Who are the new special secretaries? List of 14 IAS officers of 1980 batch announced

THE government has elevated 14 IAS officers of 1980 batch as special secretaries of Government of India. Special secretaries draw the same salary and enjoy the same position of that of an Union secretary. Here is the complete list:
1) Ashok Lavasa, 1980 batch Haryana cadre IAS, as Special Secretary, Ministry of Power
2) VK Subburaj, a 1980 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS as Special Secretary and Financial Adviser, Department of Fertilizers
3) Rajeev Kher, 1980 batch UP cadre IAS, as Special Secretary, Department of Commerce
4) Ms Anita Agnihotri, 1980 batch Odisha cadre IAS, as  Special Secretary and Financial Adviser, Department of Commerce
5) Amitabh Kant, 1980 batch Kerala cadre IAS, as CEO, DMICDC in the rank and pay of Secretary
6) Shaktikanta Das, 1980 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, as Special Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs
7) Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, 1980 batch UT cadre IAS, as Special Secretary and Financial Adviser, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
8) Sudarsanam Srinivasan, 1980 batch Odisha cadre IAS, as Special Secretary and Financial Adviser, Department of Space
9) N Ravi Shanker, 1980 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS, as administrator, USOF under department of telecommunications in the rank and pay of Secretary
10) Kapil Dev Tripathi, 1980 batch Assam cadre IAS, as Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission in the rank and pay of Secretary
11) Ashok Kumar Angurana, 1980 batch Jammu and Kashmir IAS, as Managing Director, TRIFED, in the rank and pay of Secretary
12) Prabhudayal Meena, 1980 MP cadre IAS as Special Secretary, Department of Land Resources
13) Amitava Bhattacharya, 1980 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, as Chairman, Staff Selection Commission in the pay of Secretary
14) Jagan Nath Chamber, 1980 batch UP cadre IAS as Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Castes in the pay of Secretary. 

No separate examination for selection of IPS officers desirable: Govt
Based on the feedback received from UPSC, DoPT and majority of state governments, the Centre has decided that there is no need of a separate examination for the selection of IPS officers by delinking it from the Civil Services Examination. It was the 161st Report on Demands for Grants (2012-13) which made a recommendation for exploring the possibility of conducting a separate examination for IPS where the attitude and aptitude of the candidate must be thoroughly tested, besides their mental makeup and inclination for policing. The same was also reiterated in the 163rd report of the department-related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs regarding working of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad. As many as six states have recommended for a separate examination.