Awanish Kumar appointed as Delhi’s new excise commissioner
Delhi Names Awanish Kumar as New Excise Commissioner
Indiadailyupdate.com – Delhi has appointed 2014-batch IAS officer Awanish Kumar as its new excise commissioner, filling a position that had been vacant since the transfer of former commissioner Ravi Jha to Arunachal Pradesh last month. The services department issued the appointment order on Thursday, making the change effective immediately.
The posting comes at an important moment for the capital’s excise administration. The Delhi government is working towards finalising a new excise policy, placing Kumar in charge of a department that will be closely involved in the policy’s implementation and day-to-day administration.
Before taking up the excise assignment, Kumar served as director of training and technical education and higher education. His move is part of a broader administrative reshuffle that also alters responsibilities across health, transport, public works, industry, power and planning-related offices.
Excise Department Takes Centre Stage
The excise commissioner oversees a key area of Delhi’s administration, with the department responsible for matters connected to excise regulation and the functioning of the city’s liquor trade. With a new policy under consideration, the commissioner’s office will have an important operational role as the government moves from policy planning to execution.
The appointment follows the departure of Ravi Jha, whose transfer left the excise commissioner’s post unoccupied. Kumar now assumes responsibility at a time when the government is preparing its next framework for the sector.
Draft work on the proposed excise policy has already been sent to the Centre, and the government has indicated that implementation could take place before Diwali. The policy process has also drawn attention because changes in import duty may affect the retail price of some UK-origin whisky in Delhi by the end of October.
Changes in Health and Urban Shelter Responsibilities
The government also reassigned 2006-batch IAS officer Rupesh Kumar Thakur, who had been serving as health secretary while additionally holding the post of chief executive officer of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, or DUSIB. Thakur has been relieved of his health department responsibility.
His transfer takes place while the Anti-Corruption Branch is examining alleged irregularities linked to the purchase of medicines, medical equipment and consumables valued at hundreds of crores. The order changes Thakur’s health assignment but does not alter the significance of the continuing probe.
In another health-related adjustment, Mekala Chaitanya Prasad, special secretary in the health department, has been given additional charge as special secretary in the Public Works Department. The PWD portfolio has been taken away from Suneel Anchipaka.
Transport, Tourism and Infrastructure Posts Reworked
Niharika Rai, secretary-cum-commissioner for transport, will no longer hold the tourism portfolio. Rai had also been carrying additional responsibilities as secretary for tourism and chairman of the Delhi Transport Corporation. The latest order removes tourism from her list of assignments while leaving the transport role central to her administrative responsibilities.
The changes underline the extent of additional-charge arrangements within the Delhi administration, where senior officers often oversee more than one department or public body. Such assignments can shift as the government redistributes responsibilities across departments and state-run organisations.
Sanjay Kumar has been appointed managing director of the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, known as DSIIDC. He will additionally serve as secretary for information technology and officer on special duty for planning until Yashpal Garg retires.
Following Garg’s superannuation, Sanjay Kumar is scheduled to take charge as secretary for planning. The arrangement links industrial infrastructure, IT administration and planning responsibilities during the transition period.
Additional Power-Sector Roles Assigned
Ajay Kumar Gupta, commissioner for food safety, has received several additional appointments in the power and public-sector sphere. He will hold charge as managing director of Delhi Transco, chairman of IPGCL and PPCL, chairman and managing director of DPCL, and chairman of the pension trust.
Gupta has been relieved of the Home charge as part of the reshuffle. His revised responsibilities place him across multiple organisations connected with Delhi’s electricity and public-sector administration.
Together, the appointments bring a new officer to the excise department while redistributing a range of senior responsibilities across major administrative areas. For residents and businesses, the excise posting is likely to draw particular attention in the coming months as Delhi moves closer to finalising and introducing its next excise policy.
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