Appointments Committee of the Cabinet Clears Empanelment Across Multiple Central Services for Key Administrative Roles
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has cleared the empanelment of 38 officers from a range of central civil services for appointment to Joint Secretary (JS)-equivalent positions in the Government of India.
The approval, which takes immediate effect, includes officers from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Forest Service (IFS), Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS), Indian Telecommunications Service (ITS), Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS), and the Indian Postal, Telegraph and Telecommunication Accounts & Finance Service (IP&TA&FS).
Breakdown of Empaneled Officers
As per the official order, the empanelment covers 14 officers from the IRS (both Income Tax and Customs & Indirect Taxes), 2 officers from the IFS (Urban Development cadre), 10 officers from the IOFS, 6 officers from the ITS, 2 officers from the ICoAS, and 1 officer from the IP&TA&FS.
Notable empaneled officers include:
IRS (Income Tax, 2005 batch): Aakash Dewangan, Anshuman Sharma, Anurag Sharma, J Saravanan, Mukesh Kumar Jha, Nikhil Varma, Nishtha Tiwari, Premanand J, Rajat Kapoor, Ramesha G, Ritu Sharma, Satya Pal Kumar, Vipul Agarwal
IRS (Customs & Indirect Taxes, 2005 batch): Arvind Saran, Jayaprahasam S, N Gandhikumar, Pawan Kumar, Santosh Kumar Mohanty
IFS (2005 batch, Urban Development): Amit Verma, Neha Verma
IOFS (2002 batch): Anurag Anand, Ashish Kumar Gupta, Deepika Lohia Aran, Gurjeet Singh Dhillon, Kulveer Singh Yadav, Naval Kishor, Ngachan Z, Rajiv Kumar, Vivek Virmani
ITS: Shiv Ratan (1996 batch), Mukesh Kumar (2005 batch), Navneet Chouhan (2005 batch), Sandeep Bhardwaj (2005 batch), Thomas Varghese (2005 batch), V.D. Godhate (2005 batch)
ICoAS: G. Venkatesh (1997 batch), Sanjay Kumar (1998 batch)
IP&TA&FS: Sanjay Kumar (2003 batch)
Importance of the Empanelment
Empanelment to the rank of Joint Secretary is a significant career milestone for central service officers. It allows them to be considered for senior-level appointments in ministries and departments where they contribute to policy design, strategic administration, and program execution.
This round of empanelment demonstrates the government’s intent to leverage a diverse pool of experienced officers with backgrounds in taxation, finance, technology, industry, and infrastructure — ensuring a strong leadership framework for policy delivery.
Path Ahead for the Officers
With this empanelment, the listed officers are now eligible for postings as Joint Secretaries or equivalent roles in various departments under the central government. The decision marks an advancement in their professional trajectories and opens avenues for them to play a greater role in shaping national policy, governance reforms, and program implementation at the highest administrative level.
