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Santosh Kumar Sarangi Appointed Secretary of MNRE

The Union Government has appointed Santosh Kumar Sarangi as the new Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). A 1994-batch IAS officer from the Odisha cadre, Sarangi previously served as the Director General of Foreign Trade, where he led key reforms to simplify export-import policies and boost India’s global trade competitiveness.

This appointment is part of a larger reshuffle involving 18 senior IAS officers, aimed at improving governance and administrative efficiency across multiple ministries. Sarangi brings with him rich experience in policy planning and implementation. He holds a Master’s in Political Science from Delhi University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Duke University in the USA.

He takes over from Nidhi Khare, who was holding additional charge of MNRE while also serving as Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs. Khare had stepped in after Prashant Kumar Singh was reassigned to Manipur as Chief Secretary at the state government’s request.

Sarangi’s appointment comes at a critical time for India’s clean energy transition, as MNRE is at the forefront of driving growth in solar, wind, and hydropower sectors to meet national climate and energy goals.