narcotic substances and gold worth crores of rupees, rescue of mariners during severe cyclonic storms, joint exercises with the Foreign Coast Guards, anti-poaching operations, humanitarian assistance during cyclones/naturals calamities & Coastal Security exercises.
The Flag Officer was conferred with the Tatrakshak Medal in 2014 and the President Tatrakshak Medal in 2019 for his illustrious service. He was also awarded the DG Coast Guard Commendation in 2012 and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (East) Commendation in 2009.
Amit Kumar selected as CMD of AI Assets Holding Limited
Amit Kumar has been selected for appointment as Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), AI Assets Holding Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on October 14, 2024. Presently, he is serving as Executive Director, Asset Manager Jorhat, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC).
He will be appointed to the post of CMD after receiving vigilance clearances and approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
The following 7 applicants were interviewed in the selection meeting:
Amit Kumar, Executive Director Asset Manager Jorhat, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)
Prabir Kumar Sarkar, Chief General Manager, Steel Authority Of India Limited (SAIL)
Dr. Ramakant Dixit, Chief General Manager, Security Printing & Minting Corporation Of India Limited
Shankar Sharan, Chief General Manager Head-Downstream, Joint Ventures & Business Development, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)
Santosh Kumar, Additional General Manager, TBSG-Project management, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
Tejinder Pal Singh Cheema, Deputy General Manager OSD – Chandigarh LPG RO, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)
Neelam Chandra, Chief Electrical Engineer, Indian Railway Service Of Electrical Engineers
AI Assets Holding Limited a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed under the Ministry of Civil Aviation with an aim to provide unified Asset Holding Services as stated in Object Clauses of its Memorandum of Association.
The Department of Revenue, on October 10, has issued promotion orders for three Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) officers of 1995 batch. Among them one officer has been granted proforma promotion.
They are;
Ch. Venkat Reddy
Ajazuddin
Challienkhum Songate (proforma promotion)
They will serve in Level 15 of the pay matrix, which corresponds to the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG). The promotions of Venkat Reddy and Ajazuddin are against the panel year 2024 on a regular basis, effective from the date they assume charge of the post and continuing until further orders. Meanwhile, Songate’s promotion is effective from August 5, 2024.
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