In Major Bureaucratic Rejig Government Appoints New Education Secretary

Gangwar will be closely monitored amid widespread controversies erupting over India’s education system after the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak, though the all India competitive examination is held by the National Testing Agency (NTA), set up by the Centre in 2018 as an autonomous testing organisation. The NTA comes under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. 

Among other prominent transfers, K Srinivas, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will now take over as Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER). Srinivas is a 1989 batch IAS officer from Gujarat cadre.

TK Anil Kumar, Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development as Secretary Department of School Education and Literacy which again comes after the Ministry of Education.

Others include IAS Piyush Goyal (1994: Nagaland), Secretary, Ministry of Mines, who has been appointed Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.
IAS Sushil Kumar Lohani (1995: Odisha), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, has been appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying. He will subsequently assume charge as Secretary after Naresh Pal Gangwar takes over the Higher Education Department.

Four senior officers have been given in situ promotion to the rank and pay of Secretary to the government of India. Among them are IAS Archana Varma (1995: AGMUT), Mission Director of the National Water Mission under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. She has been granted the rank and pay of Secretary by temporarily upgrading her post. She will subsequently take over as Secretary, Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, after IAS Ansuli Arya (1989: Bihar) retires on September 30, 2026.

Similarly, IAS B Rajender (1995: Bihar) has been appointed Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in the rank and pay of Secretary by temporarily upgrading the post. He is going to succeed IAS Sriram Taranikanti (1992: Tripura), who will superannuate on July 31, 2026.

IAS Chandra Bhushan Kumar (1995: AGMUT) has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, succeeding IAS Vandana Gurnani (1991: Karnataka) upon her retirement on July 31, 2026.

The reshuffle also includes several important appointments in infrastructure-related ministries, as IAS Keshav Chandra (1995: AGMUT) has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Mines, succeeding Piyush Goyal.

IAS D. Thara (1995: Gujarat), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Capital Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, by upgrading a vacant Secretary-level post.
IAS Satendra Singh (1995: Jharkhand), Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Urban Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Meanwhile, the ACC has also approved the appointment of Suchindra Misra (IDAS:1992), presently Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, as Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.

The government has also approved in-situ upgradation to the rank of Special Secretary/Secretary (personal to the officers) by temporarily upgrading their existing posts. They include IAS Mritunjay Kumar Narayan (1995: Uttar Pradesh) - the Registrar General of India & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs.
IAS Santosh Kumar Yadav (1995: Uttar Pradesh) - the Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The post has been restored to Secretary level.

IAS Rajeev Singh Thakur (1995: Rajasthan) - Adviser, NITI Aayog.
IAS Dilip Kumar (1995: Punjab) - Director General (Training), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.