In a key administrative move, Neeraj Mittal (IAS: 1992: TN), the incumbent Telecom Secretary, has been laterally shifted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas as Secretary. Mittal will take over from Pankaj Jain (IAS: 1990: AM), who will demit office to assume the charge of Member Secretary for the upcoming Eighth Central Pay Commission—a position considered influential in government finance.

Filling the vacancy left by Mittal, Amit Agrawal (IAS: 1993: CG) has been appointed the new Secretary, Department of Telecommunications. Agrawal moves from the Department of Pharmaceuticals, where he was serving as Secretary.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers will now be headed by Manoj Joshi (IAS: 1989: KL), who moves from his current post as Secretary, Department of Land Resources.

The reshuffle also impacted the Tourism Ministry, as Union Tourism Secretary V Vidyavathi (IAS: 1991: KN) was shifted to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, replacing Rajesh Aggarwal. She is succeeded by Srivatsa Krishna (IAS: 1994: KN), who was awaiting a posting in his cadre.

In another significant elevation, Sunil Paliwal (IAS: 1993: TN), currently the Chairperson of the Chennai Port Trust, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). The post was temporarily upgraded to the Secretary level to accommodate Paliwal's appointment.

Finally, laying the groundwork for a future transition, Atish Chandra (IAS: 1994: BH), presently serving as Special Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. Chandra will eventually succeed Devesh Chaturvedi (IAS: 1989: UP) as the Departmental Secretary upon Chaturvedi's superannuation on February 28, 2026, officially taking charge from February 1, 2026.