1985 Batch Reshuffle: Ajay Kumar appointed as defence production secy, Pradeep Singh Kharola is Air India’s new chief

New Air India chief Pradeep Singh Kharola 

IN A major bureaucratic reshuffle at the Centre, the government on Tuesday appointed 1985 batch IAS Ajay Kumar as secretary in the department of defence production, his batchmate and Bangalore metro chief Pradeep Singh Kharola as new Air India CMD before transferring Delhi chief secretary MM Kutty as additional secretary in the department of economic affairs. Here below are the details:

1. Raghvendra Singh, 1983 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and Director General in National Archives, has been appointed as secretary in the ministry of culture in the existing vacancy.

2. Ajay Kumar, 1985 batch Kerala cadre IAS and additional secretary in the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeiTY), has been appointed as secretary in the department of defence production with effect from December 1, 2017 in the existing vacancy.

3. Upendra Prasad Singh, 1985 batch Odisha cadre IAS and additional secretary in the ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, has been appointed as secretary, ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation in the vacancy to be caused on superannuation of the present incumbent Amarjit Singh, 1982 batch Gujarat cadre IAS on November 30, 2017. Upendra Prasad Singh will also hold additional charge of CEO, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).

4. Pradeep Singh Kharola, 1985 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as chairman and managing director, Air India, in the rank and pay of secretary to Government of India.

5. Badri Narain Sharma, 1985 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS and additional secretary in the department of revenue, has been appointed as chairman, National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA), in the rank and pay of secretary to Government of India.

6. Pritam Singh, 1984 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS and additional secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs, has been appointed as Director General, National Archives, in the rank and pay of additional secretary to Government of India, in the vacancy caused due to appointment of incumbent Raghvendra Singh as secretary, ministry of culture.

7. MM Kutty, 1985 batch AGMUT cadre IAS, presently in the cadre (chief secretary of Delhi) has been appointed as additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, in the vacancy to be caused on superannuation of the present incumbent Dinesh Sharma, 1983 batch Kerala cadre IAS on November 30, 2017.

8. GC Murmu, 1985 batch Gujarat cadre IAS and additional secretary in the department of financial services, has been appointed as additional secretary in the department of revenue on lateral shift basis.

9. Apurva Chandra, 1988 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS and additional secretary in the department of defence production, has been appointed as additional secretary and Director General, Acquisition, in the ministry of defence, on lateral shift basis with effect from December 1, 2017, in the vacancy to be caused on relinquishment of charge by the present incumbent Smita Nagraj, consequent to her appointment as Member, UPSC.

9. The ACC has also approved extension in the tenure of RK Jain, 1981 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre retired IAS, presently Member in National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), for a further period of 1 year up to November 30, 2018 or until further orders whichever is earlier.

Also, the ACC has conveyed its approval for in-situ upgradation of the following officers of the 1985 batch to the level of Special Secretary, as a measure personal to them, by temporarily upgrading the posts held by them. 

A) Ms Surina Rajan, 1985 batch Haryana cadre IAS and Director General in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), is given the rank of a special secretary. 

B) Arun Goyal, 1985 batch UT cadre IAS and additional secretary in the department of revenue, has been given the rank of a special secretary. 

C) R Subrahmanyam, 1985 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS and additional secretary in the ministry of human resource development, has been given the rank of a special secretary.