Centre appoints new Secretaries in Various Govt Departments/Ministries

The Government of India, in a major bureaucratic reshuffle, has appointed new secretaries in the various Ministries/Departments of the central government. The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met on 18 April 2025 and approved the list of newly appointed secretaries.

Here is the list of the major appointments.

Revenue Secretary 

• 1994-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, Arvind Shrivastava, has been appointed Revenue Secretary in the Union Ministry of Finance. He is presently an  Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Secretary, Department of Expenditure

• Vumlunmang Vualnam has been appointed as the Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Union Minister of Finance.

Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs

• Anuradha Thakur will succeed the current Finance Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ajay Seth, upon his retirement. Ajay Seth will demit his office on 30 June 2025.

Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises

• K. Moses Chalai, currently Secretary of the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Union Home Ministry, has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Public Enterprises under the Union Ministry of Finance.

Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment

• Mrs Vandana Gurnani has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Civil Aviation Secretary

• Senior IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, Samir Kumar Sinha, has been appointed as the Civil Aviation Secretary.

Secretary, Ministry of Culture

• 1994-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh Cadre, Vivek Aggarwal, has been appointed as Secretary to the Union Ministry of Culture.

Secretary, Union Ministry of Sports

• Another senior IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, Hari Ranjan Rao, has been appointed Sports Secretary. Hari Ranjan Rao will assume his office upon the retirement of the current Sports Secretary, Sujata Chatruvedi, on June 30, 2025.

Secretary, Department of Commerce

• Senior IAS officer Rajesh Agarwal has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Commerce. He will take over after the retirement of the incumbent, Sunil Barthwal, on September 30, 2025.

Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat (ISCS)  

• Ashish Srivastava has been appointed as the Secretary of the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

• Rajit Punhani has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He will assume the post after the incumbent, Atul Kumar Tiwari, retires on 30 June 2025.

Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

• Santosh Kumar Sarangi has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs.

• Pallavi Jain Govil has been appointed  Secretary of the Department of Youth Affairs. Currently, she is the Director General of Hydrocarbons at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

• Nikunja Bihari Dhal has been named as the new Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. He will assume his office after the retirement of incumbent Umang Narula on 30 June 2025.