Union Government Appoints Five Special Directors to the Enforcement Directorate (ED)

In a significant administrative move, the Union Government has appointed five senior officers to the post of Special Director (SD) in the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This includes four Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers and one Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. With these appointments, the ED now operates with a full strength of eight Special Directors, reinforcing its supervisory and operational capabilities across its regional offices and special units. These officers will play a critical role in overseeing field investigations related to economic offenses and enforcing key financial laws.

Key Highlights

Appointment Authority

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointments.

Newly Appointed Special Directors,

• Viplav Kumar Choudhry – IPS officer, 1997-batch, AGMUT cadre.
• T Sankar – IRS (Income Tax cadre), 2003 batch.
• N Padmanaban – IRS (Income Tax cadre), 2005 batch.
• Rajnish Dev Barman – IRS (Income Tax cadre), 1999 batch.
• Manu Tentiwal – IRS (Income Tax cadre), 2003 batch.

ED Structure and Role of Special Directors

• ED has eight sanctioned posts of Special Director.
• Special Directors head regional offices (e.g., Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh).
• In Delhi, they oversee special units at headquarters.

They report to the ED Director and supervise,

• Additional Directors
• Joint Directors
• Other subordinate officials

Current ED Director

• Rahul Navin, 1993-batch IRS officer (Income Tax cadre).

Role of the ED

• Operates under the Union Ministry of Finance.

Enforces

• Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
• Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA)
• Civil provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)

Impact of Appointments

• Brings ED’s Special Director strength to full capacity.
• Enhances the agency’s investigative and supervisory capabilities in economic crime enforcement.

Summary/Static	Details
Why in the news?	Union Government Appoints Five Special Directors to the Enforcement Directorate (ED)
Viplav Kumar Choudhry	IPS officer, 1997 batch, AGMUT cadre – Appointed as Special Director, ED
T Sankar	IRS officer, 2003 batch, Income Tax cadre – Appointed as Special Director, ED
N Padmanaban	IRS officer, 2005 batch, Income Tax cadre – Appointed as Special Director, ED
Rajnish Dev Barman	IRS officer, 1999 batch, Income Tax cadre – Appointed as Special Director, ED
Manu Tentiwal	IRS officer, 2003 batch, Income Tax cadre – Appointed as Special Director, ED
Rahul Navin (ED Chief)	IRS officer, 1993 batch, Income Tax cadre – Current Director of ED