17 top level changes in govt: aviation, commerce, power get new secretaries

Commerce secretary Rajeev Kher relinquishes post ahead of retirement

Within days of completing a year in office, the National Democratic Alliance government has carried out a major bureaucratic reshuffle, with 16 ministries and departments getting new secretaries.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), too, has a new secretary-general, taking the number of top-level changes on Tuesday to 17.

The most significant changes were in the ministries of aviation, commerce and power. Rajeev Nayan Choubey, special secretary in the power ministry and a Tamil Nadu cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1981 batch, has been named aviation secretary. Earlier, there was speculation of him being made the power secretary after incumbent Pradeep Kumar Sinha was appointed cabinet secretary. A few months ago, Choubey was named additional secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office but his appointment was cancelled due to technical reasons.

Special secretary in the department of agriculture research, Pradeep Kumar Pujari, a Gujarat cadre officer, has been named power secretary. Only a day earlier, the government had announced new and renewable energy secretary Upendra Tripathi, a Karnataka cadre IAS officer of the 1980 batch, would get additional charge of power.

Rita A Teaotia, a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1981 batch, has been appointed commerce secretary, following Rajeev Kher relinquishing the post. It isn’t clear where Kher, an Uttar Pradesh cadre officer of the 1980 batch, is headed. He is to retire in about a month.

Aviation secretary V Somasundaram, a 1979 batch Kerala cadre officer, has been shifted to the ministry of women and child development. Satyanarayan Mohanty replaces Rajesh Kishore as NHRC secretary general.

The others appointed secretaries are Vinay Sheel Oberoi (department of higher education), Anup K Pujari (ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises), C R Vishwanath (consumer affairs), Vrinda Sarup (food and public affairs), Subhash Chandra (school education and literacy), Anuj Kumar Bishnoi (fertilisers), Shashi Shekhar (water resources), Sunil Soni (inter-state council secretariat under the home ministry), Anil Kumar Agarwal (overseas Indian affairs), Ameising Luikham (public enterprises) and Devendra Chaudhary (administrative reforms).

Delhi Development Authority vice-chairman Balvender Kumar has been appointed mines secretary.