Inside Raisina Hill: RS S-G Extension, IRS Promotions, & 5-Star Rating For Railway

As one walks down the Hill along the Rajpath, now renamed Kartavya Path, come other edifices — Rail Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, Shashtri Bhavan, and Kartavya Bhavan on one side and Sena Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan, and Vanijya Bhavan on the other. The bureaucrats who adorn the offices in these buildings decide on India's economic, social, and industrial policies. There are many tales to be told from the corridors of these grandiose buildings. We let you in on some of them here in this week's edition of "Inside Raisina Hill".

Rajya Sabha Secretary General Gets Another Extension

Giving prominence to continuity, Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan took the decision to extend the tenure of Secretary General Pramod Chandra Mody, a retired Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, for a period of one year. Mody will now hold office till 31 December 2026. This is the second extension given to Mody. He was appointed Rajya Sabha Secretary General on 12 November 2021.

The then Chairman of Rajya Sabha, M. Venkaiah Naidu, had appointed Mody, a former Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), as the Secretary General of Rajya Sabha. Mody had then replaced P.P.K. Ramacharyulu, who was appointed the Secretary General on 1 September, 2021. 

IRFC Gets ‘Excellent DPE’ Rating, Fifth Year In A Row

Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC), a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Railways, has been rated “Excellent” by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) for FY 2024-25. This is the fifth consecutive year that the IRFC received the highest performance rating since its listing in FY 2020-21. 

This sustained recognition reflects IRFC’s ability to withstand emerging challenges, maintain institutional strength, and deliver consistently high performance, while evolving its business model in line with its expanded mandate. The rating reaffirms IRFC’s strong governance framework, operational efficiency, and financial discipline.

8 Senior IRS Officers Promoted As Principal Chief Commissioners

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) recently notified the promotions of eight senior Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officers to the rank of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (PCCIT). These elevations, which place the officers in Level 17 of the Pay Matrix (Apex Scale), have been cleared for the panel year 2026 on an in-situ basis.

All the officers belong to 1990-batch and they include Aparna Mittal Agarwal, Asit Singh, Sunil Bajpai, Alok Kumar, Narender Kumar, Dirisam Sudhakara Rao, Priscilla Singsit and N. Longvah.

Notably, more than half of the promoted officers are set to superannuate within the next twelve months. Sunil Bajpai will have the longest tenure, with his service extending until May 2028, while Pricilla Singsit and N. Longvah will retire in February 2027 and May 2027, respectively. Conversely, two officers, Asit Singh and Narender Kumar, are scheduled to retire in February 2026.

IIS Officer Mamta Verma To Lead DD News

In a key leadership appointment, senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Mamta Verma has been named the Director General of Doordarshan News (DD News). She takes charge at a crucial time for public broadcasting, as it works to uphold credibility, balance, and public trust while navigating rapid technological change.

As Director General of DD News, she is expected to steer the national broadcaster not just as a source of official information, but as a trusted, factual, and balanced news platform. A 1994 batch IIS officer, Verma is originally from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Throughout her career, she has handled significant roles in communication, information, and policy-making with notable efficiency. Before stepping into this new role, Verma served as Joint Secretary in the Central Panchayati Raj Department. 

CBI Gets 7 IPS Officers As DIG

Further consolidating the strength of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the government has chosen seven Indian Police Service (IPS) officers belonging to different cadres to appoint them as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the country’s premier probe agency.

All the officers, having experience with diverse backgrounds, belong to 2012-batch and are going to have their tenure in the agency between September 2026 and June 2030. The IPS officers, who have been appointed in the CBI include M Harsha Vardhan (AGMUT cadre) with a tenure up to 3 June, 2030, his cadre mate Navdeep Singh Brar with a tenure up to 29 July, 2027 and C Kalaichelvan (Tamil Nadu cadre) having his tenure in the agency till 31 December, 2028.

The others are Jashandeep Singh Randhawa (AP cadre) with a tenure up to 20 August, 2029, Gaurav Singh (Maharashtra cadre) up to 18 October, 2028, his cadre mate Suhail Sharma to remain in the agency till 2 January, 2029 and Nagaland cadre IPS Raguramarajan A to serve the agency till 15 September, 2026.

According to a senior CBI official, these appointed officers are going to play key leadership roles in the CBI, as they are coming from different state cadres, as they will be supervising major investigations across India and strengthen the agency’s regional and inter-state operational capabilities.

Union Budget On Sunday

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi coming to power, the government revised the date for presentation of the Union on 1 February every year with an aim to finalise all the financial proposals before the commencement of the next fiscal year, which is 1 April. 

Incidentally, this year the first day of February is falling on Sunday, which makes everyone including the Finance Ministry bureaucracy curious if there could be any change in the date of presentation of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2026-27. The Union Budget does not only involve the political leadership of the government, but also the bureaucracy, corporate, stock market players and many others. Initial indications were there that it might be shifted to the next working day. But a message has come from the top that there would not be any change to the date norm.

The senior bureaucracy in the government has long been not able to avail a comfortable weekend leave. Now they are heard to be hard pressed and preparing to work on the Sunday when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would be presenting the Budget in Lok Sabha. Even corporate leadership is planning their Sunday accordingly.