Administrative Reshuffle: Smita Nagaraj as DG in defence acquisition, Khurana as Staff Selection Commission chairman; Siddarth repatriated to West Bengal

ON TUESDAY, the government undertook a major administrative reshuffle appointing new additional secretaries, swapping roles of officers, upgrading posts etc. Here is the list of 15 new appointments:

1. 1985 batch UP cadre IAS Bhupendra Singh has been appointed as chairman, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.
2. 1985 batch Assam cadre IAS Sumeet Jerath, currently additional DGFT, has been appointed as additional secretary and FA in ministry of external affairs (MEA).
3. 1984 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS Udai Pratap Singh has been appointed as additional secretary in the ministry of tourism.
4. 1984 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS Ms Smita Nagaraj has been appointed as DG (Acquisition) in the ministry of defence.
5. 1985 batch West Bengal cadre IAS Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority under the ministry of health.
6. 1985 batch Punjab cadre IAS Kalpana Mittal Baruah has been appointed as additional secretary in cabinet secretariat.
7. 1984 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS R Rajagopal has been appointed as adviser in Inter State Council Secretariat.
8. 1983 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS Asha Ram Sihag, currently DG (Acquisition) under the ministry of defence, has been appointed as secretary, UPSC.
9. 1998 batch Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer Shanker Manoharan has been appointed as director, department of space, Bengaluru.
10. 1988 batch Indian Defence Service of Engineers (IDSE) Prabhas Kumar has been appointed as director, department of fertilizers.
11. 1996 batch Indian Ordnance Factory Service officer Mukesh Choudhary has been appointed as director, ministry of coal.
12. 1983 batch Gujarat cadre IAS Ashim Khurana has been appointed as chairman, Staff Selection Commission at the rank of an additional secretary.
13. Saraswati Prasad, 1985 batch Assam cadre IAS officer, now joint secretary in the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, has been appointed as additional secretary in the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, by upgrading the post of joint secretary as additional secretary.
14. Chhabilendra Roul, 1995 batch Punjab cadre IAS, presently in his own cadre has been appointed as additional secretary in the department of agriculture research.
15. Binoy Kumar, a 1983 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, presently additional secretary and finance adviser in the ministry of external officer (MEA), has been appointed as Director General in the directorate general of supplies and disposals under the ministry of commerce ministry of commerce and industries in place of Siddarth, 1983 batch West Bengal cadre IAS consequent on his premature repatriation to his cadre.