Sanjay Kumar given additional charge of higher education secretary

NEW DELHI: School education secretary Sanjay Kumar has been given the additional charge of secretary of the department of higher education in the ministry of education with immediate effect. The appointment came as former higher education secretary K Sanjay Murthy took charge as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

Kumar will handle the additional charge till the appointment of a regular secretary or until further orders. “The Competent Authority has approved the assignment of additional charge of the post of Secretary, Department of Higher Education to Shri Sanjay Kumar, IAS (BH:1990), Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy with immediate effect and till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the appointments committee of the cabinet, department of personnel and training said in an official letter.

Kumar took charge of the department of school education and literacy in 2022. He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1990 batch from the Bihar cadre. Before his central role, Kumar was the Principal Secretary for Education in Bihar. He has also held the position of secretary in the department of youth affairs within the ministry of youth affairs and sports.

New CAG

Murthy belongs to the IAS of Himachal Pradesh cadre (1989 batch). He succeeded Girish Chandra Murmu, who demitted office on November 21. Murthy was sworn in as the CAG of India by President Droupadi Murmu at a function in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Besides serving as the higher education secretary, he has also handled the charge of additional secretary in the ministry of housing and urban affairs, and CEO, National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, and joint secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting.

Murthy was named the new CAG by the Centre on November 18. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, among others, were present at the oath-taking ceremony.