Sandeep Kumar Singh (IAS:2011:AGMUT), currently serving as the Private Secretary to Minister for Culture & Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, at the Deputy Secretary level, has been re-designated as Director in the Ministry of Culture.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (24.02.2025), the competent authority has approved the proposal to re-designate Mr. Singh’s post to Director level with effect from the date of assumption of charge of re-designated post and for a period upto September 30, 2026 or on co-terminus basis with the Minister or till he ceases to function as Private Secretary to the Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
It is noteworthy that Sandeep Kumar Singh began his central deputation tenure on October 1, 2021.
The central deputation tenure of Alok Prem Nagar (IFoS:1995:HP) as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been extended for a one year. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday (22.02.2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Panchayat Raj to extend the deputation tenure of Mr Nagar for a period of one year beyond February 17, 2025 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The central deputation tenure of Manoj Sethi (ICAS:1993) as Joint Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Department of Fertilizers has been extended for one year. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday (22.02.2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Department pf Fertilizers to extend the deputation tenure of Mr Sethi for a period of one year beyond February 4, 2025 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
A Asholi Chalai (CSS: 1987) has been granted in-situ upgradation to the rank of Additional Secretary in the National Commission for Women. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday (22.02.2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his upgradation while he was serving as Joint Secretary in the commission.
Chalai was recently empanelled on January 10, 2025, along with 27 other officers, to hold Additional Secretary-level posts in the Government of India.
In a significant move, the central government on Saturday (22.02.2025) appointed former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das (Retd IAS: 1980: TN) as Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister of India.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Das’s appointment to the post, which will be co-terminus with the tenure of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The ACC order clarified that Das will serve as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister alongside Dr. P K Mishra, who holds the position of Principal Secretary-1.
In an unusual development, two more judges of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Harvinder Kaur Oberoi and B Anand, have recused themselves from hearing cases involving IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi (IFoS:2002:HY), bringing the total recusals in his cases to 13.
So far, two Supreme Court judges, two Uttarakhand High Court judges, the CAT chairman, a Shimla trial court judge, and seven CAT judges from Delhi and Allahabad have stepped away from his cases. In its latest order on February 19, the CAT bench of Justices Oberoi and Anand directed the registry not to list his cases further, without providing a specific reason. Chaturvedi’s counsel, Sudershan Goel, stated that the matter pertained to his appraisal report.
The pattern of recusals dates back to 2013, when then-Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi withdrew from hearing Chaturvedi’s plea for a CBI probe into alleged corruption involving former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Subsequent recusals have included Justices U U Lalit (SC, 2016), a Shimla trial court judge (2018), CAT Delhi chairman Justice L Narasimhan Reddy (2019), and multiple judges from CAT and Uttarakhand HC in recent years.
Chaturvedi first gained prominence for exposing scams in the Haryana forest department between 2007 and 2012, leading to his repeated transfers—12 times in five years. He was later suspended and charge-sheeted but reinstated following a Presidential intervention. Recognized as a whistleblower in 2012, he went on to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his anti-corruption efforts.
In a significant relief for IAS officer Pooja Singhal (IAS:2000:JH), the special PMLA court in Ranchi on Friday rejected the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) petition seeking to bar her from receiving any government posting.
The special PMLA court had reserved its verdict on Monday (February 17) after hearing arguments from both sides and pronounced its decision on Friday. The ED, following the revocation of Singhal’s suspension, argued that granting her a government role could enable her to misuse her position and influence the case.
However, the court dismissed the ED’s concerns, stating, “It is the state government’s prerogative to give any posting to Pooja Singhal or not, and the court will not interfere in it.”
Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, was arrested on May 11, 2022, after a 15-hour interrogation by the ED in connection with alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and other charges. She remained in jail for 28 months before being granted bail by a special PMLA court in Ranchi on December 7, 2024.
Following her release, the Jharkhand government reinstated her with effect from the date of her release. In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, she was appointed Secretary of the Department of Information Technology and e-Governance, with an additional charge as Chief Executive Officer of Jharkhand Communication Network Ltd. (JCN), Ranchi, on Tuesday.
After months of uncertainty, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday directed the Telangana government to relieve three IPS officers, including two of DGP rank, and ordered them to report to Andhra Pradesh.
The officers are Anjani Kumar (IPS: 1990) and Abhilasha Bisht (IPS: 1994), both holding the rank of DGP, and Abhishek Mohanty (IPS: 2011), an SP-rank officer.
Currently, Anjani Kumar serves as the Chairman of the Road Safety Authority, while Bisht is the Director of the TS Police Academy, and Mohanty is the Police Commissioner of Karimnagar. The MHA has directed all three officers to report to Andhra Pradesh at the earliest.
Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) had allotted Anjani Kumar, Bisht, and Mohanty to the Andhra Pradesh cadre. However, they, along with some IAS officers, challenged this decision before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and obtained a stay. The appellate court later ruled against them, directing them to report to Andhra Pradesh.
A similar situation arose in October 2024, when, based on a Telangana High Court order, four IAS officers originally allotted to Andhra Pradesh were asked to report there. These officers were Ronald Rose (IAS: 2006), Vani Prasad (IAS: 1995), Amrapali Kata (IAS: 2010) and Karuna Vakati (IAS: 2004).
Simultaneously, three IAS officers serving in Andhra Pradesh but originally allotted to Telangana were relieved by the Andhra Pradesh government and told to report to Telangana. The officers were G Srijana (IAS: 2000), Sivasankar Lotheti (IAS: 2013) and Chevvuru Hari Kiran (IAS: 2012)
Since then, speculation had been rife that the three IPS officers would face a similar fate. On Friday, the Telangana government received confirmation to relieve them.
Notably, two years ago, former Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar (IAS: 1989) was directed to report to Andhra Pradesh. He later took voluntary retirement and was subsequently appointed Chief Advisor to the Telangana government.
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended elevating three Additional Judges of the Bombay High Court as Permanent Judges. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Collegium held on February 20, 2025.
They are;
Justice Shailesh Pramod Brahme
Justice Firdosh Phiroze Pooniwalla
Justice Jitendra Shantilal Jain
The Collegium also informed that it has recommended that the term of Justice Manjusha Ajay Deshpande as an additional judge be renewed for one more year.
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended elevating four Additional Judges of the Madras High Court as Permanent Judges. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Collegium held on February 20, 2025.
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