Amit Agrawal Named New Telecom Secretary

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved a major bureaucratic reshuffle impacting several ministries, including the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Amit Agrawal, Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, has been appointed the new Telecom Secretary. A 1993-batch IAS officer from the Chhattisgarh cadre and an IIT Kanpur graduate, Agrawal has held several key roles at the Centre and in state governments. His experience includes serving as CEO of UIDAI, Additional Secretary at MeitY, and senior positions in the Ministry of Finance, as well as major administrative assignments in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Neeraj Mittal, the outgoing Telecom Secretary and a 1992-batch IAS officer, has been shifted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas as Secretary. Mittal replaces Pankaj Jain, who moves to the Eighth Central Pay Commission as Member Secretary.

Mittal’s Impact on India’s Telecom Growth

Mittal led the DoT from September 2023 and played a pivotal role in advancing India’s telecom ecosystem. Under his leadership, India achieved one of the world’s fastest nationwide standalone 5G rollouts and surpassed 100 million 5G subscribers by December 2023. He oversaw the deployment of nearly 100,000 BSNL 4G sites and championed the development of India’s indigenous telecom technology stack.

Amit Agrawal has played key role in positioning India as a global benchmark in large-scale 5G deployment.The reshuffle marks a significant transition as the Telecom Ministry prepares for the next phase of digital and 6G innovation.