NHA, Health Ministry, Home Affairs, NTA, Election Commission and Several Key Departments Get New Appointments
New Delhi, October 10: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of 27 officers to Joint Secretary and Joint Secretary-equivalent positions across various ministries, departments and central organisations of the Government of India.
The appointments, carrying pay at Level 14 of the Pay Matrix, include postings in the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Home Affairs, Culture, Commerce, Corporate Affairs, Minority Affairs, Road Transport and Highways, and Water Resources, among other departments.
The order, issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on October 10, 2026, also covers appointments to the National Health Authority (NHA), National Testing Agency (NTA), Election Commission of India, NITI Aayog and other important institutions.
The major appointments approved by the ACC are as follows:
Key Appointments Across Ministries and Departments.Brijesh Panday, IAS (TR:2004), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Capital Development, in place of Thara D, IAS.Nikhil Varma, IRS (IT:2005), has been appointed Additional Director General of Foreign Trade (Addl. DGFT), Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Delhi, under the Department of Commerce.Tanvi Sundriyal, IAS (MP:2010), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, in place of Rahul Jain, IAS.Inderjeet Singh, IAS (RJ:2010), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture.Prakash Rajpurohit, IAS (RJ:2010), has been appointed Deputy Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India, succeeding Sanjay Kumar, IAS.Tamboli Ayyaj Fakirbhai, IAS (CG:2009), has been appointed Executive Director at the Joint Secretary level in the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), under the Department of Financial Services.Rajesh Malik, IRSME (1994), has been appointed Executive Director, Food Corporation of India (FCI), New Delhi, under the Department of Food and Public Distribution.Mohammed Y Safirulla K, IAS (KL:2010), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare.Ritu Sharma, IRS (IT:2005), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare.Varnali Deka, IAS (AM:2009), has been appointed Joint Secretary, National Health Authority (NHA), under the Department of Health and Family Welfare.More Ashish Madhavrao, IAS (UT:2005), has been appointed Additional CEO at the Joint Secretary level, National Health Authority.Vivek Khare, ITS (1996), has been appointed Joint Secretary, National Testing Agency (NTA), under the Department of Higher Education. The newly created post of Director has been temporarily upgraded to Joint Secretary level for an initial period of two years.
Appointments in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Other Departments.Ravi Shanakar, IAS (GJ:2007), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, succeeding M Ramachandrudu, IAS.Chittaranjan Dash, IRS (IT:1999), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.P Manoj Kumar, ISS (1998), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, succeeding Parthasarathi Gurrala, CSS.Abhishek Bhagotia, IAS (AM:2007), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, in place of Nishtha Tiwari, IRS (IT).Navin Agarwal, IRPS (1997), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs.M Ramachandrudu, IAS (BH:2009), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs.Sonia Pant, IES (2001), has been appointed Adviser at the Joint Secretary level, NITI Aayog.Nitin Kumar, CSS, has been appointed Additional Secretary at the Joint Secretary level in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), under the Department of Personnel and Training, succeeding Ajay Kumar Kanoujia, CSS.
Road Transport, Water Resources and Social Justice DepartmentsC. Murugan, IAS (WB:2007), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, succeeding Kamlesh Chaturvedi, IFoS.Rajneesh Kumar Tomar, IRSME (1998), has been appointed CEO at the Joint Secretary level, National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.Nishtha Tiwari, IRS (IT:2005), has been appointed CEO at the Joint Secretary level, Development and Welfare Board for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNCs), under the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.Manisha Trighatia, IAS (UP:2002), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Urban Development, succeeding Roopa Mishra, IAS.Avinash Jain, IRSE (Civil) (2001), has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, succeeding Subodh Yadav, IAS.Pawan Kumar, IRS (C&IT) (2005), has been appointed Joint Secretary, National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD), under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.Anita Shah Akella, IA&AS (1996), has been appointed Joint Secretary, National Commission for Women (NCW), under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, succeeding Radhika Chakravarthy B, IPoS.
The ACC has specified that the appointments will take effect from the dates the officers assume charge of their respective posts. The tenures vary according to the individual orders, generally ranging from five to seven years, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. In several cases, the tenure is subject to a specified end date.
The order has been signed by Manisha Saxena, Secretary to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and Establishment Officer, and circulated to all Secretaries to the Government of India.
The appointments form part of the Centre’s administrative staffing decisions across key ministries, regulatory bodies and national institutions.(KNC)
