19 new Joint Secretaries appointed by central govt

New Delhi: As many as 19 new Joint Secretary-level officers have been appointed in various ministries as part of mid-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the government on Thursday.

Devesh Chaturvedi, a 1989-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Whereas, Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, a 1997-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, has been appointed JS in Home Ministry, an order issued by the DoPT said. Mukesh Mittal, a 1987-batch Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) cadre officer, has also been appointed as JS in the Home Ministry.

Sanjay Chadha (IRSME officer) and Anita Parveen (IAS) have been appointed as JS in Department of Commerce. Ashok Dongre, a 1987-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, has been appointed Joint Secretary in Defence Ministry, it said.

Niharika Barik has been appointed as JS in Department of Food and Public Distribution. Dinesh Singh Bist, IPS officer of Bihar cadre, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in Minority Affairs Ministry. J P Agarwal, a Central Secretariat Service officer, has been appointed as Principal Commissioner in Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the order said.

“With today’s appointment all the JS-level vacancies at the Centre for this year have been filled,” a senior DoPT official said. The NDA government has appointed 171 Joint Secretaries in its 11 months tenure so far, he said. “The last UPA government had appointed 84 Joint Secretaries between June 1, 2013 and May 31, 2014,” the official said. 

Tanuja Pande has been appointed as Deputy Director General in Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Sudeep Jain, a 1994-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, has been appointed as Director General (Training) in Election Commission of India. Sanjeev Sood has been appointed as JS in Department of Atomic Energy. IAS officer Maneesh Garg has been appointed as JS in Department of School Education and Literacy, the DoPT order said.

Santosh Kumar Mall has been made Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. R K Agrawal, a 1997-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, is the new JS in Ministry of Shipping. Alok Kumar, a 1988-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Development Commissioner (Handlooms) under the Ministry of Textiles.

IAS officer V Venu has been made Joint Secretary in Department of Sports. Rajesh K Chaudhary has been appointed as JS in Department of Public Enterprises. Ravneet Kaur, a 1988-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, has been appointed as JS in Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion for a period of five years, the order said.