Senior IPS officer Rajesh Pradhan (IPS:2003:MH), currently serving as Joint Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has been prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre in Maharashtra. 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 repatriation.
Notably, Pradhan’s appointment order for central deputation to the CBI was issued on October 28, 2021, for a tenure of five years. At that time, he was serving as Special IG, Marine Security and Intelligence Department, Maharashtra Police. He later assumed charge in the CBI and was elevated to the rank of Joint Director in July 2023.
His deputation was originally scheduled to continue until January 30, 2027. However, his early repatriation has triggered speculation that the Maharashtra government may assign him to a key role in the state administration.
How inclement life becomes after retirement became evident on Monday when retired IPS officers came knocking at the doors of the Supreme Court with a petition urging for non-discrimination. Having organised themselves under the banner of the Forum of Retired Indian Police Service Officers, they have moved the court challenging a new pension validation clause introduced through the Finance Act, 2025, passed by the Union Government.
These retired bureaucrats claim that the new provision is unfair and unconstitutional, as retired officers are being treated differently despite belonging to the same category, only because of the date on which they retired. They describe the government’s move as an attempt to bypass judicial decisions by introducing retrospective validation through legislation.
The forum has specifically challenged Part IV of the Finance Act, 2025, which introduces the ‘Validation of the Central Civil Services Rules and Principles for Expenditure on Pension Liabilities from the Consolidated Fund of India.’
The forum wants the top court to declare the new pension validation clause as unlawful, claiming that this clause goes against earlier court rulings, which clearly stated that pensioners from the same group cannot be discriminated against based on retirement dates.
An apex court bench, comprising Justices K V Viswanathan and Prasanna B Varale, is hearing the petition. The bench has sought responses from several central ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Law and Justice, as well as the Ministry of Personnel and the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare.
Interestingly, the petitioners have demanded interest on delayed payments, in addition to arrears, stating that pensioners should be financially compensated for the delay caused by the authorities.
The top court has decided to hear the matter along with other similar pending cases in January next year.
In an unexpected twist, a sharp backlash has come to greet the Maharashtra government’s decision to appoint an IAS officer, Trigun Kulkarni, as the head of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE). The education department officials are up in arms against this decision and have moved the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) by filing a petition challenging the appointment of IAS officers as heads within the education sector.
As this is the first time that an IAS officer has been appointed as the MSBSHSE chairman, these officials virtually want to nip the problem in the bud before it gets out of hand.
Their biggest fear is that if this trend of appointing IAS officers in the educational sector continues, it will disrupt the entire chain of the promotional prospects of officers belonging to the State Education Service.
There are various wings functioning under the Education Department like, Education Commissionerate, State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT), State Examination Council, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), Directorate of Primary Education, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Directorate of Planning, Balbharti, and the Maharashtra Primary Education Council.
So far, there has been a practice of promoting a State Education Service officer to the post of the chairman or director of any other directorate or autonomous institution, with the exception of the Education Commissioner and the Maharashtra Primary Education Council. Hence, they feel the government’s decision to depute IAS officers to these posts would ruin their chances of promotion to these posts.
This is not the first time that such a decision has been resented by the Education Department officials. About two years ago, the Education Department had opted to appoint officers from the Revenue Department on a deputation basis to the role of divisional deputy director in the Education Department. That decision, too, had been challenged in the MAT, which subsequently stayed the appointment. These officials now hope that it will be replicated.
Their petition to the ‘MAT’ is simply aimed at ensuring that only officers from the Education Department are appointed to these positions so that their right to promotion is safeguarded. A hearing is expected soon.
The deputation tenure of Abhishek Narang (IRS-IT:2008) as Private Secretary to Chirag Paswan, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, has been extended for six months. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday (November 21, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries to continue Narang’s deputation beyond December 31, 2025, or until further orders.
Narang has been serving as Private Secretary to Chirag Paswan since July 2024.
The central deputation tenure of Deepak Srivastava (IOFS:2008) as Director in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) has been extended for two years. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Friday (November 21, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of MoPNG to extend his tenure beyond March 12, 2026, up to March 12, 2028, or until further orders.
Deepak Srivastava was first appointed as Deputy Secretary in MoPNG in February 2021 for a four-year central deputation. He assumed charge on March 12, 2021. Before the completion of his initial tenure, he received a one-year extension until March 12, 2026. With the latest order, his tenure has now been extended by an additional two years.
Parthasarathy Bhaskar Devarakonda (IRS-C&IT:2012) has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Friday (November 21, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved his lateral shift under the Central Staffing Scheme.
Devarakonda, who is currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), will continue at the same level in the Cabinet Secretariat for the remaining period of his four-year central deputation—up to June 22, 2026—or until further orders.
He was appointed to the DARPG post in May 2022 for a four-year tenure and assumed charge on June 22, 2022. With the latest order, he now moves to the Cabinet Secretariat in the same capacity.
B Anoop, Scientific Officer/H in the Reactor Design Group at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), has been appointed as Director (Technical) at Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI).
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Friday (November 21, 2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Atomic Energy to appoint Anoop to the post.
New Delhi, November 24, 2025: The Ministry of Power on Monday held a key meeting of the India Energy Stack (IES) Taskforce to review progress on developing a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for the power sector. The initiative aims to build a unified, secure, and interoperable digital backbone for the entire energy value chain.
The project is being executed with REC Limited as the Nodal Agency and FSR Global as the Knowledge Partner. Two core documents — the IES Strategy Document (v0.1) and the IES Architecture Document (v0.1) — were presented for expert review and feedback.
Senior specialists from the power, technology, and regulatory domains participated, including Taskforce Chairman Dr. Ram Sewak Sharma, Chief Architect Pramod Verma, Vice Chair Pradeep Kumar Pujari, Ghanshyam Prasad, Alok Kumar, REC Limited CMD Jitendra Srivastava, S. K. Soonee, Vikram Gandotra, Swetha Ravi Kumar, Sujith Nair, Prince Dhawan, Raveesh Gupta, Debjani Ghosh, and Shashank Mishra.
REC CMD Jitendra Srivastava said the discussions mark “a pivotal milestone in building a unified, open, and future-ready digital foundation for India’s energy sector.” He noted that the inputs will help refine the framework before moving to pilot implementation.
The India Energy Stack aims to connect all stakeholders and energy assets through interoperable standards, federated registries, and open digital protocols, enabling secure real-time data exchange. Members observed that the IES could transform the power sector much like Aadhaar and UPI reshaped identity and payments.
The feedback will guide document finalisation and pilot planning. Monthly Taskforce meetings will now ensure steady progress. The project is targeted for completion by July 2026.
In a key appointment, Balasugumar Daniel, who is currently serving as Chief General Manager In-charge (Works), has been named Director (Operations) of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI). The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued an order on Friday (November 21, 2025), confirming that the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the Ministry of Heavy Industries’ proposal to appoint him to the post.
Mr. Daniel’s selection follows the recommendation of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), which shortlisted him after interviewing nine candidates on August 8, 2025.
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) on Monday (November 24, 2025) formally notified the appointment of seven Executive Directors (EDs) to the Boards of various public sector banks. This comes three days after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the DFS proposal on November 21, 2025.
According to the notification, the following officers have been appointed as Executive Directors:
Amit Kumar Srivastava – Executive Director, Punjab National Bank
E. Ratan Kumar – Executive Director, Central Bank of India
Amresh Prasad – Executive Director, Union Bank of India
Pramod Kumar Dwibedi – Executive Director, Bank of India
Sunil Kumar Chugh – Executive Director, Canara Bank
Mini T M – Executive Director, Indian Bank
Prabhat Kiran – Executive Director, Bank of Maharashtra
These appointments follow the selection process conducted by the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), which on August 4, 2025, recommended 11 candidates for ED positions after interviewing 80 banking professionals from various PSBs between July 19 and August 4, 2025. Out of these, seven officers have now been given postings.
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