IAS Officers Onkar Sharma and Anuradha Thakur Elevated to Additional Chief Secretary Roles in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla, January 3: Onkar Sharma and Anuradha Thakur, both officers of the 1994 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), have been promoted to the rank of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) in Himachal Pradesh. This elevation comes in recognition of their 30 years of service in the IAS. As per the norms, IAS officers completed 25 years in service, and Dr. Amandeep Garg and Pushpendra Rajput have been appointed as Principal Secretaries in Himachal Pradesh, having achieved this milestone.

Onkar Sharma and Anuradha Thakur will receive a pay scale of INR 2,25,000 at Level 17 in the Apex scale. Dr. Amandeep Garg and Pushpendra Rajput will be on the Super Time Scale of IAS Level 15. Currently, Onkar Sharma is in charge of the Revenue, Jal Shakti, and Tribal Development departments. Anuradha Thakur is serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in the Government of India. After returning to Himachal Pradesh, both officers will be assigned elevated roles.

The additional elevation follows the appointments of Dr. Amandeep Garg and Pushpendra Rajput, who belong to the 1999 batch of IAS officers, to the post of Principal Secretary. Dr. Garg is currently overseeing the Personnel and Forest departments, while Pushpendra Rajput is serving as Additional Secretary in the Union Public Service Commission in New Delhi.

The state government has appointed a total of five Principal Secretaries, with Bharat Khera, Ardi Najim, Manish Garg, and Devesh Kumar currently serving in these positions. The promotion of Onkar Sharma and Anuradha Thakur to Additional Chief Secretary roles brings the total number of Principal Secretaries to five in Himachal Pradesh.

In addition to these promotions, the government has also issued transfer orders for three IAS officers. Ishant Jaswal has been appointed as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Kangra, Vijay Vardhan as SDM Rohru, and Netra Mehta as SDM Palampur.