By Rajnish Singh
New Delhi [India], January 1 : In a major bureaucratic reshuffle on the last day of 2025, the Central government approved a large number of senior-level appointments at the level of Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary and equivalent posts across key ministries and departments.
In the late-night order issued on December 31, 2025, more than four dozen officers were appointed to various posts in different ministries following the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As per an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training, the appointments were approved on December 31, 2025. Officers from various services, including Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Forest Service (IFoS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS),
Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS), Central Secretariat Service (CSS) and other organised Group 'A' services have been posted to ministries such as Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Coal, Commerce, Corporate Affairs, Culture, Defence, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Food and Public Distribution, Health and Family Welfare, Home Affairs, Housing and Urban Affairs, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Minority Affairs, Power, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Statistics and Programme Implementation, Textiles, Tribal Affairs and others.
Several officers have been appointed for a tenure of five years, while some have been given combined tenures of up to seven years or posted against upgraded or vacant posts under the Central Staffing Scheme.
The order also specifies that the appointments will take effect from the date the officers assume charge and will remain valid until the completion of the approved tenure or until further orders, whichever is earlier. These postings aim to strengthen administrative leadership and ensure the effective functioning of key departments at the senior policymaking level.
Among the key appointments, Chinmay Pundlikrao Gotmare (IAS:2009) and Neha Verma (IFoS:2005) have been appointed as Joint Secretaries in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. Manoj Kumar Gangeya (IRTS:2000) has been posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Coal, while Amit Verma (IFoS:2005), Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh (IAS:2008) and Kapil Chaudhary (IRS-C&IT:2001) have been appointed as Joint Secretaries in the Department of Commerce.
In the corporate and cultural sectors, Rahul Jain (IAS:2005) has been posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Kamlesh Kumar Mishra (IRTS:2003) as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture. Shajan George P Verghese (CSS) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence, while Tanvi Garg (IAS:2009) has been posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Several appointments were also made in the social sector ministries. Hanish Chhabra (IAS:2006) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Food and Public Distribution, while Sibin C (IAS:2005) given charge as Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
Arindam Modak (ISS:1998) has been appointed as Secretary (JS level) in the National Dental Commission. Satyanarain Gupta (ITS:1993) has been posted as Joint Secretary in the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), and Nishtha Tiwari (IRS-IT:2005) as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In the infrastructure and industrial ministries, Gurjeet Singh Dhillon (IOFS:2002) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Vinamra Mishra (IRSME:2003) and Keshvendra Kumar (IAS:2008) have been posted as Joint Secretaries in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Sandeep Vasant Kadam (IAS:2008) has been appointed Joint Secretary-cum-Mission Head of the National Critical Mineral Mission under the Ministry of Mines.
Other notable appointments include Jagdeep Gupta (IPoS:2004) as Joint Secretary in the Capacity Building Commission, Rajiv Kumar (IOFS:2002) as Additional Secretary (JS level) in the Union Public Service Commission, Aadhar Raj (IRTS:2004) as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power, and Shailesh Bagaull (IAS:2002) as Joint Secretary in the Department of Revenue. Manisha Chatterjee (IRTS:1999) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles, while Vrunda Manohar Desai (IRS-IT:2003) has been given charge as Textile Commissioner, Mumbai.
The large-scale postings are aimed at strengthening senior administrative leadership and ensuring smoother policy implementation across ministries.