Major Bureaucratic Reshuffle: IAS Officer Lav Agrawal Appointed DGFT Chief, 25 Officers Reassigned Across Key Central Departments

In a significant bureaucratic shake-up, the Central Government has appointed IAS officer Lav Agrawal as the new Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). The reshuffle, announced on Tuesday, also saw 25 senior bureaucrats being reassigned across important ministries and departments, including the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Department of Commerce, and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Lav Agrawal Takes Charge as DGFT

Lav Agrawal, a 1996 batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, was serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued the order confirming that the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his posting as DGFT under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Key Reassignments in the Bureaucracy

• Rabindra Kumar Agrawal, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of FCI, succeeding Ashutosh Agnihotri, who will now serve as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Srichant Nagulapalli, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power, has been appointed Director General of Hydrocarbons in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Suchindra Mishra, a 1992 batch Indian Defence Accounts Service officer, has been posted as Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce.
• Rakesh Gupta, Additional Secretary in the President’s Secretariat, has been reassigned as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, while Anita C. Meshram, Additional Secretary in the Fertilizer Department, moves to the President’s Secretariat.

Other Notable Transfers

• Punjab cadre IAS officer Dilip Kumar will assume the role of Director General (Training) in the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
• Shyaml Mishra has been appointed Administrator (Digital India Fund) in the Department of Telecommunications.
• Carline Khongwar Deshmukh joins the Ministry of Women & Child Development as Additional Secretary.
• Sonal Mishra will take charge as Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) in the Ministry of Labour & Employment.
• Niranjan Kumar Sudhanshu has been posted as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
• Solomon Arokiyaraj, Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, moves to the Cabinet Secretariat as Additional Secretary.

Promotions and Policy Impact

The reshuffle also includes two officers being promoted to the level of Special Secretary, under the Government of India’s Secretary pay scale, reflecting a strategic alignment of experienced leadership across critical departments.

This comprehensive move demonstrates the government’s intent to strengthen administrative efficiency and policy implementation across central ministries, ahead of major economic and strategic initiatives.