Keshav Chandra on Monday assumed charge as the Mines Secretary, the mines ministry said. Chandra, a 1995-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the AGMUT cadre, succeeds Piyush Goyal, who has been appointed as the Secretary General of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Before taking charge as mines secretary, Chandra served as chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council. Soon after assuming charge, Chandra chaired a meeting with senior officials and reviewed key initiatives of the mines ministry. The secretary emphasised the importance of coordinated efforts and effective implementation of the ministry's key initiatives to strengthen India's mineral sector. The ministry is treating critical minerals as a strategic sector as it seeks to secure minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, titanium and rare earths that are essential for electric vehicles, renewables, electronics, defence and other high-tech industries. India depends heavily on impor
She has been serving as a Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) since November 2022
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Rajiv Mani as the secretary of the Legislative Department under the Union Ministry of Law and Justice
Frequent changes of heads have caused great harm to the functioning of central ministries
For the past few years, the political executive had been chafing at the all too often brief terms