Bureaucratic churn: Welfare ministries see more secretary changes than key portfolios

New Delhi: With the latest round of bureaucratic reshuffles effected early this week, a clear pattern has emerged: it is the social and welfare ministries that have seen the maximum number of changes over the last five years, while strategic and security portfolios such as home, defence and finance have enjoyed greater continuity and stability.

In fact, ministries such as health, labour, minority affairs, education, mines, water resources and the department of north eastern region, among others, have seen three to five different secretaries helming them since 2021, with many not even completing two years in the same position.

Also Read: Karnataka Cabinet: Congress mulls another reshuffle


While typically several such leadership changes occur because officers are shifted to other 'heavyweight' portfolios or reach retirement, there are many changes here that do not meet either criterion. Case in point is the education ministry, which has been under scrutiny over the NEET-UG paper leak and CBSE OSM controversies.

It has now got its third secretary in the Higher Education department in five years, with Deepti Gaur Mukherjee taking charge this week in place of Vineet Joshi, who has moved to Panchayati Raj after a 1.7-year stint at education.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs stands out, as it is now with its sixth secretary since 2021, with all of them having served between 10 and 19 months in the position. Srivasta Krishna took charge in March this year and was preceded by Dr Chandra Sekhar Kumar and K Srinivas, among others.

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has been steered by four different secretaries since 2021, from Rajesh Bhushan and Sudhanshu Pant to Apurva Chandra and now Punya Salila Srivastava. The equally important Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has also seen four secretaries, from R Subrahmanyam to Anjali Bhawra, Saurabh Garg and current incumbent Amit Yadav. All three secretaries preceding Yadav had no more than a 1.5-year tenure at the helm.

Among developmental and economic ministries, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region has followed a similar pattern. K Srinivas is its fourth secretary since 2021, as is the case with the Ministry of Mines, where Keshav Chandra joined the ministry in July this year. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has seen its third secretary since February 2024.

Also Read: Modi govt cabinet reshuffle buzz gains momentum

In contrast, security and strategic portfolios have enjoyed greater tenure stability and extensions. Ajay Bhalla served a full five-year term as home secretary, while his successor Govind Mohan also got a one-year extension last week. Similarly, the Ministry of External Affairs, defence and economic ministries have also seen greater stability in the tenure of secretaries.