Ishrat Jahan probe officer gets new secretary job

Senior IAS officer B.K. Prasad, who probed the Ishrat Jahan missing files case and was at the centre of a row, got a new secretary-level posting for a two- year period on Thursday.

Mr Prasad, who was appointed as secretary, National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes, had got a two-month extension ending July 24 after he was due to retire on May 31. He was working as additional secretary in the home ministry.

In a major reshuffle in the top bureaucracy, The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the appointments appointed and reshuffled 15 senior IAS officers.

Union health secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma has been appointed as new secretary, department of personnel and training (DoPT) to fill the vacancy after Mr Sanjay Kothari retired last month.

The current additional secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare C.K. Mishra is the new health secretary.

Significantly, senior IAS officer Aruna Sharma has been appointed steel secretary as part of a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle.

The portfolios of Ms Sharma and Ms Aruna Sundararajan, who is steel secretary, have been swapped, an order issued by the department of personnel and training said.

Gujarat-cadre IAS officer Amarjit Singh has been named the new secretary, ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation plan. He will take over as officer on special duty in the same ministry immediately, the order said. Mr Singh, who is currently special secretary in the ministry, would take over as secretary on superannuation of the incumbent Shashi Shekhar.

Ms M. Sathiyavathy, director-general of civil aviation, has been named secretary, ministry of labour and employment. She has been appointed OSD in the labour ministry with immediate effect. She will take over as secretary in the labour ministry on superannuation of the incumbent Shankar Agarwal, the order said.

Mr Amarjeet Sinha, additional secretary, rural development has been appointed as secretary, rural development. It may be noted that Mr Sinha was earlier in the ministry of HRD but had opted transfer.

Another additional secretary from the ministry of health N.S. Kang has been made secretary and director-general of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).