In a significant bureaucratic reshuffle announced by the Centre, Arunish Chawla, a 1992-batch IAS officer from the Bihar cadre, has been appointed as the new Revenue Secretary. Currently serving as the Pharmaceuticals Secretary, Chawla will now head the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.

The position of Revenue Secretary became vacant earlier this month when Sanjay Malhotra was appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, succeeding Shaktikanta Das. Chawla will also continue to hold the additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Culture, until a permanent appointment is made, as per the order issued by the Ministry of Personnel.

As part of the reshuffle, Amit Agrawal, CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), will replace Chawla as the Pharmaceuticals Secretary.

Other key appointments include Vineet Joshi, another 1992-batch IAS officer, as the Secretary of Higher Education. Previously serving as Chief Secretary of Manipur, Joshi brings extensive experience from his tenure as Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education.

Rachna Shah has been named Secretary of the Department of Personnel, replacing her current role as Secretary of the Textiles Ministry. Neelam Shammi Rao, formerly Secretary of the Minorities Commission, will now head the Textiles Ministry. Sanjay Sethi, an IAS officer from Maharashtra, has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Minorities Commission.

Additionally, Neerja Sekhar, currently Special Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, will take over as Director General of the National Productivity Council under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

These strategic appointments aim to bring experienced leadership to key administrative roles, ensuring the smooth functioning of the ministries and departments involved.