Centre Appoints 35 Officers to Joint Secretary Positions Across Key Ministries and Departments

In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, the Government of India appointed 35 senior civil servants to key administrative roles across various ministries and departments. Among the most notable changes are the appointments of Pawan Kumar Sharma as Deputy Election Commissioner and V Lalithalakshmi as Joint Secretary in the Vice President’s Secretariat.

The appointments were announced on 13 September 2025 via an official order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

Key Appointments

Pawan Kumar Sharma – Deputy Election Commissioner

• Cadre & Batch: 1999-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre
• Previous Role: Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence
• New Role: Appointed Deputy Election Commissioner, in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the Government of India
• Significance: Sharma will now play a crucial role in the Election Commission of India, especially in the run-up to upcoming state and general elections.

V Lalithalakshmi – Joint Secretary, Vice President’s Secretariat

• Cadre & Batch: 2008-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre
• New Role: Appointed Joint Secretary in the Vice President’s Secretariat
• Significance: This appointment places her in a key administrative role supporting the constitutional office of the Vice President of India.

Other Major Appointments in the Reshuffle

Department of Pharmaceuticals

• Aman Sharma (Indian Postal Service, 2002 batch) and Satyaprakash T L named Joint Secretaries

Ministry of Environment

• Tarun Kumar Pithode (Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS) appointed Joint Secretary

Ministry of Home Affairs

• Arvind Khare to serve as Joint Secretary

Ministry of Finance

• Amit Singla – Department of Economic Affairs
• Ekroop Caur – Department of Expenditure
• Shalini Pandit – Department of Financial Services

Department of Atomic Energy

• Nidhi Pandey (Indian Information Service) appointed as Joint Secretary

Ministry of Culture

• Meenakshi Jolly becomes Additional DG (JS level), National Museum

Department of Legal Affairs

• Ajay Gupta and Phool Chand Prasad appointed as Joint Secretaries

NITI Aayog

• Archana Mittal appointed as Adviser (JS level)

Other Notable Appointments

• Krishna Kant Pathak – Department of Fertilisers
• Madhup Vyas – Executive Director, National Institute of Disaster Management
• Garima Singh – Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• Suresh Kumar – Department of Justice
• Chetna Nand Singh – Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
• Nishant Verma – Anusandhan National Research Foundation
• Harikishore S – Ministry of Tourism
• Rajamurugan Muthukalathi (IPS) – MD, TRIFED (Tribal Affairs Ministry)
• Shilpa Sachin Shinde – CMD, Water and Power Consultancy Services
• Sumant Narain – Department of Water Resources
• Chhavi Bhardwaj – Joint Secretary, DoPT & CEO, Karmayogi Bharat

Strategic Importance of the Reshuffle

This large-scale reshuffle is part of the government’s continuous efforts to,

• Bring fresh leadership into key departments
• Drive reforms in defence, justice, environment, economy, and administration
• Ensure effective execution of flagship schemes such as Karmayogi Bharat, Viksit Bharat, and Digital Governance Initiatives
• It also signals a push to streamline governance, strengthen the bureaucratic structure, and deploy experienced officers to roles that demand specialised skills.