Imphal: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of Prashant Kumar Singh, an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1993 batch, as the Chief Secretary of Manipur.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), it said, “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved repatriation of Shri Prashant Kumar Singh, IAS (MN:93), Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to his parent cadre on the request of Government of Manipur.”
Singh replaces Vineet Joshi in Imphal at a time when the state has been witnessing ethnic violence following the first outbreak of clashes between Kuki and Meitei groups on May 3, 2023.
Nearly three weeks after the appointment of Vineet Joshi, a 1992-batch IAS officer, as the Higher Education Secretary at the Centre, the government on January 11, 2025, issued an order repatriating 1993-batch IAS officer Prashant Kumar Singh to his home cadre Manipur.
Soon after the DoPT order, the Manipur Government issued an order appointing Singh as the new Chief Secretary of the state.
Singh, who belongs to the Manipur cadre, was serving as Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy earlier.
He took charge of the MNRE at a time when the Centre had set an ambitious agenda to install 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity by 2030.
Before taking charge of the MNRE, Singh held the post of the Director and CEO of Government e-Marketplace (GeM), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Singh, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering from IIT Delhi and a gold medal in his Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Sustainable Development from TERI University, New Delhi, served two terms earlier in the government of India in the ministries of Steel, and Petroleum & Natural Gas.
He also served as the Managing Director of the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India. He also held several positions in his home cadre state Manipur.
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The new Chief Secretary assumes his role amid a challenging period for Manipur, which has been grappling with prolonged ethnic and political tensions.
Singh’s appointment is expected to bring a new perspective to the administration.
