Dissenting secys get marching order

The minister also wanted P Shanker, secretary (sugar) be made food secretary. The PM accepted the proposal and abolished the post of secretary (sugar) and appointed Shanker as food secretary.

Civil Aviation secretary Ravindra Gupta was shunted out to defence production. He is the second secretary to be shifted at the behest of concerned ministers. Akbar Ahmad Jung, special secretary in the power ministry, goes to the Civil Aviation Ministry as secretary.

Sharad Yadav was upset with Ravindra Gupta over the handling of the hijacking of the Indian Airlines IC-814 last year.

B K Chaturvedi, special secretary, insurance, has been shifted as secretary in the department of women and child development in place of Kiran Aggarwal who is proceeding on leave. Aggarwal too reportedly had major differences with her minister Sumitra Mahajan.

P K Banerjee, chief commissioner, investment and NRI, would come in place of Chaturvedi.

Bhure Lal of the Bofors fame has been made the chairman of the Food Corporation of India as the present incumbent P R Das Gupta retires on May 31.

Prabir Sen Gupta, secretary, defence production, will now be at Commerce Ministry under Murasoli Maran. The present incumbent P P Prabhu retires on May 31.

A K Basu who was in charge at the Steel Ministry as secretary has been moved to the Power Ministry.

Under the changes approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, A K Agarwal, secretary, coordination and public grievances in the Cabinet Secretariat, has been appointed as steel secretary while V N Kaul, a 1965 batch IAS officer, has been brought from Madhya Pradesh cadre as coal secretary. He would replace S S Boparai who has been repatriated to the Punjab cadre.

Valluri Narayan, at present posted in Maharashtra, has been appointed as the chief commissioner, investment and NRI, in the rank and pay of secretary while S B Krishnan has been elevated to the rank and pay of secretary, Technology Development Board.

Vinod Vaish, special secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, has been appointed secretary in the Department of Telecom services. He would succeed P S Saran who retires on May 31.

A K Kundra, adviser, Planning Commissioner, has been made special secretary in the Environment and Forests Ministry.

Achala Moulik, a 1964 batch IAS officer, currently posted in Karnataka, would be the new secretary in the department of elementary education and literacy while Dipankar Basu, chairman, Inland Waterways Authority, would take over a secretary, coordination and public grievances.