Bhopal: In a major bureaucratic transition spanning both the Centre and state administration, senior IAS officer Anurag Jain has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog. Concurrently, the Madhya Pradesh government has appointed senior bureaucrat Ashok Barnwal as the state’s officiating Chief Secretary.
According to an official order issued by the Central Government, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the posting of Anurag Jain, a 1989‑batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, to head the country’s premier public policy think tank.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Anurag Jain, IAS of 1989 batch from MP cadre as Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post, till his approved tenure of extension in service and thereafter, for an overall period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, on the same terms and conditions as applied to his predecessor,” the Central order stated.
Before this elevated national role, Jain was serving as the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh. Following Jain’s movement to the Centre, the Madhya Pradesh state administration moved swiftly to ensure continuity at the helm of its bureaucracy.
Ashok Barnwal, a senior 1991‑batch IAS officer, has been tasked with steering the state’s executive operations. Barnwal, who currently serves as Additional Chief Secretary in the Public Health and Medical Education Department, as well as Additional Chief Secretary in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, alongside holding additional charge as Commissioner of Food Safety, Madhya Pradesh, will take over the top bureaucratic post.
An official state notification confirmed that Barnwal “is hereby appointed as Chief Secretary, Government of Madhya Pradesh, on an officiating basis, temporarily and until further orders.”
The simultaneous appointments mark an important administrative restructuring, bringing experienced leadership to both NITI Aayog’s policy formulation framework and Madhya Pradesh’s executive governance.
IANS
