New Deli: Days after the tenure of Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh was curtailed, the Narendra Modi government carried out a major reshuffle of Secretaries of Union Ministries on Saturday touching over seven ministries including health, urban development and housing.
As part of the reshuffle, the government has appointed senior IAS officer Bhanu Pratap Sharma as Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Sharma, a 1981 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, is at present Establishment Officer and Special Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
He has been appointed in place of Lov Verma, a 1978 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, who has been shifted as Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, an order issued by the DoPT said.
The government has appointed Gauri Kumar as Secretary (Coordination and Public Grievances) in the Cabinet Secretariat. Kumar, a 1979 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, is now Secretary in Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Shankar Agarwal, a 1980 batch IAS officer, has been appointed in Kumar's place. Agarwal is at present Secretary in the Ministry of Urban Development.
Madhusudan Prasad, a 1981 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, has been appointed in Agarwal's place. Prasad is working as Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce.
Anita Agnihotri, a 1980 batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. She was working as Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. Agnihotri has been replaced by her batchmate Nandita Chatterjee who is Member-Secretary in National Commission for Women.
DK Mittal, a retired IAS officer, has been appointed as Mission Director of Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. He has been appointed for a period of three months, another DoPT order said.
