Prakash Rajpurohit Takes Office as Deputy Election Commissioner
In a significant bureaucratic reshuffle, Prakash Rajpurohit has been appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner, effective October 10, 2026.
Prakash Rajpurohit, a 2010 IAS officer, will serve until April 8, 2030.
Vivek Khare has been appointed Joint Secretary of the National Testing Agency.
The Cabinet approved appointments for 27 civil servants across various ministries.
In a notable bureaucratic reshuffle, the Indian government appointed Prakash Rajpurohit as the new Deputy Election Commissioner on October 10, 2026. Rajpurohit, who belongs to the 2010 batch of IAS officers from the Rajasthan cadre, will hold this position until April 8, 2030, succeeding Sanjay Kumar. This move is part of a larger reorganization within the civil service aimed at enhancing administrative efficiency.
The reshuffle also saw Vivek Khare, a 1996 batch Indian Telecom Service officer, being designated as the Joint Secretary of the National Testing Agency (NTA). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved a total of 27 appointments at the joint secretary level and equivalent positions across various ministries, indicating a strategic effort to fill critical roles within the government.
Among the key appointments, Ravi Shankar, Chittaranjan Dash, P. Manoj Kumar, and Abhishek Bhagotia have been assigned as joint secretaries in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Additionally, Mohammed Y. Safirulla and Ritu Sharma will serve as joint secretaries in the Department of Health and Family Welfare, reflecting the government's focus on health administration.
Other notable appointments include Varnali Deka as Joint Secretary of the National Health Authority and Ashish Madhaorao as Additional Chief Executive Officer at the same authority. Furthermore, Nikhil Varma has been appointed as Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, while Tanvi Sundriyal and Inderjeet Singh will serve as joint secretaries in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, respectively.
Looking ahead, the ACC has also approved a proposal for the premature repatriation of Govind Jaiswal, the Joint Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, to his parent cadre. This reshuffle is part of ongoing efforts to streamline governance and improve the effectiveness of public administration in India.
