Centre Appoints Apurva Chandra As New Health Secretary

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra was appointed the Health Secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Saturday.

Mr Chandra is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Maharashtra cadre.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Chandra's appointment as the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

Senior bureaucrat Sanjay Jaju has been appointed as the new Information and Broadcasting Secretary in place of Mr Chandra.

Mr Jaju, a 1992-batch IAS officer, is currently serving in his cadre state of Telangana.

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, a 1988-batch (retired) IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre, has been named Secretary to the anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal on contract basis for a period of one year, it said.

Ashish Kumar Bhutani, a 1992-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, will be Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation.

Senior bureaucrat Raj Kumar Goyal has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Border Management.

Legal Affairs Secretary Niten Chandra will now be Secretary, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, and K Moses Chalai has been named Secretary of Inter State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Mr Chalai is currently Secretary, North Eastern Council Secretariat, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.

Niten Chandra, who was the first IAS officer to be appointed to the post of legal affairs secretary, is also the secretary to the high-level committee on "One Nation, One Election".

Senior IAS officer Anil Malik has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Ministry of Women and Child Development. He will take over as Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development after superannuation of incumbent Indevar Pandey on February 29, the order said.

Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary (Logistics) in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, will now be Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

She will take over as Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment after the retirement of Arti Ahuja this month-end.

Vijay Kumar, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, has been named as Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India.

The ACC has also approved in-situ upgradation of posts held by four officers.

Accordingly, P Daniel will now be Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission in the rank and pay of Secretary. Rashmi Chowdhary will be Secretary, Central Information Commission in the rank and pay of Secretary to the government of India.

A Neeraja will be Special Secretary in the Department of Fertilizers and Shyam Bhagat Negi has been appointed as Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat.

The ACC has also approved appointment of Reeta Vasishta, in-charge of Central Agency Section, Ministry of Law and Justice, as the Member Secretary, 22nd Law Commission of India, the order added.

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