Aviation regulator DGCA chief Vikram Dev Dutt appointed coal secretary

Dutt is a 1993 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

Aviation regulator DGCA chief Vikram Dev Dutt has been appointed as coal secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Saturday.

Dutt is a 1993 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Dutt, Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as secretary, Ministry of Coal, according to a Personnel Ministry order.

Senior bureaucrat V Umashankar has been appointed as secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Umashankar, a 1993 batch IAS officer, is presently working in his cadre state, Haryana. Tanmay Kumar has been named as secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Kumar, who is currently special secretary in the same ministry, will succeed Leena Nandan upon her superannuation on December 31, 2024.

Subrata Gupta will be secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries. Gupta, a 1990 batch IAS officer, is presently serving in his cadre state, West Bengal. He will take charge from Anita Praveen, who is due to superannuate on November 30, 2024.

S Gopalakrishnan, Director General of the National Productivity Council under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, has been appointed as chairman of the Staff Selection Commission. He replaces Rakesh Ranjan, a 1992 batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre, who has taken voluntary retirement from service with effect from October 31, 2024, the order said.

Puneet Kumar Goel, a 1991 batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, has been named as secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. Surendra Kumar Bagde will be the new Director General, National Centre for Good Governance. Bagde, a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, is currently an additional secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The ACC has also approved the in-situ upgradation of senior IAS officer Neerja Sekhar. Sekhar, currently an additional secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has been appointed as special secretary in the same ministry.