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UPSC initiates process of appointing regular DGP for Punjab, seeks panel within 10 days

By
LO Bureau
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Tamil Nadu DGP appointment

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has formally initiated the process of appointing a regular DGP for Punjab by asking the state govt to send the list of eligible officers to it for consideration by its empanelment committee.

The UPSC sent its communication to the Punjab Chief Secretary in this regard on February 18, asking for the complete proposal within ten days in compliance with the Supreme Court’s February 5 order.

The latest UPSC move follows a direction by the Supreme Court on Feb 5 to play a proactive role in ensuring that a regular DGP is appointed in every state. The apex court had slammed the practice of some states having acting DGPs and directed the UPSC to act against the states that delay the process of appointing a regular DGP.

According to the rules, the UPSC empanelment committee is supposed to shortlist three DGP-rank officers based on seniority, experience, and service records, following which the state govt will choose one of them as the regular DGP. Punjab currently has an army of 17 DGP-rank officers.

The empanelment committee consists of the UPSC Chairman or a member acting as chairman, the Union Home Secretary or his nominee (not below the rank of Special Secretary to the Union govt), the head of the Central Police Organisation nominated by the MHA who is not from the same state cadre for which the selection is to be made, the Chief Secretary of the concerned state, and the DGP of that state.

The Bhagwant Mann government in the state had appointed Gaurav Yadav (IPS:1992:PB) as an acting DGP in July 2022, superseding several senior officers. He has been holding the post for over three years and seven months now.

The UPSC, in its letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary, has also referred to the Supreme Court’s Feb 5 directions, its 2006 judgment in the Prakash Singh case, and SC orders dated July 3, 2018, to direct the Punjab govt to send the complete proposal.

The state’s Home Department has since asked the office of the DGP to send a panel of eligible officers since it has “records of the officers.”

The two senior-most IPS officers who belong to the 1989 batch are Sanjeev Kalra and Parag Jain. Kalra is likely out of contention, as he is retiring on February 28, and Jain, who is currently serving as RAW chief on central deputation, is unlikely to return to the state.

Besides, there are four 1992-batch IPS officers, including the acting DGP. The other three DGP-rank officers are Sharad Satya Chauhan, Harpreet Singh Sidhu, and Kuldeep Singh. Despite the initial controversy over his appointment, Yadav remains a frontrunner for the permanent post.

It is noteworthy here that the Punjab Assembly had passed the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill 2023 for selecting the DGP by its own seven-member empanelment committee. But the bill is said to be lying with the President after being referred by the Governor.

The UPSC’s letter does not forget to remind the Punjab govt about the apex court’s warning that if the states fail to submit timely proposals, the commission is authorised to move an application before it for enforcement with “necessary consequences” for those responsible for the delay.

FSIB recommends Hitesh Rameshchandra Joshi as CMD of GIC-Re

By
LO Bureau
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The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) on Tuesday recommended Hitesh Rameshchandra Joshi for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC-Re).

Joshi was recommended after interfacing with five eligible candidates. He is currently serving as Executive Director and holding additional charge of CMD of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC-Re), following the retirement of N Ramaswamy at the end of September 2025, which led to the vacancy in the top post.

The final decision now rests with the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Over the course of his career at GIC-Re, Joshi has handled a wide range of assignments across key functions, including domestic and international reinsurance business, retrocession, finance, enterprise risk management, budgetary control and strategic planning, internal audit, credit rating, and investor relations.

He has also served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman & Managing Director of the Corporation, gaining extensive exposure to top-level decision-making and corporate governance.

PESB invites applications for Director (Personnel) post at CCL

By
LO Bureau
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Central Coalfields Limited

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Director (Personnel) at Central Coalfields Limited (CCL). The vacancy notification was issued on February 25, 2026, and the last date for submission of applications through the PESB portal is March 18, 2026.

The post will fall vacant on December 1, 2026, following the retirement of the incumbent Harsh Nath Mishra on November 30, 2026. He has been serving as Director (Personnel) since August 2022.

PESB invites applications for Director (Technical) post at UCIL

By
LO Bureau
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The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Director (Technical) at Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL). The vacancy notification was issued on February 25, 2026, and the last date for submission of applications through the PESB portal is March 18, 2026.

The post has been vacant since November 22, 2025, when the incumbent Manoj Kumar was removed from the position following an inquiry into allegations of delay and non-compliance with official orders.

Director (Projects) post at NBCC vacant; PESB invites applications

By
LO Bureau
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NBCC Limited

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has invited applications for the post of Director (Projects) at NBCC (India) Limited. The vacancy notification was issued on February 25, 2026, and the last date for submission of applications through the PESB portal is March 18, 2026.

The post has been lying vacant since December 23, 2025, following the appointment of Saleem Ahmed as Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).

PESB had earlier recommended Ahmed’s name for the CMD post to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for approval. After the ACC cleared his appointment, he assumed charge as CMD of RVNL on December 23, 2025, thereby vacating the Director (Projects) position at NBCC.

IPS Devesh Kumar Mahla to finally join FSSAI as its Director in his third transfer

By
LO Bureau
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IPS Devesh Kumar Mahla

2012-batch AGMUT cadre IPS officer Devesh Kumar Mahla is currently in the news after Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinay Kumar Saxena issued the order to relieve him from the Delhi Police to enable him to join as Director in the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on deputation for an initial period of one year. Mahla was posted as Additional Police Commissioner in the Delhi Police.

The order, issued on February 23, said the LG has approved the relieving of Devesh Kumar Mahla from Delhi Police to take up the new assignment under foreign service terms.

The transfer and posting of the All India Services officers is a routine affair and hardly makes news, but the way Mahla successfully scuttled his two back-to-back transfers since May 2025 has caused a flutter in the bureaucratic circles.

Mahla had first been transferred from the Delhi Police to Arunachal Pradesh way back in May 2025, along with 66 IAS and IPS officers of the AGMUT cadre, but he did not join his duties, the reason for which is still not known.

Then, he was transferred to the Social Justice department under the Central government on January 1, 2026, as its Director. But Mahla was again allowed to stay away from joining his new posting and continued to serve the Delhi Police as its Deputy Commissioner.

His transfer to the post of FSSAI Director is his third and the latest transfer in which he was given a choice to either join the Social Justice department or FSSAI as Director. This time he has been relieved from his post, which means he is going to join the FSSAI as its new Director.

What has generated discussion in the bureaucratic corridors is how Mahla managed to evade his transfer, not once but twice, and the government allowing him this unusual privilege of selecting his place of posting by giving him an option to choose. His latest deputation is in compliance with a communication issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 30.

Three UP DGP rank officers to retire on Feb 28; ADGs set for promotion

By
LO Bureau
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Three Director General of Police (DGP)-rank officers in Uttar Pradesh are set to retire on February 28, 2026, paving the way for a fresh round of promotions in the state police hierarchy.

The officers retiring are Sandeep Salunke (IPS:1990:UP), DG, Human Rights Commission; MK Bansal (IPS:1990:UP), DG, Home Guards; and Dipesh Juneja (IPS:1992:UP), DG, Prosecution.

With three DG-rank posts falling vacant following their superannuation, three Additional Director General (ADG)-rank officers are expected to be promoted to the DG rank.

ADGs in Line for Promotion

The officers likely to be elevated are:

  • Prakash D (IPS:1994:UP), currently serving as ADG, Railways
  • LV Antony Dev Kumar (IPS:1994:UP), ADG, Rules & Manual
  • Jai Narayan Singh (IPS:1994:UP), ADG, Power Corporation

Another DG Post Falling Vacant in April

In addition, Neera Rawat (IPS:1992:UP), presently serving as DG, UP-112 and Economic Offences Wing (EOW), is scheduled to retire on April 30, 2026.

Following her retirement, the DG post may be filled through the promotion of Alok Singh (IPS:1995:UP), who is currently posted as ADG, Kanpur Zone.

Bihar IPS Sunil Naik accuses Andhra Assembly Dy Speaker of threatening to implicate him

By
LO Bureau
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Sunil Kumar Nayak, IPS

Senior Bihar IPS officer M Sunil Naik (IPS:2005:BH), who was recently in the news due to his arrest by Andhra Pradesh Police, has made a serious allegation against former Andhra MP and current Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju (RRR).

Naik, who is currently posted as Inspector General (IG) of Bihar Fire Services, has accused RRR of blackmailing and threatening him to speak against former state Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and suspended former Andhra CID chief P V Sunil Kumar (IPS:1993:AP) in the alleged custodial torture case of 2021.

The IPS officer took to social media platform X to allege that RRR himself had called him to blackmail him. “He sent a threatening message through my friend stating, ‘Speak against the former CM and P.V. Sunil Kumar—or you will be made an accused,” Naik says in his post.

Naik went on to say if the RRR call data records are made public, it will reveal how many people were pressured and influenced. Many were deliberately implicated in this case.

He alleged that he is being framed due to a conspiracy just because they think that tribals have no voice.

Naik alleged that Andhra police officials who had gone to his Patna residence to arrest him on Monday misbehaved with his mother when she stepped out.

He claimed that he has all the evidence and will place everything on record to ensure that those who insulted his mother answer for it before the law.

It needs to be mentioned here that after his arrest in Patna on Monday, a jurisdictional court expressed utter displeasure at the way he was arrested without caring for proper procedure and rejected his transit remand, pointing out serious procedural violations in the arrest process.

The court also directed that Sunil Naik should not be arrested for 30 days.

The case in which Naik was arrested is linked to a 2021 incident in Narsapuram in Guntur district, when the then YSR Congress MP, K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, was arrested.

Nayak had gone to Andhra Pradesh on inter-state deputation in 2019 and was serving as DIG in the Crime Investigation Department (CID) there when it was alleged that the MP’s arrest was carried out at his behest and that Raju was subjected to physical assault while in custody.

Subsequently, Raju filed a complaint accusing then CID DIG Sunil Naik of custodial torture, leading to Nayak being booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Naik returned to his home cadre, Bihar, in 2024, after the formation of the Chandrababu Naidu government in AP.

Andhra Police reportedly issued multiple summons to Naik to record his statement, but he did not respond, following which the AP Police team reached Patna to arrest him on Monday after his bail was cancelled.

Sagar Hanuman Singh get retrospective additional charge of MANAGE DG

By
LO Bureau
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National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management

Sagar Hanuman Singh, currently serving as Director General of the National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM), has been given additional charge of Director General (JS level) of the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad.

According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Tuesday (February 24, 2026), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare for entrustment of the additional charge to him with retrospective effect from October 6, 2025 to March 29, 2026, or till the appointment of a regular incumbent, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Himachal DGP assigns IPS Aditi Singh’s duties to junior due to her frequent leave

By
LO Bureau
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Aditi Singh IPS

In an unprecedented move, the Himachal Pradesh DGP, Ashok Tiwari, after getting chafed at the frequent leave of IPS officer Aditi Singh (IPS:2021:HP), has issued an order transferring her responsibilities to a subordinate officer during her frequent leave. The order was implemented with immediate effect.

She is currently posted as Superintendent of Police (SP) in the Northern Range of the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) in Dharamshala.

According to the directive, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Brahm Das Bhatia has been asked to assume her duties until further notice. It has also been stated that he will remain with Aditi Singh even during her presence in office to ensure continuity of work.

The order also states that Aditi Singh was on leave for a total of 25 days between January 8 and February 22, which affected the functioning of her office.

The order says that it has been observed that the IPS officer is frequently going on leave, due to which the functioning of the office of SP, SV&ACB, Northern Range, Dharamshala is being adversely affected.

The DGP’s order also noted that Aditi Singh had been absent from headquarters in December due to an official mid-career interaction program held in Nainital.

DGP Ashok Tiwari’s order also provides a detailed breakdown of the leave taken by Aditi Singh. According to the order, Aditi Singh was on two days’ casual leave and sick leave from January 8 to January 11, respectively.

She then took one day’s casual leave on January 12. Then, between January 16 and January 19, she took three days’ casual leave and one day’s sick leave. Later, from February 8 to February 22, she was on 13 days’ earned leave and two days’ sick leave.

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