Uttar Pradesh Promotes 17 Senior IAS Officers in 2026, Five Including Sanjay Prasad Elevated to Additional Chief Secretary Rank
In the first major administrative decision of 2026, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has approved a large-scale promotion exercise for senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, significantly strengthening the state’s top bureaucratic leadership. A total of seventeen officers from the 1995 IAS batch have been elevated from the rank of Principal Secretary to the prestigious Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) level.
The move marks one of the most extensive single-batch promotions in recent years and brings several influential senior officers into the state’s highest administrative pay grade and decision-making hierarchy.
Five Officers Elevated to Additional Chief Secretary
As part of this promotion order, five prominent IAS officers have been promoted to the Additional Chief Secretary rank and will now operate in the apex administrative pay structure of Level-17 of the Pay Matrix with a fixed monthly salary of ₹2,25,000, in accordance with the Seventh Central Pay Commission. Their elevation takes effect from the date they formally assume charge.
The officers who have entered the ACS cadre include:
Sanjay Prasad, currently serving as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister
Ashish Kumar Goyal, Managing Director of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation
Amrit Abhijat, Principal Secretary, Tourism Department
Mukesh Kumar Meshram, Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry Department
R. Ramesh Kumar, Principal Secretary
With their new rank, these officers will shoulder enhanced strategic, supervisory and policy-level responsibilities across critical state departments.
Proforma Promotions for Officers on Central Deputation
In a parallel decision, three 1995-batch IAS officers currently serving on deputation with the Government of India have been granted proforma promotions to Level-17. These officers are:
Bhuvnesh Kumar
Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan
Santosh Kumar Yadav
The proforma promotions ensure that their seniority, pay structure and service progression remain aligned with their batch peers, acknowledging their continued contribution to both state and central administrative frameworks.
Concurrent Administrative Restructuring
These promotions follow a broader bureaucratic realignment within the Uttar Pradesh administration. Earlier, on January 1, 2026, the state government issued fresh postings for twenty-one senior IAS officers, upgrading several from Special Secretary to Secretary rank and redistributing portfolios across multiple high-impact departments.
Senior officials noted that the restructuring has been designed to reinforce administrative cohesion, optimize leadership deployment and improve execution capacity across development-focused ministries.
Strategic Significance for State Governance
The elevation of senior officers to the Additional Chief Secretary rank is considered a critical governance measure, as it places experienced administrators at the helm of policy formulation, inter-departmental coordination and flagship programme implementation. The first week of 2026 has therefore begun with a decisive push toward strengthening Uttar Pradesh’s top administrative tier, ensuring continuity, stability and seasoned leadership across vital sectors of the state government.
