Govt promotes Air India chief Rajiv Bansal to secretary-level rank

Air India chief Rajiv Bansal has been promoted to the secretary-level rank, according to a Personnel Ministry order issued on Sunday.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved in-situ upgradation of a total of 10 officers to the level of special secretary in the rank and pay of secretary by temporarily upgrading the posts held by them.

Bansal, a 1988 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Nagaland cadre, has been given the rank and pay of secretary to the government of India, the order said.

He was appointed the chairman and managing director of Air India in February this year at the rank of additional secretary.

Besides him, Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Arvind Singh has also been promoted to the top rank.

Praveen Kumar Srivastava will be special secretary, Department of Home. He is at present additional secretary in the same department.

Apurva Chandra has been made special secretary and Director General (Acquisition) in the Defence Ministry. He is currently additional secretary and Director General (Acquisition).

Senior bureaucrat Ali Raza Rizvi, additional secretary and financial adviser in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has been promoted as special secretary and financial adviser in the same organisation.

Gujarat-cadre IAS officer Bidyut Bihari Swain will be special secretary in the Department of Commerce. He is additional secretary in the same department.

The government has also approved promotion of Indevar Pandey as special secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region. He is working as the additional secretary in the same department.