Devesh Chaturvedi Appointed Agriculture Secretary, Sandeep Pondrik Steel Secretary

New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) Senior bureaucrats Devesh Chaturvedi and Sandeep Pondrik have been appointed as Agriculture and Steel secretaries respectively, according to a Personnel Ministry order.

Chaturvedi, a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is presently serving in his cadre state Uttar Pradesh.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Chaturvedi's appointment as Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said the order dated August 6.

Pondrik, a 1993-batch IAS officer, is currently serving in his cadre state Bihar. He has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Steel, it said.

The ACC has also approved in-situ upgradation of six officers.

Punya Salila Srivastava, Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, has been appointed to the level of Special Secretary in the PMO, according to the order.

Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Agarwal has been appointed as Special Secretary and Financial Advisor.

Additional Secretary in Ministry of Panchayati Raj Chandra Sekhar Kumar will now be Special Secretary.

Additional Secretary in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Tanmay Kumar will be Special Secretary. Chief Executive Officer of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Amit Agrawal has been appointed in the rank and pay of Secretary to the government of India.

National Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Deepti Gaur Mukerjee will now be in the rank and pay of Secretary to the government of India, according to the order.