Top Bureaucrats End Tenure & Officials Waiting In The Wings Take Over, Anurag Jain New MP Chief Secy

Health & Family Welfare, New & Renewable Energy, Cabinet Secretariat (Chairperson, NCWAC), National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Culture, and Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) are the ministries and departments, in which the secretaries were at the end of their tenures.

Incidentally, the government is yet to announce the names of officers to replace incumbents in the Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Culture and Department of Public Enterprises (DPE).

Meanwhile, the Centre in a sudden move has repatriated 1989-batch IAS officer Anurag Jain, currently holding the post of the Secretary, the Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways, to his home cadre state Madhya Pradesh by making him the new Chief Secretary.

Anurag Jain, considered to be one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trusted men in the Union government, had also served as the Joint Secretary in the PMO.

In Madhya Pradesh, Jain will replace the ogng Chief Secretary Veera Rana, whose service extension also ended today (September 30, 2024). Anurag Jain will serve in his new role until August 2025.

In the bureaucratic circles, it is believed that Jain’s appointment is based on his experience and seniority. It seems that he also has the backing of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.

With Jain leaving for Bhopal, another secretary-level vacancy has cropped up at the Union government. 

National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) 

Incumbent Secretary of National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India,  Ashish Upadhyaya's retirement is due on September 30, 2024. Upadhyaya is IAS officer of 1989 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre.

He is succeeded by A Neeraja, a 1990-batch Indian Forest Service officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. Before taking over this new responsibility, Neerja worked as the Special Secretary of the Department of Fertilisers.

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy

Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, a 1988-batch IAS officer of UT cadre, was serving as the Union Secretary in the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE). He has also superannuated, and the charge will be handed over to Prashant Kumar Singh, a 1993-batch Manipur cadre IAS officer.

Singh has been working as OSD in MNRE for the past 6 weeks. Before joining this ministry, Singh was the Chief Executive Officer of Government e-Marketplace Special Purpose Vehicle in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. 

Department of Health & Family Welfare 

Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra is a 1988-batch Maharashtra cadre IAS officer. He also retired on September 30, 2024. Punya Salila Srivastava, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, is the new Health Secretary

Srivastava has been working as OSD, Department of Health and Family Welfare, for the last six weeks. Before this, she worked as the Special Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Cabinet Secretariat 

Mukhmeet Singh Bhatia, the Chairperson of the National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention (NCWAC), a 1990-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand Cadre, has retired from service on September 30, 2024. The charge has been handed over to Sukriti Likhi, a 1993-batch IAS of the Haryana cadre. The Chairperson of NCWAC has the rank equivalent to the Secretary to the Government of India, under the Cabinet Secretariat.

Sukriti Likhi has been working as the understudy of Bhatia in NCWAC for the past six months. Before joining NCWAC, Likhi was an Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Steel.