Vir Vikram Yadav appointed new DGCA chief, Chanchal Kumar named I&B ministry secretary in major shuffle

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like New Delhi: The government on Tuesday appointed Vir Vikram Yadav as director general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), moved Abhishek Singh out of the India AI Mission to head the National Testing Agency (NTA), and named Chanchal Kumar secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B), among a series of senior bureaucratic changes approved by the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC). Vir Vikram Yadav (L) and Chanchal Kumar (R) (File Photo/HT)Yadav, a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, takes over India’s aviation safety regulator from Faiz Ahmed Kidwai — a 1996-batch officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre who has been appointed additional secretary in the department of personnel and training. Yadav was serving as additional secretary in the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change. The DGCA has faced heightened scrutiny in recent months over operational disruptions and safety concerns, most recently IndiGo’s disruptions in December 2025 and scrutiny of charter plane operators and small airport. ACC issued two orders – one for additional secretary level positions and the other for secretary level positions. As part of the latter order, Singh, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre, has been appointed director general of the NTA under the ministry of education — a secretary-level post — and assumes charge on Wednesday after a handover. He had led the India AI Mission since its launch in March 2024, while also holding additional charge as director general of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and additional secretary in MeitY, overseeing AI, emerging technologies and the Digital India Bhashini division. Singh called his MeitY tenure among the most fulfilling roles he has held. “I am confident they will carry forward the momentum we have built,” he told HT. His team led the AI Impact Summit, which drew participation from over 20 heads of state and representatives from more than 100 countries, with investment commitments exceeding $250 billion across AI infrastructure, foundation models, hardware and applications. The ministry is expected to make interim internal arrangements before a formal appointment for his replacement is announced. Bhuvnesh Kumar, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed secretary in the ministry of tourism, moving from his role as chief executive officer of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). He had taken charge at UIDAI in early 2025 and oversaw the launch of the new Aadhaar app in January 2026, which enables paperless, QR-based identity verification with selective data sharing. In a swap of posts, Chanchal Kumar, a 1992-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, replaces Sanjay Jaju — a 1992-batch officer of the Telangana cadre — as secretary in the I&B ministry; Jaju moves as secretary to the ministry of development of north eastern region, Kumar’s current post. Kumar had served as principal secretary to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who resigned as a state lawmaker this week after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. Also part of the second order were Rohit Kansal (AGMUT cadre), who has been appointed rural development secretary; Bharat Harbanslal Khera, currently additional secretary in the ministry of consumer affairs, has been named officer on special duty in the MSME ministry and incoming secretary; Nivedita Shukla Verma moves from secretary in the department of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals to secretary in the department of administrative reforms and public grievances; Tejveer Singh has been appointed secretary in the department of chemicals and petro-chemicals; and Narendra Bhooshan has been appointed secretary in the department of land resources. As part of the first order, Gyanendra D Tripathi has been named additional secretary in the department of agricultural research and education and secretary of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research; and N Gulzar moves from additional secretary in the department of telecommunications to member secretary of the National Capital Region Planning Board.