Focus Merit

New appointments as Joint Secretaries in various departments

The Centre appointed senior bureaucrats Rajeev Singh Thakur and Shantanu as Joint Secretaries in the newly-created Department of Military Affairs headed by Chief of Defence Staff, CDS General Bipin Rawat. Rajiv S Thakur, a 1995 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan Cadre will have a tenure till December 2022 while Shantanu, a 1997 batch Tripura Cadre IAS officer has been appointed to the post till March 2024.

A total of 31 IAS officers have been appointed as Joint Secretaries in different Central Government departments which includes:

  • Odisha Cadre IAS officer Vishal Gagan will be Joint Secretary of Department of Defence for a tenure of five years.
  • Assam Cadre  officer Ashutosh Agnihotri has been appointed Joint Secretary in Home Ministry.
  • Jammu and Kashmir Cadre officer Ashok Kumar Parmar will be Adviser in Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • Bharat Khera, 1995 batch Himachal Pradesh Cadre officer has been appointed Joint Secretary in Cabinet Secretariat. 
  • Vimalendra Anand Patwardhan, an officer of Indian Audit and Accounts Service, has been named as joint secretary and financial adviser in ministry of civil aviation
  • IAS officer Nagaraju Maddirala will be joint secretary in the coal ministry.
  • S Suresh Kumar has been appointed in department of commerce
  • Puneet Agarwal has been appointed as joint secretaries in dept of defence production
  • Vineet Mathur will be Joint Secretary, department of consumer affairs
  • Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer Sanjukta Mudgal has been appointed as joint secretary in culture ministry.
  • IAS officer Tanmay Kumar has been appointed joint secretary in the power ministry.
  • Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Hari Ranjan Rao will be joint secretary, department of telecommunications for five years.