Rajesh Singh Appointed As Department Of Defence Secretary

The government on Friday approved the appointment of Rajesh Singh as the secretary of the Department of Defence. Singh will initially join as Officer on Special Duty, Department of Defence, Ministry of Defence, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. He will take over as Secretary, Department of Defence, Ministry of Defence from Aramane Giridhar upon completion of his tenure on Oct. 31, 2024.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has also approved Singh's extension in service as Secretary, Department of Defence, beyond the age of superannuation, up to Oct. 31, 2026.

Nagaraju Maddirala has been appointed as the secretary of the Department of Finance; Vivek Joshi will serve as the secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training; and Amardeep Bhatia has been appointed as the secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, according to the notice issued by the centre.

Meanwhile, Katikithala Srinivas will serve as Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has also approved in-situ upgradation of Sunil Paliwal, Chairperson of Chennai Port Trust and Vikram Dev Dutt, Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India, as a measure personal to them by temporarily upgrading the posts held by them.

• Manoj Govil will take charge as Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

• Vandana Gurnani is appointed as Secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat.

• Punya Salila Srivastava will take over as Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, from Apurva Chandra, upon his superannuation on Sept. 30, 2024.

• Chandra Sekhar Kumar as Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs.

• Neelam Shammi Rao as Secretary, National Commission for Minorities.

• Deepti Gaur Mukerjee as Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

• Deepti Umashankar will initially be appointed as Officer on Special Duty to the President of India in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India from the date of assumption of charge. The officer will take over as Secretary to the President of India from Rajesh Verma upon his superannuation on Aug. 31.

• Sukriti Likhi will initially be appointed as Officer on Special Duty, National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. The officer will take over as Chairperson, National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention, from Mukhmeet Singh Bhatia, upon his superannuation on Sept. 30, 2024.

• Sanjeev Kumar will be appointed as the Secretary, Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence.

• Prashant Kumar Singh will initially be appointed as Officer on Special Duty, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. The officer will take over as Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, from Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, upon his superannuation on Sept. 30, 2024.

• Ashok Kumar Kaluaram Meena as Officer on Special Duty, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. The officer will take over as Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, from Vini Mahajan, upon her superannuation on Oct. 31, 2024.

• Pankaj Kumar Mishra, Member Finance, Atomic Energy Commission, Department of Atomic Energy, holds the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.

• A. Neeraja, Special Secretary, Department of Fertilisers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, as Officer on Special Duty, National Commission for Backward Classes, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. The officer will take over as Secretary, National Commission for Backward Classes, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, vice Shri Ashish Upadhyaya, upon his superannuation on Sept. 30, 2024.