Dr. Puneet Kumar Goel appointed as new Chief Secretary of Manipur
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) has appointed
Dr. Puneet Kumar Goel
, a 1991-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, as the new
Chief Secretary of Manipur
.
Dr. Goel succeeds
Prashant Kumar Singh
a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre, who held the post for exactly six months before being reassigned. Manipur has been under President's Rule since February this year.
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Dr. Goel, who previously served as the Chief Secretary of Goa, brings a wealth of administrative experience across Union Territories and northeastern states.
His posting to Manipur was facilitated through an inter-cadre deputation from AGMUT to the Manipur cadre, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs order dated July 16. His appointment comes at a time when the state is grappling with ongoing ethnic unrest and complex rehabilitation efforts and is being seen as a strategic move to ensure stability and effective governance.
Outgoing Chief Secretary Singh has now been appointed Secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, the position formerly held by Dr. Goel. Singh's short tenure in Manipur was marked by sensitive handling of socio-political challenges and his public commitment to rehabilitate all inmates of relief camps by December 2025.
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A senior official in Manipur said, "This high-level administrative change comes as Manipur awaits a critical decision from the Centre on whether to extend President's Rule beyond August 13".
Singh was appointed Manipur Chief Secretary in January this year replacing Vineet Joshi, who was then appointed as Union Higher Education Secretary.
Singh was then working as the New and Renewable Energy Secretary.
The senior official said that Goel's reputation for steady leadership and policy execution is expected to be crucial in managing the state's volatile landscape and delivering on urgent development and humanitarian commitments.
More than 260 people have been killed and around 70,000 people of different communities rendered homeless in the ethnic violence between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities since May 3.
Manipur has been under President's Rule since February 13, four days after the resignation of N. Biren Singh from the Chief Minister's post.
Census
Th. Chitra Devi, Director of Census Operations, Manipur, called on Governor of Manipur, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, at Raj Bhavan, Imphal. The Director briefed the Governor about the update on the preparations and activities undertaken by the department for the upcoming Census 2027, scheduled to commence in April 2026.
She also highlighted the administrative and managerial challenges faced by the directorate and sought the Government's support. The Governor assured his support to address these issues to ensure smooth conduct of census operation in the state.
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