Ahead Of Union Budget, Arunish Chawla Appointed Revenue Secretary

The DoPT in an order said, “The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved appointment of Arunish Chawala, IAS (BH: 92), Secretary Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemical & Fertilizers, as Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.”

The order, a copy of which is with The Secretariat, also mentioned that Chawla “will continue to hold the additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Culture till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier”. 

The post of secretary of the Revenue Department was lying vacant since Sanjay Malhotra, a 1990-batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, was shifted to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as its Governor following the end of six-year tenure of incumbent Shaktikanta Das on December 10, 2024. After that, Ajay Seth, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, was assigned additional charge as secretary of the department of revenue. 

In another important decision, DoPT said, “Rachna Shah, IAS (KL: 91), Secretary, Ministry of Textiles as Secretary, Department of personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension.”    

Manipur Cadre IAS officer of 1992-batch Vineet Joshi, who is currently holding the post of the Chief Secretary in the state, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education. He is going to replace K Sanjay Murthy, a 1989-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer, following his appointment as Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG).

Neelam Shammi Rao, a 1992-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, has replaced Rachna Shah in the Ministry of Textiles as Secretary.  Currently, Rao is serving as the Secretary, National Commission for Minorities.

Another 1992-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre Sanjay Sethi, who is presently in the cadre, was appointed as the Secretary, National Commission for Minorities in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.

Chhattisgarh cadre IAS officer of 1993-batch Amit Agrawal replaces Chawla as Secretary Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Currently he is holding the post of Director General (DG) of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

In another decision Neerja Sekhar, a 1993-batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre has been appointed as the DG, Productivity Council (under DPIIT) in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India by temporarily upgrading the post. She replaces S Gopalakrishnan, a 1991-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, who is now Chairman of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC).