Centre Names Devesh Chaturvedi As Agriculture Secretary, Sandeep Pondrik As Steel Secretary

Chaturvedi, a 1989 batch IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been serving as the second senior-most bureaucrat in the state, just after the Chief Secretary. He has now been transferred to the central administration.

Whereas, Sandeep Pondrik, a 1993 batch IAS officer from the Bihar cadre, has been appointed as the new Secretary of Steel. Pondrick, currently serving his parent cadre—Bihar, is being brought to the Central administration to serve as the new Secretary of Steel.

The Personnel Ministry issued the appointment notifications following approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the Prime Minister.

The Central Government has filled only these two secretarial positions while several other key ministries, such as the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, remain without appointed secretaries.

A large-scale reshuffle in the administration is expected, including the appointment of new secretaries to top posts such as the Cabinet Secretary and Home Secretary. This comes as the current officials, Rajiv Gauba and Ajay Kumar Bhalla, are set to retire from their extended tenures this month.