Karnataka Transfers 7 IAS Officers, Nakul S S Named Secretary to the Chief Minister

The Karnataka government has transferred seven IAS officers, strengthening the Chief Minister's Office by appointing Nakul S S as Secretary to the Chief Minister and Yatish R as Deputy Secretary-1 in the CMO, according to orders issued by the state government.

The Chief Minister's Office sits at the centre of Karnataka's administrative machinery, coordinating policy decisions across departments and managing the flow of files that require the Chief Minister's direct approval. Adding two officers to that office in a single order signals an effort to build up capacity there, even as several of the state's other departments, including Finance, Tourism and Skill Development, absorb the resulting vacancies through concurrent charge arrangements rather than fresh recruitments.

Nakul S S, a 2010-batch officer of the Karnataka cadre, moves to the CMO from his post as Secretary (Expenditure) in the Finance Department, a role that gave him direct oversight of the state's spending decisions. Yatish R, a 2021-batch officer, comes in from his position as Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Panchayat in Bengaluru Urban district, a post he will continue to hold concurrently alongside his new CMO responsibilities.

Nakul's exit from the Finance Department has been filled by Abhiram G Sankar, a 2011-batch officer currently Managing Director of the Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation, who has been given concurrent charge of both Additional Secretary and Secretary (Expenditure) in the Finance Department. The Tourism Department has also picked up dual assignments: Dr Ram Prasath Manohar V, Managing Director of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation, takes on concurrent charge as Secretary, Tourism, while Shivaprasad PR, Managing Director of the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, adds the concurrent charge of Commissioner of Tourism.

In the skill development sector, Patil Yalagouda Shivanagouda, Executive Director of the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust, has been handed two additional charges, as Managing Director of both the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation and the Karnataka Vocational Training and Skill Development Corporation, a move the government says is meant to bring the state's vocational training push under more unified oversight. Shaikh Tanveer Asif, a 2017-batch officer who had been awaiting a fresh posting, has now been appointed Director of the Abdul Nazir Sab State Institute of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj in Mysuru.

The reshuffle relies heavily on concurrent and additional charge arrangements rather than one-to-one replacements, a pattern that has become increasingly common in Karnataka's mid-year transfer orders as the government tries to fill gaps without expanding the number of officers on active postings. Officials in the state secretariat said the approach reflects a shortage of officers available for straightforward one-for-one transfers at the moment, particularly in specialised corporations and development authorities.

Taken together, the seven postings are aimed at reinforcing the Chief Minister's Office while keeping continuity in departments that lose officers to the reshuffle, through arrangements the government expects to remain in place for the near term rather than as a permanent structure.

The full list of transfers shows the extent of the reshuffle: Nakul S S moves from Secretary (Expenditure), Finance Department, to Secretary to the Chief Minister; Dr Ram Prasath Manohar V retains his post as Managing Director, KPTCL, while picking up concurrent charge as Secretary, Tourism Department; Abhiram G Sankar continues as Managing Director, KMERC, alongside concurrent charge of both Additional Secretary and Secretary (Expenditure) in Finance; Patil Yalagouda Shivanagouda keeps his post as Executive Director, Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust, while adding charge of two skill development corporations; Shivaprasad PR remains Managing Director, KSTDC, with concurrent charge as Commissioner of Tourism; Shaikh Tanveer Asif moves from an unassigned posting to Director, ANSSIRD, Mysuru; and Yatish R shifts to Deputy Secretary-1 in the CMO while retaining his existing charge as CEO, Zilla Panchayat, Bengaluru Urban.

The government has not indicated when it expects to convert any of the concurrent charge arrangements into standalone postings, though officials said that decision would likely depend on the pace of fresh recruitment and promotions within the Karnataka cadre over the coming months.