LUCKNOW– Ending weeks of speculation, the Uttar Pradesh government has appointed senior IAS officer Shashi Prakash Goyal as the new Chief Secretary of the state. A 1989-batch officer, Goyal formally assumed charge Thursday evening at the state secretariat.
Outgoing Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, whose tenure officially ended the same day, was present for the handover alongside senior officials.
The appointment comes after the Centre declined the state government’s early July request for a one-year extension for Singh — a courtesy previously granted to his predecessors Anup Chandra Pandey and Durga Shankar Mishra.
Goyal, long considered a frontrunner for the post, had been serving as Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and is widely seen as one of the CM’s most trusted aides. He has held key portfolios including Civil Aviation, State Property, and Protocol.
In his new role, Goyal will also serve as Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC), Additional Chief Secretary of the Coordination Department, Chairman of PICUP, CEO of UPEIDA and UPSHA, and Director of UPDASP.
With Goyal’s elevation, the additional charge of Civil Aviation and State Property has been reassigned to Principal Secretary (Home and Information) Sanjay Prasad.
Thursday saw heightened anticipation across the state bureaucracy, as officials waited for a possible last-minute extension for Singh. When no approval came from the Centre, Goyal’s appointment was swiftly confirmed. (Source: IANS)
