Narendra Bhooshan Appointed Environment Secretary, Dilip Kumar Named Land Resources Secretary
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved a significant senior-level bureaucratic reshuffle involving the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Rural Development. According to the order issued on September 30, 2026, senior IAS officer Shri Narendra Bhooshan, a 1992-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre officer, has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, while Shri Dilip Kumar, a 1995-batch Punjab cadre IAS officer, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development.
The appointments will take effect in connection with the superannuation of Shri Tanmay Kumar, IAS (RJ:93), who is currently serving as Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The ACC order specifically states that Narendra Bhooshan will take over the post of Environment Secretary vice Tanmay Kumar upon the latter’s superannuation on September 30, 2026. The order also records the consequential appointment of Dilip Kumar to the Department of Land Resources following Bhooshan’s movement to the Environment Ministry.
Narendra Bhooshan to Become Environment Secretary
Narendra Bhooshan, an IAS officer of the 1992 batch belonging to the Uttar Pradesh cadre, is currently serving as Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development. The ACC has now approved his appointment as Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
His appointment has been made against the vacancy arising from the superannuation of Tanmay Kumar, an IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre from the 1993 batch. The ACC order states that Bhooshan will be appointed to the Environment Ministry in place of Tanmay Kumar upon the latter’s retirement on September 30, 2026.
The move will bring a senior administrator with experience in the Department of Land Resources into the top administrative position of the Environment Ministry. The order, however, is focused specifically on the appointments and does not provide additional details about the individual responsibilities or priorities that Bhooshan may undertake after assuming the new position.
Dilip Kumar to Head Department of Land Resources
The ACC has also approved the appointment of Shri Dilip Kumar, IAS (PB:95), as Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development. Dilip Kumar is currently serving as Director General (Training), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
His appointment will fill the position being vacated by Narendra Bhooshan following Bhooshan’s appointment as Environment Secretary. The order therefore establishes a direct administrative sequence between the two appointments, with Bhooshan moving from the Department of Land Resources to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Dilip Kumar moving into the Land Resources Department.
The Department of Land Resources functions under the Ministry of Rural Development. With Dilip Kumar’s appointment, the department will have a new Secretary following the movement of its current Secretary to another Union government ministry.
Appointment Linked to Tanmay Kumar’s Superannuation
A key factor behind the reshuffle is the superannuation of Tanmay Kumar, IAS (RJ:93). The ACC order explicitly states that Narendra Bhooshan will take over as Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, vice Tanmay Kumar, upon his superannuation on September 30, 2026.
The change therefore represents a planned transition at the Secretary level. Tanmay Kumar’s retirement creates the vacancy, while Bhooshan’s appointment to the post simultaneously results in a vacancy in the Department of Land Resources. That vacancy is being filled through the appointment of Dilip Kumar. The sequence outlined in the order ensures that the two senior-level appointments are connected as part of the same administrative movement.
Narendra Bhooshan’s Current Assignment
Before the new appointment, Narendra Bhooshan has been serving as Secretary, Department of Land Resources, under the Ministry of Rural Development. The ACC order identifies his current position as well as his new assignment, making clear that his appointment as Environment Secretary represents a movement from one Secretary-level position in the Union government to another.
His new responsibility will be in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The ministry is a key department of the Union government, but the ACC document itself does not set out any specific policy agenda or priorities associated with Bhooshan’s appointment. The official communication simply records the approval of the competent authority and the effective transition following Tanmay Kumar’s superannuation.
Dilip Kumar Moves From Skill Development Ministry
Dilip Kumar, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, is currently posted as Director General (Training) in the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. His appointment as Secretary, Department of Land Resources, will mark his movement to the Ministry of Rural Development.
The ACC order identifies him by his batch and cadre as IAS (PB:95) and specifies his existing position as Director General (Training). He will succeed Narendra Bhooshan as Secretary of the Department of Land Resources following Bhooshan’s appointment to the Environment Ministry.
The order does not mention any other changes in Dilip Kumar’s responsibilities beyond his appointment as Secretary of the Department of Land Resources.
ACC Order Issued on September 30
The appointments were approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and communicated through an official order dated September 30, 2026. The document was issued from the Secretariat of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training.
The order has been circulated to a wide range of senior government offices and authorities. The circulation list includes the Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Secretary to the President of India, Secretary to the Vice President of India, Secretaries General of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariats, Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training, and Secretary (Coordination & Public Grievances) in the Cabinet Secretariat.
It has also been sent to all Secretaries to the Government of India as per the standard list, the offices of the Home Minister and Union Ministers, the Minister of State for Personnel, Chief Secretaries of all States and other concerned authorities.
The Director General of Media and Communication at the Press Information Bureau, the Editor, Civil Services News, the Deputy Secretary in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, and the National Informatics Centre of the Department of Personnel and Training are also included in the circulation list.
Two Senior-Level Appointments in One Administrative Chain
The ACC decision effectively creates a two-step transition. Narendra Bhooshan will move from the Department of Land Resources to become Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change following Tanmay Kumar’s superannuation. Dilip Kumar will then take over as Secretary of the Department of Land Resources, succeeding Bhooshan.
This makes the order notable not simply because of two Secretary-level appointments, but because the two appointments are directly linked. One movement creates the vacancy that is filled by the other.
The order was signed by Manisha Saxena, Secretary, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and Establishment Officer. The document is identified as No. 36/01/2026-EO(SM-I) and forms part of the official administrative communication concerning senior appointments in the Government of India.
With these approvals, the senior administrative leadership of both the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Department of Land Resources is set to change from September 30, 2026, following the superannuation of Tanmay Kumar and the consequent movement of Narendra Bhooshan and Dilip Kumar into their new assignments.
