Cabinet reassigns health secretary as part of reshuffle of top-level bureaucrats

NEW DELHI: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has reassigned health ministry secretary CK Mishra with immediate effect as part of a reshuffle of top-level government officials on Wednesday. Current food and public distribution department secretary Preeti Sudan will replace him.

AYUSH special secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha has also been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) on contract basis for three years.

Mishra, who took charge as health ministry secretary in July 2016, will replace Ajay Narayan Jha as secretary at the environment, forests and climate change ministry after the latter was reassigned to the Department of Expenditure.

Sudan is a 1983 batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre and has been secretary at the Department of Food and Public Distribution since January 2017.

She has served "in various capacities" in union ministries like Women and Child Development and Defence, according to a release by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution earlier this year.

The cabinet made a total of 13 appointments as part of its decision, with 11 being secretaries. Around five secretaries and two special secretaries have been reshuffled as a result.