In a major reshuffle, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) on Friday approved various secretary and additional secretary-level appointments. TV Somanathan, an 1987 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

The appointment comes after the post of expenditure secretary became vacant following the appointment of GC Murmu as the first lieutenant governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Prior to this elevation, Somanathan was Commercial Taxes Commissioner and Principal Secretary (Planning & Development) in the Tamil Nadu government.

Ravi Mittal, a Bihar cadre officer (1986 batch), has been appointed as Secretary, Information & Broadcasting Ministry. Mittal is currently the Special Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.

Overall, 12 Secretaries in various Ministries are part of this reshuffle. Amit Khare, who is a Jharkhand cadre officer of 1985 batch, will take over as Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. He already holds additional charge as Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy (MHRD). Sushil Kumar, a Tripura cadre officer of 1987 batch, will taking charge as Secretary in the Ministry of Mines. He currently holds the position of Additional Secretary, in the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Secretary as ICAR.

Skill Development

The ACC also approved the appointment of Praveen Kumar, a Tamil Nadu cadre officer (1987 batch,) as Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Kumar currently holds the position of Special Secretary in Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

R Subrahmanyam, from the Andhra Pradesh cadre of 1985 batch, will be taking over as Secretary in Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. He is currently the Secretary in the Department of Higher Education in MHRD.

Arun Goel, (Punjab cadre 1985 batch) who is Secretary in the Ministry of Culture will take the charge of Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry.

Meanwhile, Radheyshyam Julaniya, (Madhya Pradesh cadre 1985 batch), who currently serves as Secretary at the Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will also have the additional charge of the post of Secretary in Department of Youth Affairs. This decision came as the position will fall vacant upon superannuation of Upma Chawdhry on December 31, 2019.

The ACC has also approved “in-situ upgradation of” the some of the officers to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. Under this decision, Tarun Kapoor (Himachal Pradesh cadre 1987 batch), who serves as Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), has now been elevated to the rank and pay of Secretary. Similarly, Debasish Panda, (Uttar Pradesh cadre 1987 batch), who currently serves as Additional Secretary, in Department of Financial Services in Finance Ministry has been elevated to the position of Special Secretary in the same Ministry.

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