"Straight trees are always cut first", said senior bureaucrat Ashok Khemka while reacting to appointments of some of his batchmates as secretaries in different Central government departments.
Khemka, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1991 batch, is currently serving as Principal Secretary (Additional Secretary level) in his cadre state Haryana.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the appointment of 16 senior bureaucrats, including his batchmates, as secretaries in various Central government departments.
"Congratulations to my batchmates newly appointed as Secretaries to GOI! While this is an occasion for merry, it brings an equal measure of despondency for one's own self having been left behind. Straight trees are always cut first. No regrets. With renewed resolve, I shall persist," Khemka tweeted.
Manoj Govil, a 1991-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Khemka's another batchmate Shailesh Kumar Singh from the Jharkhand cadre has been named as Rural Development Secretary in Wednesday's reshuffle.
Similarly, Sudhansh Pant (also a 1991 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre) has been appointed as Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways after incumbent Sanjeev Ranjan superannuates on January 31, 2023.
There are also some other officers of the 1991 batch who have been appointed as secretaries in central government departments.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Another Shift For Bureaucrat Ashok Khemka, Transferred More than 50 Times Haryana Home Minister Denies Nod For Probe In Case against Ashok Khemka Haryana IAS Officer Ashok Khemka, Transferred 53 Times, Writes To Chief Minister "Congress Should Be Ready...": Mani Shankar Aiyar's Big INDIA Bloc Remark 3 Marriages, Rs 1.25 Crore: How 'Looting Bride' Targeted Rich Men Bashar Al-Assad's Wife Files For Divorce, Wants To Return To UK: Report Who Is Asma Al-Assad, Syrian First Lady Seeking Divorce Honda, Nissan Announce Launch Of Merger Talks In Joint Statement Bangladeshi Traders "Forced" To Import From Pakistan Amid Growing Ties Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.