Amit Agrawal named new telecom secretary in major bureaucratic reshuffle; Neeraj Mittal shifted to petroleum ministry

Amit Agrawal will now take charge of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), succeeding Mittal

In a significant top-level reshuffle, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Thursday moved Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), appointing him as its new secretary. Mittal replaces Pankaj Jain, who has been shifted as Member Secretary of the Eighth Central Pay Commission.

Amit Agrawal, currently Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, has been named the new Telecom Secretary. Agrawal, a 1993-batch IAS officer from the Chhattisgarh cadre, has led the pharma department since December 2024. He will now take charge of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), succeeding Mittal.

Mittal, who took over the telecom portfolio in September 2023, oversaw key developments including progress on India’s indigenous telecom technology stack and BSNL’s rollout of nearly one lakh 4G sites during his tenure as DoT Secretary and Chair of the Digital Communications Commission.

The ACC also approved several other appointments across ministries. Manoj Joshi, Secretary in the Department of Land Resources, will replace Agrawal in the Pharmaceuticals department. Chennai Port Trust Chairperson Sunil Paliwal has been elevated as Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India, in the rank of Secretary.

In the Prime Minister’s Office, Special Secretary Atish Chandra has been appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. Tourism Secretary V Vidyavathi has been moved to head the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, with Karnataka cadre officer S Krishna replacing her.

Jain, whom Mittal succeeds at MoPNG, was last week nominated as Member Secretary of the 8th Central Pay Commission, though his superannuation is scheduled for December 31, 2025.