IRSE Officer Anish Kumar Named Joint Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy

Anish Kumar, an Indian Railway Service of Engineers officer currently on deputation to the Ministry of External Affairs as Adviser in Development Partnership Administration-III, has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Atomic Energy. The tenure runs up to May 23, 2028, or until further orders.

The Department of Atomic Energy oversees India's nuclear power programme, nuclear research institutions and strategic atomic energy establishments, reporting directly to the Prime Minister's charge. A Joint Secretary in the department typically handles a defined administrative or programme vertical within this structure, coordinating between the department's technical wings and the government's broader policy apparatus.

Kumar's prior posting was in the MEA's Development Partnership Administration-III, the wing that manages India's bilateral development assistance and project partnerships with select countries. Movement from a foreign-facing administrative role to a technical ministry like Atomic Energy is a common pattern for IRSE officers on central deputation, who rotate between infrastructure, foreign affairs and technical departments over their careers.

He was serving as Adviser, DPA-III at the MEA before this appointment, a posting that placed him within India's external development assistance apparatus rather than the railways cadre from which IRSE officers originate.

The appointment continues the practice of central deputation for engineering service officers into departments outside their parent railway cadre, spanning both foreign affairs and now atomic energy administration within the same tenure cycle.

The Department of Atomic Energy runs some of India's most sensitive strategic infrastructure, including nuclear power plants and research reactors, and Joint Secretary-level postings there carry both administrative and security-linked responsibilities.

The order fixes Kumar's combined central deputation tenure at up to May 23, 2028, unless varied by further orders.