Sanjay Mitra is new defence secretary; and Rashmi Verma tourism secretary; adhoc appointments for telecom and road transport

New Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma (File Photo)

IN A major senior bureaucracy level reshuffle on Wednesday, the Centre appointed Sanjay Mitra, former chief secretary of West Bengal and key bureaucrat in the era of Manmohan Singh’s PMO, as India’s next defence secretary. He is currently serving as secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways. Also, textiles secretary Rashmi Verma will be new tourism secretary. The government has not however posted permanent secretaries in two key ministries — road transport and highways, and telecom. Here below are the appointments of new secretaries in the ministries of defence, textiles, tourism, tribal affairs, consumer affairs etc.:

1. Rakesh Srivastava, 1981 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS and Member Secretary of National Commission for Backward Classes, has been appointed as secretary in the ministry of women and child development in place of Ms Leena Nair, 1982 batch Tamil Nadu cadre lAS who is now secretary, ministry of tribal affairs.

2. Sanjay Mitra, 1982 batch West Bengal cadre lAS, will be the new defence secretary. Mitra who is now secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways, has been appointed as officer on special duty in the ministry of defence. Mitra will take over as secretary, ministry of defence on completion of tenure of the present incumbent G  Mohan Kumar on May 24, 2017.

3. Ms Rashmi Verma, 1982 batch Bihar cadre IAS, currently secretary in the ministry of textiles, has been appointed as secretary in the ministry of tourism.

4. Ms Leena Nair, 1982 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, currently secretary in the ministry of women and child development, has been appointed as secretary, ministry of tribal affairs, in the existing vacancy.

5. Jagdish Prasad Meena, 1983 batch Assam cadre lAS, has been appointed as secretary, department of consumer affairs.

6. Anant Kumar Singh, 1984 batch UP cadre IAS, now additional secretary and financial adviser in ministry of petroleum and natural gas, has been appointed as secretary, ministry of textiles.

Meanwhile, the government for the time being did not fill up secretary's posts in two key ministries -- ministry of road transport and highways and also in department of telecom. Instead, additional charges are given till regular incumbents take charge. 

a) Rajive Kumar, 1981 batch UP cadre lAS and present shipping secretary, has been given additional charge of post of secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways until further orders or till appointment of a regular incumbent, whichever is earlier.

b) Ms Aruna Sundararajan, 1982 batch Kerala cadre IAS and current secretary ministry of electronics and information technology, has been given additional charge of the post of secretary, department of telecommunications.

Further, Brij Raj Sharma, 1984 batch Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, is being brought into Delhi by appointing him as additional secretary in the ministry of home affairs.