New Delhi (Agency): The Indian government has recently carried out a substantial reshuffle among its senior bureaucrats. Vumlunmang Vualnam and Neeraj Mittal, both senior IAS officers, have been appointed as new secretaries for the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Department of Telecommunications, respectively. This decision comes from an order issued by the prime minister-led Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
Vumlunmang Vualnam, a 1992-batch IAS officer from the Manipur cadre, will replace Rajiv Bansal, who retired on August 31. Vualnam had been serving as an additional secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs. His appointment marks a change in the initial decision to appoint Bihar-cadre IAS officer Chanchal Kumar, who was an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Kumar will now serve as the secretary in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, replacing Tripura-cadre IAS officer Lok Ranjan.
Neeraj Mittal, a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer also from the 1992 batch, will serve as the new secretary in the Department of Telecommunications. Additionally, several other significant appointments were made in various ministries.
S Krishnan, a 1989-batch IAS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre, has been appointed as the new secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Meanwhile, Umang Narula, his batchmate from the Uttarakhand-cadre, will be the new secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Gudey Srinivas, a 1990-batch IAS officer from the Odisha cadre, will take up the role of secretary in the National Commission for Scheduled Castes in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
In other notable appointments, Katikithala Srinivas, an IAS officer serving as the director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, has been named the new secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Sriram Taranikanti will replace Srinivas as the new director of the same academy.
The order also stated that several other officers have had their roles either upgraded or changed to match their current responsibilities. For example, Nidhi Khare will serve as a Special Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, with her post temporarily upgraded to that level.
These appointments indicate a strategic reshuffling by the Indian government, touching various sectors and responsibilities. Such changes are often made to introduce fresh perspectives and invigorate governance, and they play a crucial role in how policies are shaped and implemented.
