Sunil Paliwal Appointed Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Vice Pallavi Jain Govil

Sunil Paliwal, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre serving as Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared the move on August 10, with Paliwal replacing Pallavi Jain Govil, who has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Sushil Kumar Lohani takes over the IWAI Chairman's post that Paliwal vacates.

The Department of Youth Affairs runs the Centre's national youth development programmes, including skill development schemes, the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan network of grassroots youth centres, and volunteerism initiatives, working alongside the Department of Sports under the same ministry. The Secretary's office also coordinates the National Youth Awards and youth-focused components of larger government missions tied to employment and entrepreneurship.

Paliwal holds a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur, a Master's in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, and an MBA from the University of Birmingham. He began his Tamil Nadu career as Sub-Collector in Cuddalore, later serving as Additional Collector in Nagapattinam and as District Collector across Tirunelveli, Theni and Kanniyakumari districts, giving him extended field-administration experience before his move into infrastructure and industry-facing roles.

His recent postings in Tamil Nadu included Secretary of the Commercial Taxes and Registration Department, Commissioner for Milk Production and Dairy Development, and Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation, known as Aavin. In 2021, he was appointed Chairperson of the Chennai Port Trust, later redesignated Chennai Port Authority, a post whose rank was upgraded to Secretary-level pay in 2026 shortly before his move to the Inland Waterways Authority. He has also served as Principal Secretary in Tamil Nadu's Higher Education and Labour and Employment departments.

His appointment as Youth Affairs Secretary brings an officer with a strong ports, infrastructure and industry background into a portfolio centred on youth skilling and employability, a combination that officials familiar with the reshuffle say reflects the Centre's interest in linking youth programmes more closely with industry placement and vocational training pathways, areas Paliwal has direct exposure to through his commercial and infrastructure postings.

Paliwal's tenure at the Chennai Port Authority coincided with a period of cargo throughput growth at the port and expanded coordination with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on infrastructure upgrades, experience that gave him a working understanding of large public-sector project execution. That grounding in execution-heavy administration will now be tested against the different demands of a Youth Affairs department built around grant disbursal, scheme monitoring and coordination with state youth welfare departments.

Paliwal's move is the final link in a six-officer reshuffle that also sees Deepti Gaur Mukerjee move to Higher Education, V.L. Kantha Rao shift to the Department of Official Language, and Archana Varma take charge of the Water Resources department. The chain of appointments, triggered by a single modification to an earlier July 23 order, illustrates how one vacancy at the top of the Secretary-level roster can cascade into several simultaneous transfers across unrelated ministries.

The order, numbered 36/01/2026-EO(SM-I) and dated August 10, 2026, was issued by Manisha Saxena, Secretary, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and Establishment Officer, with copies to the Cabinet Secretary, all Secretaries to the Government of India and Chief Secretaries of all states.