The tussle between the Election Commission and the West Bengal government escalated on Tuesday as the poll body directed the state to cancel the transfer of three IAS officers deputed as electoral roll observers as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, saying the move was made without its concurrence.
The officers are Ashwini Kumar Yadav, Electoral Roll Observer for Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur; Randhir Kumar, Observer for North 24 Parganas and Kolkata North; and Smita Pandey, responsible for Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum.
In a strongly worded letter to the Chief Secretary, the Election Commission said the state government violated its explicit instructions by transferring officials associated with the SIR without prior approval. The poll body recalled that the officers were placed on “deemed deputation” to it for the entire duration of the revision process to ensure continuity and independence.
Despite clear directions issued on October 27, 2025, and reiterated in November 2025, the West Bengal government issued transfer and posting orders on December 1, 2025, January 20, 2026 and January 21, 2026. Terming the action a serious violation, the Commission directed the state to withdraw the orders forthwith and submit a compliance report by 3 pm on January 28, 2026.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Union Government has finally approved the voluntary retirement (VRS) of senior IAS officer Anamika Singh (IAS:2004:UP). A formal order is likely to be issued within a day by the Uttar Pradesh government. It will come into effect on January 30. She would have served until 2038, but she decided to leave the service prematurely, as she was reportedly unhappy with not receiving a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the state government needed for central deputation.
Currently posted as Food Commissioner, Anamika Singh had applied for voluntary retirement (VRS), which was made public in December and has now been approved by both the state and central governments.
According to sources, she was appointed Divisional Commissioner of Bareilly in September, but her transfer was later revoked. Anamika Singh reportedly wanted to join the Central Govt on deputation and had even sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the state government. However, she was denied the NOC, leaving her dissatisfied with the job.
Sources in the recruitment department say that Anamika Singh applied for VRS only after being denied permission to join the central government. Anamika Singh is known as a strong officer with a clean image. Her VRS decision is being considered a significant development in the UP bureaucratic circles.
Though Anamika Singh has cited family reasons for taking VRS officially, the real reason is believed to be the denial of central deputation. But it is not that she has never been on central deputation. The fact is, she had returned to the Uttar Pradesh cadre in May 2021 after completing nearly eight years on central deputation, where she served in the Department of School Education & Literacy and later at NITI Aayog. Following her return, she was posted as Secretary of the Women and Child Development Department.
In June 2025, she was assigned charge as CEO of the Uttar Pradesh Clean Air Management Project Authority, along with the post of Secretary of the Forest, Environment & Climate Change Department. In September 2025, she was transferred twice in quick succession—first as Divisional Commissioner, Bareilly, and within days, as Commissioner, Food and Civil Supplies, where she is still serving.
In December, the state government approved her VRS application and forwarded it to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
This incident has also brought renewed attention to the procedures governing deputation between the central and state governments.
The commitment to social service does not die down with retirement, nor can old age corrode it. The story of octogenarian former IPS officer Inderjit Singh Sidhu stands out as a reminder of it. This 88-year-old ex-bureaucrat has been cleaning streets around his neighbourhood in Chandigarh for over a decade. But his sense of service to social causes has brought fruition, as he has been awarded the prestigious Padma Shri award.
As a police officer, he fought for restoring law and order all through his career; he is now fighting litter with the same dedication. His motto is simple: he wants to keep his surroundings clean and green.
Sidhu shot into media glare after videos showing him picking up garbage from roads and public spaces near his home in Chandigarh’s Sector 49 went viral last year. The videos evoked widespread appreciation on social media, eventually leading to this official recognition.
Hailing from Bugra village in Dhuri, Sangrur district of Punjab, Sidhu, who retired from the post of DIG in Punjab Police, lives in an IAS/IPS society in Sector 49 and spends most of his day cleaning his society and nearby areas. The beauty of his dedication lies in the fact that despite people stopping to record videos of him, Sidhu continues to clean garbage without getting distracted.
His quit efforts grabbed the public attention and were later acknowledged when an award was announced by the Governor on August 15 last year. His simplicity has been so overbearing that he did not attend the event as he became nervous due to the sudden attention generated by social media.
Sidhu joined the Punjab Police as an inspector in 1963 and was promoted to the IPS cadre in 1981. He served as City SP in Amritsar during the peak of terrorism in the state and later served as DIG before retiring in 1996.
Sidhu feels pained at the way people throw garbage on the roads and vows to continue cleaning till his health permits him.
The Haryana government on Tuesday (January 27, 2026) carried out a significant administrative reshuffle, appointing senior IAS officer Sudhir Rajpal (IAS:1990:HY) as the new Additional Chief Secretary, Home, replacing Sumita Misra (IAS:1990:HY).
According to an official order, Sudhir Rajpal has been entrusted with charge of the Home, Jails, Criminal Investigation and Administration of Justice departments, in addition to his existing responsibility as Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Forests and Wildlife. Prior to this, he was serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the Health & Family Welfare, Medical Education & Research, Ayush, and Environment, Forests and Wildlife departments.
It is noteworthy that Sudhir Rajpal had also been appointed Additional Chief Secretary, Home in September 2023. At that time, T V S N Prasad (IAS:1988:HY) was serving as ACS Home. However, within a few hours of issuing the order appointing Rajpal, the state government withdrew it and reinstated Prasad as ACS Home.
Sumita Misra, who has been holding the Home portfolio along with Jails, Criminal Investigation and Administration of Justice departments since December 2024, has now been posted as Additional Chief Secretary (Financial Commissioner), Revenue & Disaster Management. She has also been assigned charge of the Health & Family Welfare, Medical Education & Research, and Ayush departments.
One of the most significant changes in the reshuffle is the appointment of Arun Kumar Gupta (IAS:1992:HY) as a full-time Finance Secretary ahead of the state budget session, likely next month. Gupta will continue as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister while also taking charge as Additional Chief Secretary, Finance & Planning Department. He has been relieved of the charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, and Member Secretary, Kurukshetra Development Board.
Notably, the Finance Department had been functioning without a dedicated Secretary since February 19, 2025, when Anurag Rastogi took over as Chief Secretary following the appointment of his predecessor Vivek Joshi as an Election Commissioner. The arrangement became increasingly untenable after Rastogi underwent heart surgery on January 9 this year.
Meanwhile, Saket Kumar (IAS:2005:HY), currently serving as Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Commissioner & Secretary, Development & Panchayats Department, and Managing Director, Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited, has been assigned additional charge of Commissioner & Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, along with Member Secretary, Kurukshetra Development Board.
Further, Ram Kumar Singh (IAS:2012:HY) has been appointed Special Secretary, Revenue & Disaster Management, and given charge as Additional CEO, Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority. He has been relieved of his earlier responsibilities as District Municipal Commissioner, Panchkula, and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Panchkula.
At the same time, Vinay Kumar (IRPS:2015), who was serving as Joint Secretary, Haryana Public Service Commission and Additional CEO, Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority, has been transferred and posted as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, District Municipal Commissioner, Panchkula, and Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Haryana Staff Selection Commission.
Despite the Centre’s decision to increase the IAS cadre strength of Telangana from 208 to 218, the state continues to reel under the impact of its crunch. The situation is turning grim as the state needs more officers due to the creation of new districts and institutions and growing urban sprawl. What exacerbates the situation is the fact that the actual number of officers available on the ground is far lower than even the sanctioned strength.
Telangana has been pressing for at least 50 additional IAS officers to ensure effective governance since its inception in 2014. Though the Centre recently marginally increased its cadre strength, the officers actually working in the state are about 170, far below the cadre strength. Worse, many of them go on central deputation, leading to a shortage of officers at every level.
In order to assess the state’s requirements, the Centre periodically reviews cadre strength, but the latest revision addressed only a fraction of the demand.
The fact is, after bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh got more officers. Apart from that, every year new posts are added to the state, and the administrative requirements have been expanding steadily.
Its reason is simple: several key institutions came into being after the creation of a new state, which now requires senior officers.
There are various examples, like HYDRAA, which was created only in 2024. Similarly, IAS officers are required for Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited, Musi Riverfront Development Corporation, and other specialised bodies.
Similarly, the creation of new districts is further straining manpower. With the number of districts rising from 10 to 33, the state now requires at least 66 IAS officers—one district collector and one additional collector per district.
Added to it is the urban expansion, which further adds to the burden. As the GHMC area expanded from 650 sq km to 2,050 sq km, the requirement of IAS officers rose from around five or six to nearly 20. According to a senior official posted in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), only 12 officers are currently posted.
The situation is further aggravated by the acute shortage of senior officers at the principal secretary and secretary levels. In several cases, departments are either headed by junior officers or managed through additional charge arrangements. All these factors are now taking a toll on the governance and the policy implementation.
Former Union Home Ministry official RVS Mani, who had publicly alleged political pressure to fabricate a “Saffron terror” narrative during the UPA government, has been awarded the Padma Shri on the eve of Republic Day. Mani is among the 113 recipients of India’s fourth-highest civilian honour this year.
A former Under Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mani had claimed that in 2009 he was forced to sign a second affidavit to build a narrative of “Saffron terror” while serving in the internal security division. He detailed these allegations in his book Hindu Terror: Insider Account of Ministry of Home Affairs 2006–2010, describing what he called political interference in terror-related investigations.
Mani, a career civil servant, has also served in the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting, Urban Development, and Textiles. Over the years, he has emerged as a vocal commentator on internal security and governance issues. His other books include Deception: A Family That Deceived the Whole Nation, Bhagva Aatank Ek Shadyantra, and Dalals, which focus on political manipulation, national security narratives, and institutional integrity.
The Padma Shri recognition has renewed attention on Mani’s role as a whistleblower and author, with supporters viewing the honour as acknowledgement of his stand on national security issues, while critics continue to dispute his claims. The award underscores the continuing debate over the politicisation of internal security during the UPA era.
Veteran IPS officer K Vijay Kumar, who led the high-profile operation that neutralised forest brigand Veerappan, has been awarded the Padma Shri for distinguished service, recognising his decades-long contribution to strategic policing and counter-insurgency operations.
A 1975-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Kumar, 74, retired from active service in 2012. He is among the 113 Padma Shri awardees announced this year. The Padma Shri is India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, awarded for distinguished service in various fields.
Kumar is best known for heading the Tamil Nadu Police Special Task Force that killed Veerappan in 2004 in a meticulously planned operation code-named “Cocoon”. The operation brought an end to Veerappan’s prolonged reign of violence across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Kumar later chronicled the mission in his book “Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand”, offering detailed insights into jungle warfare and intelligence-led policing.
During his career, Kumar held several key positions, including Chennai Police Commissioner, Inspector General of the Border Security Force in Kashmir, and Director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad. He was appointed Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force in 2010 following the deadliest Maoist ambush on the force.
On April 6, 2010, Maoists killed 75 CRPF personnel and a state police jawan in a deadly ambush at Tadmetla in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district. Under Kumar’s leadership, the CRPF significantly intensified counter-Naxal operations. One of the major successes during his tenure was the killing of Maoist leader Kishenji by CRPF’s elite CoBRA unit in West Bengal in November 2011.
Kumar retired as CRPF Director General in 2012 and later served as a security adviser in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He also advised the Jammu and Kashmir Governor on security matters and was re-appointed as a senior security adviser in the MHA in 2019. He is currently based in Bengaluru and Chennai.
The government citation described Kumar as a key architect of strategic policing against Naxalism and organised crime, noting his expertise in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency. Reacting to the honour, Kumar credited his teams for their collective efforts, saying the award was a tribute to all those he worked with. The Padma Shri, the citation said, recognises not only individual leadership but also institutional contributions that strengthened India’s internal security framework.
Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer Abhishek Tiwari (IPS: 2013: MP) has applied for voluntary retirement from the Indian Police Service, citing personal reasons. The move has come as a surprise within police and administrative circles.
Tiwari is currently on central deputation with the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO).
During his tenure in Madhya Pradesh, he served as Superintendent of Police in districts such as Balaghat, Shahdol and Ratlam, handling several sensitive law-and-order assignments. Some of these postings were in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism, where he was involved in counter-insurgency operations.
He was awarded the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry for his role in a major anti-Naxalite encounter. Within the force, Tiwari was known for his use of data analytics, technical surveillance and intelligence-led policing, which aided in tracking and arresting hardened criminals.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday (January 24, 2026) appointed 2011-batch IAS officer Krishna Karunesh as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Noida Authority. He replaces M Lokesh, a 2005 batch IAS officer, who has been transferred from the post following heightened scrutiny of the authority’s functioning.
Krishna Karunesh was previously serving as the Additional Chief Executive Officer (ACEO) of the Noida Authority and has now been entrusted with the top executive responsibility at a critical juncture for the organisation.
His appointment comes in the backdrop of serious questions being raised over the functioning of the Noida Authority and the administration following the recent death of engineer Yuvraj Mehta in Sector 150. The incident triggered widespread debate over alleged systemic negligence, accountability lapses, and the role of officials, eventually leading to the transfer of then CEO Lokesh M.
Krishna Karunesh is a seasoned administrator with extensive field experience. He has earlier served as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Chief Development Officer (CDO) in Ghaziabad district. He has also held the position of District Magistrate in Hapur and Balrampur districts, besides serving as Joint Magistrate in Kushinagar.
The Yuvraj Mehta death case has remained under sustained public and administrative focus. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the matter and ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In a significant administrative reform, the Central Government has notified a revised Cadre Allocation Policy (CAP) for the three All India Services — the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS). The new policy will come into effect from the Civil Services Examination and Indian Forest Service Examination, 2026.
The revised framework, issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) after consultations with state governments, replaces the zonal system introduced in 2017 with a new four-group structure. The move is aimed at reinforcing the “All India” character of the services, ensuring greater transparency, and addressing concerns over uneven vacancy distribution across states.
Under the new policy, all State and Joint Cadres have been arranged alphabetically and divided into four groups. Group I includes AGMUT, Andhra Pradesh, Assam-Meghalaya, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Group II comprises Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. Group III consists of Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu, while Group IV includes Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The policy introduces a strict, time-bound mechanism for determination of vacancies. Vacancies will be calculated based on the cadre gap as on January 1 of the year following the examination. State governments must communicate their vacancy requisitions by January 31, failing which such requisitions will not be considered. The final vacancy position, including category-wise break-up, will be published on the websites of the concerned ministries before the declaration of final examination results.
The revised CAP also tightens the rules for allocation of “insider” candidates,defined as those opting for their home state cadre. Candidates will now be required to explicitly indicate their willingness to serve in their home state to be eligible for insider vacancies. Insider allocation will follow a merit-based cycle system to prevent clustering of top-ranked candidates in a single cadre. Any insider vacancy remaining unfilled after prescribed adjustments will be converted into an outsider vacancy for the same year, with no carry-forward permitted.
For outsider allocation, the policy introduces a two-stage process. Candidates with benchmark disabilities will be given priority immediately after insiders and may be accommodated through creation of additional vacancies if required. Allocation of other outsider candidates will follow a rotational cycle system across the four groups, with each cycle starting from a different group to ensure long-term equity among states.
The policy clarifies that vacancies earmarked for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) will be treated as part of the Unreserved category and reflected accordingly in the cadre roster. It also provides a mechanism to bridge reservation gaps by absorbing remaining reserved category candidates into unfilled unreserved vacancies based on merit.
As per the revised guidelines, allocation of IAS officers will be completed before the commencement of the professional training course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, while IPS and IFoS cadre allocations will be finalised immediately after appointment.
Officials said the new cadre allocation model is expected to streamline administrative processes, enhance inter-state exposure for young officers, and bring greater objectivity to a system that has long remained a sensitive issue among aspirants and state governments.
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