Ankit Chauhan Named Deputy Secretary in Ministry of Heavy Industries

Ankit Chauhan, a 2013-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, has been selected for appointment as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industries under the Central Staffing Scheme, for a tenure of four years, according to the order clearing his central deputation.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries administers the Production Linked Incentive scheme for the automobile and auto-components sector, the FAME electric vehicle subsidy programme, and oversight of central public sector enterprises such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Scooters India. A Deputy Secretary in the ministry typically handles a specific scheme vertical or a set of public sector undertakings, coordinating between the ministry, the Department of Public Enterprises, and industry associations on disbursement timelines and compliance verification. The scheme's disbursement cycle runs on a quarterly verification basis, requiring the Deputy Secretary's office to reconcile manufacturer claims against production and localisation targets before payments are cleared.

Chauhan's background is in policing rather than general administration, having served in the AGMUT cadre since joining the service in 2013, with postings that would typically have spanned district police charges and specialised units within the Delhi Police and Union Territory administrations. IPS officers moving to civilian ministries under the Central Staffing Scheme bring a different working style to policy roles, often applied to enforcement-heavy or compliance-driven portfolios, though the Ministry of Heavy Industries assignment places him in a scheme-implementation role rather than a security one.

The Central Staffing Scheme allows officers from the All India Services, including the IPS, to serve central deputation tenures in ministries outside their home cadre's usual domain, subject to empanelment and vacancy availability. Chauhan's move follows that route, with the Department of Personnel and Training clearing the four-year assignment after his name cleared the empanelment process for Deputy Secretary-level central postings.

Central deputation postings for IPS officers into economic ministries have become more common in recent years, as the government draws on a wider pool of empanelled officers to staff Joint Secretary and Deputy Secretary-level vacancies across departments handling industrial policy. Chauhan's appointment reflects that broader pattern of cross-service staffing at the Deputy Secretary level, a trend the Department of Personnel and Training has encouraged to ease staffing pressure in economic ministries.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries is in the middle of implementing revised PLI disbursement timelines and monitoring compliance by automobile manufacturers under the scheme, work that requires close coordination with company filings and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Chauhan's charge will require him to track scheme compliance data and liaise with manufacturers and industry associations on incentive disbursement as companies push for faster payout cycles.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has also been absorbing officers from services outside the traditional IAS-dominated central staffing pool as its scheme portfolio, particularly the PLI programme for automobiles, has scaled up disbursement volumes running into thousands of crores annually. This has meant a wider mix of service backgrounds among the ministry's Joint Secretary and Deputy Secretary-level officers than was typical a decade ago, with the ministry drawing on officers whose prior postings gave them exposure to compliance verification, data audits, or infrastructure monitoring rather than only classical industrial policy experience. Chauhan's police service background fits within that broadened staffing approach.

The appointment takes effect for a period of four years under the Central Staffing Scheme, as per the order.