In a recent shuffle of top bureaucrats of India, the central government has appointed Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi as the new secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

According to the order issued by the Appointment Committee of Cabinet, Chaturvedi will replace Anand Kumar, who will now be the secretary of the Ministry of Culture.

Chaturvedi is a 1987 batch Jharkhand cadre officer, while Kumar is a Kerala cadre officer (1984 batch). Kumar was appointed as the MNRE secretary in June 2017.

The government has also appointed Tarun Bajaj, the additional secretary of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), as the secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.

Arvind Kumar Sharma, who was the additional secretary at the PMO, will now take charge as the secretary of the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

The reshuffle also saw Aramane Giridhar, the additional secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat as the new secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, while Sanjeev Ranjan has been appointed as the new secretary of the Ministry of Shipping.

The Union Cabinet has also appointed Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, who currently holds the post of the special secretary of NITI Aayog as the secretary of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change after the retirement of the present secretary Chandra Kishore Mishra.

The government has appointed Rajesh Verma, who currently holds the portfolio of the special secretary of the Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare as the new secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

With the country in the middle of the Coronavirus crisis, hopefully, the change in leadership will not delay the important policy moves needed to navigate these challenging times.

Recently, the former secretary of the MNRE, Anand Kumar, discussed the ongoing coronavirus situation, its impact on the renewable industry, and the government’s plan of action with Mercom in its first webinar session. Speaking about the crisis caused by the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Kumar had added that he doesn’t expect a slowdown in the renewable energy sector in India. He also spoke about the ministry’s willingness to promote open access and captive projects.

From the installation target of 175 GW of renewable capacity by the end of 2022, India aims to raise its renewable capacity to 450 GW by 2030.

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.