Senior IAS officer Vivek Aggarwal (IAS:1994:MP), presently serving as Secretary, Ministry of Culture, has been given the additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Wednesday (November 26, 2025), the competent authority approved the assignment of additional charge to Aggarwal with immediate effect, and till the joining of Srivatsa Krishna (IAS:1994:KN) or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Notably, on November 20, the government had appointed senior IAS officer Srivatsa Krishna (IAS:1994:KN) as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. He was expected to take charge after the retirement of the incumbent, V Vidyavathi (IAS:1991:KN), who is scheduled to superannuate on November 30, 2025.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) cleared the extension of temporary upgradation for eight senior IAS officers posted across different ministries. The order from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) means these officers will continue to work at the Additional Secretary level for the revised periods mentioned in the notification.
Here’s the list of officers whose upgraded tenures have been extended:
Sajjan Singh Yadav (IAS:1995:AGMUT), serving in the Department of Expenditure, will now continue in the Additional Secretary slot until 19 August 2026.
In the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, D. Thara (IAS:1995:GJ) has been permitted to stay on in her upgraded position — she had earlier moved up from Director level — until 28 July 2026.
The Department of Fertilizers will retain Aneeta C. Meshram (IAS:1996:UP) at the Additional Secretary level through 5 November 2026.
From the Ministry of Tourism, Suman Billa (IAS:1996:KL) has been given an extension that keeps him in the upgraded role until 5 December 2026.
At the DoPT headquarters, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi (IAS:1997:AGMUT) will remain in his temporarily upgraded place until 18 November 2026.
In the President’s Secretariat, Rakesh Gupta (IAS:1997:HY) has been allowed to continue at the Additional Secretary level up to 14 September 2026.
At the National Highways Authority of India, Vishal Chauhan (IAS:1998:SK), who serves as Member (Administration), will stay on in his upgraded role until 5 November 2026.
And in the Cabinet Secretariat, Rahul Sharma (IAS:1998:JH) will continue in the Additional Secretary-level post until 7 November 2026.
In a tragic incident, 50-year-old IAS officer Mahantesh Bilagi was killed after the bureaucrat’s car overturned in Karnataka’s Jewargi taluk near Gaunalli cross on Tuesday. He was on his way to attend a relative’s wedding. Two of Bilagi’s four relatives, Shankar and Iranna, who were traveling along with him, also died in the accident.
The incident took place when he was going from Belagavi to Bidar to attend a relative’s wedding along with four others. The driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a bridge alongside the highway. The injured have been admitted to a local hospital. A case has been registered in this regard at the Jewargi Police Station.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivkumar have condoled the death of the IAS officer, saying that his passing away is an “irreplaceable loss to society.”
The deceased, a senior bureaucrat, was currently posted as managing director in Karnataka State Mineral Corporation Limited (KSMCL). He had also served as the managing director of the Bangalore Electric Supply Company Limited (BESCOM). Earlier he worked as the Davangere Deputy Commissioner and Dharwad Assistant Commissioner during the initial phase of his career.
With a view to create a world-class banking system in the country, the Union Government is reportedly going to undertake the next phase of PSU bank mergers early next year. The driving force behind the government’s plan for merger is to enable the Indian banks to compete with global players and occupy a place in the top 100 global rankings.
The prime objective behind bank mergers has been to strengthen financial books, trim bad debts, and boost digital and physical infrastructure that collectively result in improving its global competitiveness.
That is precisely the reason why the country’s largest PSU lender, State Bank of India (SBI), is also supporting the next phase of bank consolidation in order to earn more and increase market value.
There are at present six banks in the PSU banking system that still retain their single entities and await merger. They are Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Central Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Punjab and Sind Bank, and UCO Bank.
Experts strongly believe that the bank mergers have proved crucial in ensuring smoother services, greater risk diversification, reduced operational expenditure, and better capital strength, among others.
The banking system has virtually undergone a significant transformation during the last three decades, and under the prevailing scenario, the merger of two or multiple banks to form one uniform and strong bank is the need of the hour.
Senior IAS officer Kamini Ratan Chauhan (IAS:1997:UP) has been relieved to join her parent cadre Uttar Pradesh after completing her deputation at the Centre. She had been serving as Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Chauhan moved to the Ministry on November 22, 2022, and wraps up roughly three years there, bringing her central stint to a close.
Her current tenure followed an earlier central deputation that began in December 2019, when she joined the Department of Higher Education as Joint Secretary. She continued in that role until she was empanelled for Additional Secretary–level posts in October 2022.
Soon after the empanelment, she was moved to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and appointed as Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser on November 19, 2022, formally taking charge three days later.
Senior bureaucrat Utpal Kumar Singh(Retd. IAS:1986:UK), the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha, is likely to get another extension, his time until March next year. Officials say the proposal is being examined in view of the winter session that opens on December 1 and the Commonwealth Countries Speakers’ Conference scheduled for January.
Singh took charge of the Lok Sabha Secretariat on November 30, 2020 on contract basis, succeeding Snehlata Shrivastava (Retd. IAS:1982:MP), who had completed a three-year term from December 1, 2017, to November 30, 2020. Singh’s present tenure — his fourth one-year extension — runs until November 30, 2025, by which time he will have completed five years in office.
If the fresh extension is cleared, Singh will continue beyond that five-year mark, ensuring stability in the Secretariat through both the upcoming session of Parliament and the international conference early next year.
Before being brought to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Singh served as Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, rounding off a long administrative career before moving into his current parliamentary role.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which bears the responsibility of protecting the Parliament House, has mooted a big change in the transfer policy for its personnel deployed at the Parliament. As per reports, the CISF is revising its current three-year transfer policy for its 2500-strong personnel deployed in the Parliament security. They will now be transferred after four to five years, not three.
This is being done to make it easier for the personnel to identify Members of Parliament (MPs). It was necessitated after several MPs complained of the CISF personnel failing to recognise them during a Parliament session.
This policy change will exclusively apply only to the personnel deployed for Parliament House security, and not to those posted at airports, metro stations, or other units
The CISF, which took over the security of the Parliament House in May 2024, currently has over 2,500 soldiers and commandos deployed for its security. These soldiers are specially trained to memorise the faces of all the MPs, in addition to providing them with detailed information about every corner of the Parliament House.
This change is to ensure that CISF personnel do not misidentify any MPs entering the Parliament House, especially during Parliament sessions. Despite this, there have been instances where MPs have alleged that CISF personnel failed to recognize them.
Keeping it in mind, an elaborate transfer policy is going to be put in place so that there is no confusion in identifying MPs, both new and old. According to the plan, 25% of the total personnel deployed in the security of the Parliament House will be transferred to other units on a rotational basis each year so that soldiers coming from other units can also learn about Parliament House security and its rules. This will ensure that when soldiers are transferred every four or five years, there won’t be all new soldiers and officers posted in the Parliament House.
Sources suggest that it could be possible to ensure that no personnel stationed in Parliament House are removed for five years after the government is formed so that they do not fail to recognise any new MPs elected after the general elections. This would prevent any confusion in identifying new or returning MPs and implementing the procedures in place. This move is expected to have benefits on many other fronts as well.
A group of Officer Trainees from the 76th batch of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday (November 25. 2025). The interaction was part of their ongoing training before they move into field postings.
During the meeting, President Murmu told the young officers that revenue collection may not always be visible to the public, but it quietly supports almost everything the government does — roads and bridges, schools, hospitals, welfare schemes and much more. She said the tax system should work smoothly and with as little trouble to taxpayers as possible.
The President reminded them that once they join the service, their work will not be limited to assessments or paperwork. They would be handling investigations, trade facilitation, and enforcement duties, often at sensitive points such as ports, airports and land borders. In her words, they would be “guarding the economic frontiers of the country” — checking smuggling and financial fraud while ensuring that legitimate trade moves without unnecessary delays.
She told the trainees that their real test would be finding the right balance: enforcing the law firmly, but without creating hurdles for businesses or honest taxpayers. She urged them to rely on transparency, technology and accountability in their day-to-day work, and reminded them that integrity would be their strongest asset throughout their career.
The central deputation tenure of senior officer Arti Chhabra Srivastava (IOFS:1990), serving as Additional Secretary (JS level) in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), has been extended till her superannuation. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Tuesday (November 25, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the CVC’s proposal to continue her tenure until her retirement on January 31, 2027. Her deputation was earlier scheduled to end on December 16, 2025.
Notably, Srivastava has been serving in the CVC at Additional Secretary (JS level) since March 2022. Before joining the CVC, she served as the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of SEBI from December 16, 2018.
The deputation tenure of senior IPS officer Ratan Sanjay Katiyar (IPS:1998:BH) as Inspector General (IG) in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has been extended by two years. An order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Tuesday (November 25, 2025) stated that the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved his extension.
Katiyar’s original appointment order as IG, SSB was issued on January 14, 2021, for a five-year deputation. His tenure was scheduled to end in January 2026. However, before the completion of the term, the Centre has granted him a two-year extension, allowing him to continue in the post until January 19, 2028.
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