The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday (January 6, 2026) promoted 2001-batch IAS officer Ajay Kumar Shukla to the rank of Principal Secretary in the Urban Development Department.
Prior to his elevation, Shukla was serving as Secretary, Urban Development. He was also holding the additional charge of State Mission Director for AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0, two flagship central schemes aimed at strengthening urban infrastructure and improving basic civic services across the state.
In a key development, the Uttar Pradesh government has granted No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to two IAS officers for central deputation. The officers had applied for central deputation postings and have now been formally cleared by the state government.
Those granted NOC are Pankaj Kumar (IAS:2002:UP) and Aryaka Akhouri (IAS:2013:UP). Pankaj Kumar is currently serving as Managing Director of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, while Aryaka Akhouri is posted as Special Secretary in the Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department.
With the issuance of NOCs by the state government, the process has now moved to the Centre, and the central government is expected to issue their posting orders shortly.
Notably, one more IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh is likely to receive NOC for central deputation in the coming days.
Former Bihar Director General of Police Alok Raj on Tuesday (January 6, 2026) resigned as Chairman of the Bihar Staff Selection Commission, cutting short a tenure that had formally begun just days earlier.
The move caught the administration by surprise. Raj had taken charge as BSSC Chairman on January 1, 2026, after retiring from the IPS on December 31, 2025. The Bihar government had appointed him for a fixed five-year term, banking on his long policing career to steady the recruitment body.
Before his formal appointment, Raj had been holding additional charge of the commission since December 18, 2024. At the time, he was serving as Director General and Managing Director of the Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation. Following his retirement, the state formally cleared his appointment as Chairman for five years or until he attained the age of 65, whichever was earlier.
Within official circles, his brief stint as Bihar’s DGP and decades in the police service were seen as assets, especially for a commission that has faced repeated scrutiny over examinations and recruitment processes.
Speculation followed soon after news of his resignation emerged. No official reason has been cited. In his resignation letter to the General Administration Department, Raj said he was stepping down for personal reasons.
Speaking to the media, he said there was no single factor behind the decision and described the circumstances as unavoidable and personal. Raj confirmed that he had completed just over a year in charge of the commission, counting his period of additional responsibility, and declined to comment on his future plans.
Also Read: Alok Raj appointed Chairman of Bihar Staff Selection Commission
The central deputation tenure of Nirupama J Dange (IAS:2007:MH) as Director of Census Operations (DCO) and Director of Citizen Registration (DCR), Maharashtra has been extended.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Tuesday (January 6, 2026), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs to extend Dange’s deputation for an overall tenure of five years up to December 12, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Nirupama J Dange has been serving in the post since December 12, 2022. Her tenure was earlier scheduled to conclude on December 31, 2025, but has now been extended to allow her to complete the full five-year term.
The central deputation tenure of Pooja Pandey (IAS:2008:AM) as Director of Census Operations (DCO) and Director of Citizen Registration (DCR) for Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya has been extended.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Tuesday (January 6, 2026), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs to extend Pandey’s deputation for an overall tenure of five years up to March 16, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Pooja Pandey has been serving in the post since March 16, 2022. Her tenure was earlier scheduled to conclude on December 31, 2025, but has now been extended to complete the full five-year term.
After Haryana, it is now the turn of West Bengal to feel the heat of the UPSC’s ire over the issue of appointing a regular DGP for the state. The state government often dilly-dallies in following legally mandated procedure and unnecessarily ends up in a legal tangle. This is exactly what is happening to Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal.
That is exactly the reason why the UPSC has returned its proposal for the preparation of a panel for appointing the chief of the state police. The UPSC’s rejection is appended with advice to the state government to seek appropriate directions from the Supreme Court. The UPSC has cited inordinate delay as the reason for this decision.
With acting DGP Rajeev Kumar (IPS:1989:WB) scheduled to retire on Jan 31, the issue of who to appoint as the next DGP is staring straight into the eyes of the state govt, particularly after the UPSC returned its panel proposal.
According to the UPSC, despite the fact that the vacancy for the post of DGP arose on 28 December 2023, the state government forwarded its proposal only in July 2025. It meant the Bengal government took more than one and a half years after the vacancy occurred to act. This time lag is well beyond the timeline prescribed by the apex court.
It found mention in the UPSC’s communication to the Chief Secretary, where the commission referred specifically to the Supreme Court’s directions in the Prakash Singh vs. Union of India case of 2006.
Besides, the apex court had also asked all states to forward their proposals to the UPSC at least three months in advance of the anticipated vacancy when the incumbent DGP was to retire. As per the top court order, it had been done to ensure a transparent, timely, and merit-based selection process. But the Bengal govt conveniently forgot to follow the supreme verdict.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Wednesday (December 10, 2025) approved the redesignation of four officers of the 2012 batch from various services to the rank of Director. The redesignation will take effect from the date the officers assume charge of their respective posts.
All four officers are currently serving as Deputy Secretaries in different ministries and departments of the Government of India.
Those redesignated as Directors are Bakki Karthikeyan (IAS:2011:MP), presently serving as Private Secretary to Union Minister G Krishna Reddy; Geetika Sharma (IAS:2012:AGMUT), posted in the Ministry of Mines; Raghav Gupta (IRS-IT:2012), serving in NATGRID under the Ministry of Home Affairs; and Ashish Saxena (ISS:2012), also posted in the Ministry of Mines.
The Gujarat government on Monday (January 5, 2025) placed Rajendrakumar Patel (IAS:2015:GJ), former District Collector of Surendranagar, under suspension following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a bribery-linked money laundering case.
Patel was arrested by the ED on January 2, 2025. On the same day, a special court constituted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) remanded him to the agency’s custody till January 7, 2025.
An official order issued by the state government stated that Patel is deemed to have been placed under suspension with effect from January 2, 2025, in accordance with sub-rule (2) of Rule 3 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, and will remain under suspension until further orders.
Also Read: ED arrests Gujarat IAS Rajendrakumar Patel for money laundering
Three years after being moved out of Delhi following a bitter controversy over walking his dog in Delhi’s stadium, senior bureaucrat Sanjeev Khirwar (IAS:1994:AGMUT) is now back in Delhi again. He has been transferred back to the national capital after he was ousted from it in 2022, allegedly for walking his dog in the capital’s Thyagaraj Stadium during his stint in Delhi. His love for dogs is said to be so intense that the entire stadium complex used to be allegedly cleared of all athletes so that his dog could roam around.
The result saw him being transferred to Ladakh. But Khirwar has been brought back from Ladakh as part of a major revamp of AGMUT-cadre IAS and IPS officers by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the night of Dec 4.
If Khirwar has managed to stage a comeback by weathering a three-year-old storm, it is not because of any political maneuvering but solely because of his outstanding performance as an administrator in Ladakh. Khirwar’s administrative foresight that brought about transformation in Ladakh virtually made him a much-sought-after bureaucrat for Delhi. Credit goes to him for turning adversity into an opportunity.
Khirwar’s transfer to Ladakh proved a boon for the Union Territory the way he transformed the education system by standardizing the quality of education across the UT. He revolutionized winter education through digital infrastructure, opening up winter study camps, distributing tablets among students of remote areas, introducing fast-tracked teacher hiring, and collaborating with network providers like VSNL and Jio to give coverage to around 300 villages.
If Ladakh climbed four ranks from 8th to 4th position in the performance grading index of the Union HRD Ministry, it was all due to Khirwar’s pioneering work in this sector.
His love for reform saw complete adoption of the e-office system across the Ladakh secretariat. Khirwar started public Wi-Fi networks at tourist hubs and expanded digital governance infrastructure all across the UT. Besides, he was also instrumental in bringing solar-heating technology to Ladakh to beat the harshness of winter in a geographically hostile terrain.
He even worked hard to bring in harmony between two districts of Ladakh—Leh and Kargil.
As Khirwar is now back in Delhi, it is up to the Rekha Gupta government to decide how best the services of this sagacious civil servant are utilised to transform Delhi’s sagging image.
Senior IPS officer Vinay Kumar (IPS:2004:BH) has been appointed as Inspector General (IG) in the National Investigation Agency (NIA). According to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 2, 2026, the competent authority has approved his appointment against existing vacancy as per usual terms and conditions of central deputation.
Currently, he serving as in the parent cadre Bihar as Inspector General (IG) of STF. Notably, in May 2025, Vijay Kumar empanelled for holding IG level posts in Government of India.
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