Manoj Joshi to Hold Additional Charge of Secretary, Fertilizers, Till July 13

Manoj Joshi, Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, will hold additional charge of Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, till July 13, during the period of leave of IAS officer Rajat Kumar Mishra. He is a 1989-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre.

The Department of Fertilizers administers subsidy disbursement to fertiliser manufacturers and oversees pricing policy for urea and other nutrients, a function with direct bearing on farm input costs ahead of the kharif sowing season currently under way across much of the country.

Joshi holds his substantive charge as Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, which regulates drug pricing and oversees the Pharma PSU sector, placing him in charge of two departments with distinct regulatory mandates for the duration of the additional charge.

Officers holding leave-cover charges of this kind are expected to limit themselves to routine and time-sensitive decisions, deferring matters of policy significance until the substantive secretary returns from leave.

The arrangement is a standard departmental continuity measure used when a secretary-rank officer goes on leave, with the additional charge typically assigned to a secretary from a related or administratively convenient department.

Joshi's tenure overseeing Fertilizers will be closely watched given the subsidy outflows the department manages during the kharif season, when demand for urea and other fertilisers peaks.

The additional charge arrangement runs till July 13, pending Rajat Kumar Mishra's return from leave, as per the order.