Prakash Rajpurohit appointed Deputy Election Commissioner in major central reshuffle

The Centre has appointed senior IAS officer Prakash Rajpurohit as Deputy Election Commissioner as part of a reshuffle involving 27 joint secretary and equivalent positions across central ministries and departments.

Rajpurohit, a 2010-batch officer of the Rajasthan cadre, takes over from Sanjay Kumar. According to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry, his tenure in the new role will run until 8 April 2030. He previously served as joint secretary in the Department of Defence Production and director in the Department of Economic Affairs, following posts in Rajasthan's tax and district administration, including as Collector of Ajmer.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet also approved the appointment of Indian Telecom Service officer Vivek Khare as Joint Secretary at the National Testing Agency (NTA). Khare, a 1996-batch officer, will serve in the post until 2 December 2029.

Khare is the fourth joint secretary placed at the NTA since mid-May, following Anshuman Sharma, Anuja Bapat and Ruchita Vij. The additions form part of an overhaul of the testing body's permanent staff structure recommended by the Radhakrishnan committee in October 2024, after which the government created 16 new administrative positions.

MHA and health postings

Four officers have been assigned as joint secretaries to the Ministry of Home Affairs: Ravi Shankar, Chittaranjan Dash, P. Manoj Kumar and Abhishek Bhagotia.

In the health sector, Mohammed Y. Safirulla and Ritu Sharma become joint secretaries in the Department of Health and Family Welfare. Varnali Deka, a 2009-batch IAS officer, moves to the National Health Authority as Joint Secretary, while More Ashish Madhaorao joins the authority as Additional Chief Executive Officer.

Key shifts across departments

The remaining appointments span a wide range of ministries and statutory bodies:

• Corporate Affairs and Culture: Tanvi Sundriyal becomes Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and Inderjeet Singh takes the equivalent role at the Ministry of Culture.
• Financial and Regulatory Bodies: Tamboli Ayyaj Fakirbhai has been appointed Executive Director at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, while Rajesh Malik becomes Executive Director at the Food Corporation of India.
• Trade and Law: Nikhil Varma is the new Additional Director General of Foreign Trade in Delhi, and Navin Agarwal moves to the Department of Legal Affairs as Joint Secretary.
• Oversight and Governance: Nitin Kumar becomes Additional Secretary at the Central Vigilance Commission, Sonia Pant moves to NITI Aayog as Adviser, and Anita Shah Akella joins the National Commission for Women as Joint Secretary.
• Infrastructure and Transport: C Muruganas becomes Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, with Rajneesh Kumar Tomar named CEO of National Highways Logistics Management Ltd.

In urban development and water management, Manisha Trighatia becomes Joint Secretary in the Department of Urban Development, Avinash Jain takes over as Joint Secretary in the Department of Water Resources, and Pawan Kumar joins the National River Conservation Directorate.

Brijesh Pandey was named Joint Secretary in the Department of Capital Development, M Ramachandrudu takes up the same role at the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and Nishtha Tiwari becomes CEO of the Development and Welfare Board for Denotified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.

Separately, the government approved the premature repatriation of Govind Jaiswal, a 2007-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, from his post as Joint Secretary in the Department of Higher Education back to his parent cadre.