The Government of Rajasthan has approved a broad set of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) promotions that take effect from 1 January 2026, the personnel department announced on 31 December 2025. The move elevates senior officials into higher pay bands and leadership roles as the state prepares for a new administrative year.
Rajasthan IAS promotions
At the top of the list, Ajitabh Sharma, Alok Gupta, Dinesh Kumar and Rajesh Kumar Yadav have been promoted to Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) and upgraded from super time scale to the Chief Secretary pay grade. The personnel department also elevated Naveen Jain and K.K. Pathak from Secretary to Principal Secretary, reflecting a reshuffle among the senior-most bureaucratic ranks.
The promotion orders, intended to strengthen the state administrative structure, also included a range of scale adjustments. Jitendra Soni, Collector of Jaipur, moved from selection scale to super time scale. Pradeep Gawande received promotion from junior scale to selection scale. These changes affect both pay and eligibility for higher responsibilities.
Several officers from the 2022 batch received advancement from the junior pay band to the senior pay band. Among them are Yaksh Chaudhary, Pritam Kumar, Yasharth Shekhar, Dr Anshu Priya, Sāksham Goyal, Divyansh Singh, Shraddha Gome, Mohit Kasania, Bhaissare Shubham Ashok and Sonika Kumari. This group’s elevation recognises early-career performance and prepares them for mid-level managerial roles across the state administration.
Officers from the 2017 batch were also upgraded, with Utsav Kaushal, Dr Gaurav Saini, Shweta Chauhan, Avdhesh Meena, Devendra Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Akshay Godara, Srinidhi B T, Dr Soumya Jha and Dr Mahendra Khadgawat promoted from the senior pay band to the junior administrative pay band. The adjustments are designed to align experience and responsibilities with appropriate pay matrices.
Additionally, a number of officers were promoted to the rank of Secretary. The list includes Neha Giri, Vishw Mohan Sharma, Kanhaiya Lal Swami, Nalini Kathotia, Rajendra Vijay, Shakti Singh Rathore, Pragya Kevelramani and Mahavir Prasad. Others promoted from junior to selection pay scales include Alok Ranjan, Nikya Gohain, Arvind Kumar Poswal, Dr Pradeep Gawande, Mahavir Prasad Meena, Khajan Singh, Dr Rashmi Sharma, Laxmi Narayan Mantri, Iqbal Khan, Kalpana Agarwal, Dr Manisha Arora, Pushpa Satyani, Pukhraj Sen, Shruti Bhardwaj, Arun Kumar Purohit, Mukul Sharma and Ajay Singh Rathore.
The state’s personnel department said these promotions aim to reinforce administrative capacity as Rajasthan moves into 2026. By adjusting pay scales and advancing officers across cadres and batches, the government intends to place experienced officials where they can take on larger portfolios and tackle emerging governance challenges.
Officials familiar with the decisions noted that promotions across selection and super time scales improve succession planning and ensure continuity in policy implementation at the secretariat level. The upgrades to Principal Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary ranks are expected to give the state more flexibility in allocating senior portfolios.
The full promotion order issued by the Rajasthan personnel department lists all officers and their new pay bands. Departments and districts will receive formal communication as the changes take effect from 1 January 2026.
Key Takeaways:
- Rajasthan issued IAS promotion orders on 31 December 2025, effective 1 January 2026.
- Four officers promoted to Additional Chief Secretary and several others elevated across pay scales and grades.
- Promotions span multiple batches, strengthening the state’s administrative leadership.
