Reshuffle sees Subhash C Garg, others take charge as new secys

Aruna Sundararajan will be new telecom secretary; Ajay Kumar Bhalla will be the new power secretary

In a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected on Wednesday, Subhash C Garg, executive director at the World Bank, was named the new department of economic affairs secretary, a post that had fallen vacant after the retirement of Shaktikanta Das.

Aruna Sundararajan will be the new telecom secretary. She is at present secretary in the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY). Ajay Prakash Sawhney will be the new MeitY secretary in place of Sundararajan.

Ajay Kumar Bhalla will be new power secretary. He is at present director-general of foreign trade. Bhalla, a 1984 batch IAS officer, will take over the new charge from P K Pujari, who retires on June 30.

Urban Development Secretary Rajiv Gauba will be next home secretary. He will succeed Rajiv Mehrishi, who completes his term on August 30.

A total of 16 secretaries have been appointed to various central government departments. The government has also changed portfolios of a few secretaries.

Gauba, a 1982 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, will take over as officer on special duty in the Union home ministry with immediate effect, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

He has served in the home ministry as joint and additional secretaries, where he looked after crucial Naxal division, among other responsibilities.

Durga Shanker Mishra will replace Gauba as urban development secretary. He is additional secretary in the same ministry. 

Culture Secretary N K Sinha will be new information and broadcasting secretary in place of Ajay Mittal, who has been appointed as the DoPT secretary. Mittal will succeed B P Sharma who retires this month-end.

NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) chief Yudhvir Singh Malik has been appointed secretary of road, transport and highways. Deepak Kumar, director-general of Employee's State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), will be the new chairman of NHAI.

Food Processing Industries Secretary Avinash Kumar Srivastava will be the secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, in place of Jagdish Prasad Meena who has been appointed in his place.

New and Renewable Energy Secretary Rajeev Kapoor has been named secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals. Anand Kumar, managing director of the newly-created National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation, will replace Kapoor in the ministry of new and renewable energy.

Ravi Kant, a 1984 batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, will be the new shipping secretary. He has been appointed in place of Rajive Kumar, who has been recently sent back to Uttar Pradesh cadre before completion of his tenure. Kant is at present the additional secretary in the Department of Defence. 

Border Management Secretary Sanjeevanee Kutty has been appointed secretary, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare in the defence ministry. She will take over from Prabhudayal Meena, who retires on July 31. Arun Kumar Panda has been appointed as secretary in the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises. He is at present the additional secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare.