Reshuffle of top bureaucratic posts: Rajesh Kumar Singh is new defence secretary

New Delhi: The government Friday appointed Rajesh Kumar Singh, a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Kerala cadre, as defence secretary, succeeding Aramane Giridhar, who retires October 31, as part of a wide-ranging reshuffle of top bureaucratic posts.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) also appointed Manoj Govil, the corporate affairs secretary, as the new expenditure secretary after TV Somanathan was designated as the next cabinet secretary last week.

Nagaland cadre officer Amardeep Singh Bhatia will take over as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary from Singh. He's currently additional secretary in the commerce department.


Vivek Joshi, the financial services secretary, will take over as secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, while Nagaraju Maddrila, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Tripura cadre, has been appointed as financial services secretary in the ministry of finance.

Maddrila is currently posted as an additional secretary in the coal ministry.

He was posted as advisor to the executive director at the World Bank in Washington DC from 2008 to 2012.

Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, the current chief executive of the National Health Authority, will replace Govil as the new corporate affairs secretary. Mukerjee is a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Singh, currently secretary, DPIIT, is credited with steering the easing of foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in sectors such as satellite manufacturing and operation and user segments in the space sector under the automatic route, lowering the compliance burden for industry through the Jan Vishwas Bill, which has eliminated or simplified more than 40,000 compliances, and pushing for the removal of angel tax which was levied on startups.

Singh's extension as defence secretary beyond the age of superannuation up to October 31, 2026, or until further orders, was also approved.

As corporate affairs secretary, Govil headed a key panel that suggested a new digital competition law with an ex-ante framework to regulate large digital players.

Katikithala Srinivas, the current minority affairs secretary, will be the next housing and urban affairs secretary. Odisha cadre IAS officer Chandra Sekhar Kumar will replace Srinivas as minority affairs secretary. Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Neelam Shammi Rao has been given charge as secretary, National Commission for Minorities.

According to the ACC order, Deepti Umashankar, a Haryana cadre IAS officer of the 1993 batch, has been appointed as the new secretary to the President of India.

Sanjeev Kumar, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, has been made secretary, Department of Defence Production. Kumar is currently chairman, Airports Authority of India.

Prashant Kumar Singh, chief executive officer of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), has been appointed as the new and renewable energy secretary. Vandana Gurnani, a Karnataka cadre lAS officer, will be the new secretary, coordination, in the cabinet secretariat, while Sukriti Likhi will take over as chairperson, National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention.

The new drinking water and sanitation secretary will be Odisha cadre officer Ashok Kumar Kaluaram Meena.

The ACC has also approved in-situ upgradation of IAS officers of the Tamil Nadu cadre Sunil Paliwal, who is chairperson, Chennai Port Trust, and of Vikram Dev Dutt, director general, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, in the rank and pay of secretary.