Major bureaucratic reshuffle across key ministries in Centre, 7 senior IAS officers assigned new ministries

The Central government has approved a significant bureaucratic reshuffle involving senior IAS officers across major ministries, including Telecommunications, Pharmaceuticals, Tourism, Petroleum, and Agriculture.

Manoj Joshi, currently Secretary of the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. He replaces Amit Agrawal (IAS, CG:93), who moves to the Department of Telecommunications.

V Vidyavathi, Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

Neeraj Mittal, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, has been appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He will take charge after Pankaj Jain (IAS, AM:90) demits office to become Member Secretary of the Eighth Central Pay Commission.

Amit Agrawal, previously heading Pharmaceuticals, will now take over as Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, succeeding Neeraj Mittal.

Sunil Paliwal, Chairperson of the Chennai Port Trust, has been appointed Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways. The post has been temporarily upgraded to Secretary level.

Srivatsa Krishna, currently serving in the Karnataka cadre, has been appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, succeeding V. Vidyavathi.

Atish Chandra, Special Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, has been appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. He will take charge as Secretary of the department from February 1, 2026, and is set to succeed Devesh Chaturvedi (IAS, UP:89) upon his retirement on February 28, 2026.

The order was issued by Manisha Saxena, Secretary, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and Establishment Officer.