In a major bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre, 29 joint secretaries have been appointed in different government departments.

Officers from various central services, including the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS), Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE), Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) among others have been appointed to these key joint secretary (JS)-level posts, as per an order issued by the Personnel Ministry.

IDAS officers Praveen Kumar Rai and Rakesh Kumar Pandey, and IRSEE officer Rajesh Gupta have been appointed as joint secretaries in the Home Ministry, said the order dated October 25.

Raj Kumar, a 1999-batch IA&AS officer, has been named as Director (Finance) in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) under the Ministry of Home Affairs for a tenure of five years, it said.

Deepak Agarwal, a 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Managing Director (JS level), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), the order said.

IAS officers Chauhan Sarita Chand and P Bala Kiran have been appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances and Department of Personnel & Training, respectively.

Bhavna Saxena, a 1996-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as CEO, Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) under the Ministry of Women & Child Development, the order said. Anjan Kumar Mishra, a 1998-batch Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) officer, has been named as Secretary, Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Niraj Kumar, a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer, has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, the order said. Kesang Yangzom Sherpa, a 1995-batch IRS (Income Tax cadre) officer, will be Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce.

Premjit Lal has been appointed as Executive Director, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), Balamurugan D will be Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Rama Shankar Sinha has been named as Joint Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Senior bureaucrats Rajat Agarwal and Ved Prakash Mishra have been appointed as joint secretaries in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.