Uttar Pradesh DGP Rajeev Krishna made a notable disclosure about the popularity of the UP Cop App while describing it as a digital police station. According to him, the app has seen more than 50 lakh downloads since its launch in 2019 and helped fetch over 2.1 crore FIR copies from home.
Krishna said these figures exhibit the importance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s vision for digital policing.
The UP police chief said that the app, coupled with the police’s citizen portal, has significantly reduced the need for people to visit police stations as well as reduced the resolution time for various services.
According to him, these online platforms have been providing 27 types of police services to people, such as online FIR registration, downloading FIR copies, reporting lost articles, character verification, tenant verification, domestic help verification, and employee verification.
Krishna sounded optimistic about what he described as a visionary approach, saying the UP Police is setting a new example in serving the common public as technology has been integrated into policing to make it people-centric, transparent, and accountable.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday (January 12, 2026) promoted eight Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the 1995 batch to the rank of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), corresponding to Level-17 of the Pay Matrix. Of the total, three officers have been granted proforma promotion as they are currently serving on central deputation.
The officers promoted to the ACS rank are Ashish Kumar Goel, Sanjay Prasad, Amrit Abhijat, R. Ramesh Kumar, Mukesh Kumar Meshram, Bhuvnesh Kumar, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, and Santosh Kumar Yadav. Bhuvnesh Kumar, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan and Santosh Kumar Yadav have received proforma promotion.
Ashish Kumar Goel is presently serving as Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). He also holds additional charge as Chairman of the Water Electric Corporation of Uttar Pradesh and the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Production and Transmission Corporation.
Sanjay Prasad is currently posted as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and holds multiple key portfolios, including Protocol, Information, Home, Gopan, Visa and Passport, Vigilance, and Estate Departments. Amrit Abhijat is serving as Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture Department, with additional charge of Religious Affairs.
R. Ramesh Kumar is presently working as a Member of the Board of Revenue, while Mukesh Kumar Meshram is serving as Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Department.
Among the officers on central deputation, Bhuvnesh Kumar is serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Mritunjay Kumar Narayan is currently posted as Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner of India (RGI-CCI) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Santosh Kumar Yadav is serving as Chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The new Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) being built near Raisina Hill is nearing completion, with workers giving the finishing touches. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to shift to this new office this month. The premises, named Seva Teerth, are almost ready to house the new PMO. PM Modi is believed to start working from the new office later this month.
This new PMO, built as part of the Central Vista project, features a modern open floor plan and culturally inspired meeting rooms.
The Seva Teerth has three buildings—Seva Teerth 1 houses the Prime Minister’s Office, Seva Teerth 2 will have the Cabinet Secretariat, and Seva Teerth 3 will house the National Security Council secretariat and the office of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Besides being technologically equipped, Seva Teerth has high-end rooms for meeting dignitaries, which reflect India’s culture and traditions. A new room has been designed for cabinet meetings. The Prime Minister’s Office now has an open floor model, and officials say this is aimed at bringing a change in work culture.
The PMO has been located in the South Block, along with the External Affairs and Defence Ministries, since Independence. The North Block, on the other hand, housed the Home and Finance Ministries, which have now been shifted to Kartavya Bhavan.
These two blocks, which were often touted as a colonial legacy, will now house a massive museum showcasing the 5,000-year-old Indian civilisation.
Initially, the PMO was to be called the Executive Enclave, but it was later named Seva Teerth (meaning a holy place of service). Not only this, but even the Prime Minister’s bungalow is being built near the new office, and once it’s ready, PM Modi will move out of the 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence and shift to this new residence.
Former Maharashtra acting Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Pandey (IPS:1986:MH) has jumped into yet another controversy by coming under fresh scrutiny. He now faces serious allegations of conspiring to falsely implicate State Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde in the Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) scam that allegedly took place in 2016.
These allegations have been made on the basis of a special investigation report submitted by outgoing DGP Rashmi Shukla to the state Home Department. The special investigation report highlights Pandey’s misuse of power during the ULC reinvestigation, sparking a political-legal controversy.
Pandey is not new to controversy, as he was earlier arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a phone-tapping and money laundering case involving NSE employees and spent around five months in judicial custody.
An IIT Kanpur alumnus, Pandey had entered politics by joining the Congress Party in 2024, two years after his removal from the post of acting DGP in 2022.
Is the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association losing its efficacy? This question is now being asked, as it has for all practical purposes been lying defunct at least since 2019. It has led many a bureaucrat to develop a feeling that the association is fast becoming like a vanishing cream.
There are sound reasons for this thinking, as the association has not been able to hold either the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or the Civil Service Week, to be held every year, since 2019. It has happened despite its resolution to hold the twin events every year being passed in 2013.
The purpose of the resolution was to serve as a reminder to the association’s members so that failure to hold civil service week did not arise again. Yet about seven years have elapsed since it was organized last.
Interestingly, even that resolution had come after a five-year hiatus from 2007 to 2012 when the twin programmes could not be organized for various reasons. The events could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 and in 2022 due to the assembly elections. Since then too, there has been no AGM or Civil Service Week.
Now, as the state government is said to be contemplating holding a senior administrative officers’ conference early next month, there is still a question mark before the association being able to hold the much-awaited AGM and the Civil Service Week.
The association has often shown a perfunctory attitude. That is the reason why many bureaucrats in the state still remember the comment made by senior IAS officer G. B. Patnaik at the association’s AGM on January 19, 2013, saying IAS has become a vanishing cream. What had added credence to this comment was the fact that most officers present at the meeting then had shared Patnaik’s concern.
Though Patnaik’s comment had been made in a lighter vein, it virtually reflected the changing perception about the service from a “steel frame” to the “vanishing cream.”
One major reason behind the association’s failure to organize these events has been that these events generally coincided with the senior administrative officers’ conference. This conference provided an opportunity even to the junior officers to share their experiences and points on administrative issues with the state’s Chief Minister, who used to be the chief guest on the occasion. State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had addressed the senior officers’ conference in 2019.
But there is no taker for the association’s programmes as a senior government official confirmed that there was no proposal as yet to hold the Civil Service Week.
The senior Haryana IAS officer, Vijay Dahiya (IAS:2001:HY), receives major relief from the Haryana government, which has declined to sanction the investigating agency to prosecute him in a corruption case. This refusal prevents the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) from initiating trial proceedings against Dahiya by filing a chargesheet or challan, necessary to start prosecution in a court of law.
Dahiya had been arrested by the ACB on October 10, 2023, in connection with a corruption case and put behind bars for 49 days before being granted bail on November 28, 2023.
Dahiya, along with his 2001 batchmates, has just a few days back been promoted to the higher administrative grade (Level 15 in the pay matrix) as principal secretary.
The controversy started on April 20, 2023, when the ACB filed an FIR naming three persons—Dahiya, who was serving as administrative secretary of the Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department, along with Deepak Sharma, the Chief Skills Officer (a contractual appointee) in the Haryana Skill Development Mission, and a private individual, Poonam Chopra.
According to ACB officials, the agency completed its investigation and sought sanction to prosecute Dahiya in July 2024, followed by two reminders in January and August 2025, but it was declined by the state govt on the grounds that the investigation failed to establish any exchange of graft money between the IAS officer and the other accused as well as the complainant, Rinku Manchanda.
The state government had objected to the ACB not obtaining prior approval of the government under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act before registering the FIR against Dahiya.
OneRinku Manchanda, a resident of Fatehabad who ran an educational institution, Gramin Shiksha, under the Haryana Skill Development Mission, had alleged that the skill development department owed about ₹50 lakh to him, but when he asked for the clearance of the dues, he was allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹5 lakh for processing the payment by Deepak Sharma, then posted as the chief skills officer.
According to the FIR, the complainant was directed to Poonam Chopra, a Delhi resident, claiming to be an acquaintance of Dahiya. Dahiya, who was serving as the administrative secretary of the department, is said to have facilitated early clearance of the bills. Chopra later reiterated the demand of ₹5 lakh as illegal gratification for clearing the bills, with a separate 5% commission for herself.
The complainant agreed to the demand and allegedly paid ₹2 lakh to Chopra as part payment. According to the complaint, Chopra demanded the rest of the graft money, ₹3 lakh, on April 20, 2023. The ACB then laid a trap and arrested her, leading to the controversy.
REC Limited, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Power and a leading NBFC has been conferred with the Silver Award in the ‘Corporate Net Zero Transition’ category at the prestigious SKOCH Awards 2025.
The award was received on behalf of REC Limited by Shri Awanish Kumar Bharati, General Manager (Finance).
This recognition marks REC’s third ESG-related accolade in 2025, underscoring the organisation’s sustained commitment to environmental stewardship, responsible governance, and long-term sustainable growth. The award acknowledges REC’s strategic initiatives and measurable progress in aligning its operations and financing portfolio with India’s net-zero and climate transition goals.
REC Limited has emerged as a key enabler of India’s clean energy ambitions by proactively supporting projects across renewable energy, green infrastructure, and sustainable power systems. Through a strong ESG framework and responsible financing practices, REC continues to go beyond its role as a lender—positioning itself as a catalyst for transformative change in the power and infrastructure sector.
In a significant administrative move, the Punjab government on Saturday (January 10, 2026) ordered a major reshuffle in the state police administration, transferring and posting 22 IPS officers on administrative grounds with immediate effect. Several officers have also been promoted to the ranks of ADGP, IGP and DIG and assigned new responsibilities.
The details are as follows:
Naresh Kumar (IPS:1994:PB), Special DGP, Human Rights, has been transferred and posted as Special DGP, Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC), Chandigarh.
Amardeep Singh Rai (IPS:1994:PB), Special DGP, Traffic and Road Safety, has been transferred and posted as Special DGP, Traffic and Road Safety, Punjab, with additional charge of Special DGP, Public Grievances Division.
Kaustubh Sharma (IPS:2001:PB), IGP, ANTF, has been promoted and posted as ADGP, Human Rights.
Jagadale Nilambari Vijay (IPS:2008:PB), DIG, Faridkot Range, Faridkot, has been promoted and posted as IGP, ANTF, with additional charge of IGP, Faridkot Range.
Rajpal Singh (IPS:2008:SPS), DIG, PAP-II, Jalandhar, with additional charge of DIG, NRI, has been promoted and posted as IGP, Crime, Punjab, with additional charge of IGP, PAP-2, Chandigarh.
Snehdeep Sharma (IPS:2011:SPS), DIG, Ferozepur Range (in the rank of SP), has been promoted and posted as DIG, AGTF, Ludhiana, with additional charge of DIG, Ferozepur Range.
Sandeep Goel (IPS:2011:SPS), DIG, Border Range, Amritsar (in the rank of SP), has been promoted and continues as DIG, Border Range, Amritsar.
Jasdev Singh Sidhu (IPS-SPS:2011:PB), SP, Security, Punjab Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh, has been promoted and posted as DIG, Security, Punjab Lok Bhawan, Chandigarh.
Sandeep Kumar Garg (IPS:2012:PB), AIG, Intelligence-3, has been promoted and posted as DIG, Intelligence, Punjab.
Dhruv Dahiya (IPS:2012:PB), AIG, Counter Intelligence, Punjab, has been promoted and posted as DIG, Internal Security, Punjab.
Gulneet Singh Khurana (IPS:2012:PB), SSP, Rupnagar, has been promoted and posted as DIG, Counter Intelligence, Punjab.
Akhil Chaudhary (IPS:2012:PB), AIG (Administration), ANTF, Punjab, has been promoted and posted as DIG, ANTF, Punjab.
Amneet Kondal (IPS:2012:PB), SSP Bathinda, has been promoted and posted as DIG, Personnel, Punjab, with additional charge of DIG, Social Media, Punjab, Chandigarh.
Gurpreet Singh (IPS-SPS:2012:PB), Commandant, Commando Training Centre, Bahadurgarh, Patiala, has been promoted and posted as DIG, CDO, Patiala.
Rupinder Singh (IPS-SPS:2012:PB), DCP, City, Ludhiana, has been promoted and posted as DIG/Additional Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana.
Sarabjit Singh (IPS-SPS:2012:PB), AIG, Litigation, Bureau of Investigation, Punjab, has been promoted and posted as DIG, Crime, BoI, Punjab.
Harpreet Singh Jaggi (IPS-SPS:2012:PB), AIG, Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, has been promoted and posted as DIG, Economic Offences Wing, Vigilance Bureau, Punjab.
Ravjot Grewal (IPS:2015:PB), who was available for posting, has been posted with services placed at the disposal of Vigilance Bureau, Punjab.
Jyoti Yadav (IPS:2019:PB), SSP, Khanna, has been transferred and posted as SSP Bathinda.
Maninder Singh (IPS:2019:PB), who was available for posting, has been appointed as SSP Rupnagar.
Darpan Ahluwalia (IPS:2020:PB), Staff Officer to DGP, Punjab, has been posted as SSP Khanna.
Rishabh Bhola (IPS:2022:RR), who was available for posting on promotion to the rank of SP, has been appointed as Staff Officer to DGP, Punjab.
REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited (RECPDCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of REC Limited, a Maharatna CPSU under the Ministry of Power, has successfully handed over two project-specific Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) related to intra-state transmission projects in Maharashtra. The handover was completed on January 9, 2026, under the Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) mechanism.
One of the SPVs, Velgaon Power Transmission Limited, was transferred to Ceigall India Limited, which emerged as the successful bidder through the TBCB process conducted by RECPDCL as the Bid Process Coordinator. The transmission project will be developed on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis, with an implementation period of 24 months.
The SPV was formally handed over by Vijay Kulkarni, Senior General Manager and Head of Department (T&D), RECPDCL, to Dr. Sudhir Rao Hoshing, Whole-time Director of Ceigall India Limited, in the presence of senior officials from RECPDCL, Ceigall India Limited and the Maharashtra State Transmission Utility (STU).
The project involves the establishment of a 400/220 kV Velgaon Gas Insulated Substation and the LILO of 400 kV double-circuit and 220 kV double-circuit and single-circuit transmission lines, along with associated works.
On the same day, RECPDCL also handed over Jejuri Hinjewadi Power Transmission Limited to The Tata Power Company Limited, which was selected as the successful bidder through the TBCB process for development of the project on a BOOT basis. The project has an implementation timeline of 24 months.
The SPV was handed over by Vijay Kulkarni to Piyush Kumar, Head BD–T&D (International), Tata Power Company Limited, in the presence of senior officials of RECPDCL, Tata Power and Maharashtra STU.
The project envisages the construction of a 400 kV double-circuit transmission line of approximately 115 km connecting Jejuri to Hinjewadi, along with associated infrastructure.
The successful handover of these two SPVs highlights RECPDCL’s continued role in strengthening transmission infrastructure through a transparent and competitive bidding framework, contributing to reliable and efficient power evacuation within Maharashtra.
The Chhattisgarh government has constituted the State Information Commission by appointing the Chief Information Commissioner and two Commissioners to it. Retired IAS officer and former state Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain (IAS:1989:CG) has been appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner. Besides, two Information Commissioners have also been appointed. Another retired IAS officer, Umesh Agarwal (IAS:2004:CG), and journalist Shirish Mishra have been appointed as Information Commissioners.
TheGeneral Administration Department (GAD) issued a notification to this effect, according to which, the tenure, salary, allowances and service conditions of the State Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioners will be governed by the Government of India’s notification of Right to Information Rules, 2019.
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