New Delhi, 27 July (H.S.): Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Keshav Chandra on Monday assumed charge as the Secretary of the Ministry of Mines, Government of India. Before taking up the new assignment, he was serving as the Chairman of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Mines, Keshav Chandra is a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. He succeeds Piyush Goyal, who has been appointed as the Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Soon after assuming office, Keshav Chandra held a review meeting with senior officials of the ministry. During the meeting, he reviewed the ministry’s key schemes, ongoing activities and the progress of various programmes. Officials provided him with a detailed briefing on the ministry’s major initiatives and the current status of their implementation.

The ministry said that Keshav Chandra emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to strengthen India’s mineral sector and ensure effective implementation of key initiatives. He highlighted the importance of focusing on mineral exploration, auctioning and operationalisation of mineral blocks, development of critical and strategic minerals, and other major issues related to the mining and mineral sector.

He also stressed the need for timely and efficient execution of programmes to ensure sustainable growth and further strengthen the country’s mineral resources sector.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar