Leadership Change at DoP: Senior IAS Officer Manoj Joshi Takes Charge as Pharma Secretary

Joshi, a 1989-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, assumed his new role on January 2, 2026, succeeding Amit Aggarwal, who has been shifted to the Department of Telecommunications as part of a broader bureaucratic reshuffle approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in November 2025.

Also Read: Amit Aggarwal Takes Charge As Secretary of Department of Pharma

Prior to this appointment, he was Secretary of the Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Rural Development and has held key leadership roles in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and other central ministries during his central deputation. An engineer by training with a B.E. degree and post-graduate qualifications in management and financial management, Joshi brings extensive administrative experience spanning regulatory coordination, urban development, land administration, and policy implementation across central ministries and government departments. He has been entrusted with the pharmaceuticals portfolio as part of a broader secretary-level reshuffle approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, reports The Secretariat.

The leadership transition comes at a pivotal time for India’s pharmaceutical and medtech sectors, with the government focusing on initiatives such as the Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector (PRIP) to support and scale domestic innovators and address regulatory and compliance challenges faced by smaller manufacturers.

Joshi’s appointment is expected to shape policy and regulatory oversight in the sector, including efforts to bolster drug manufacturing capabilities, strengthen compliance frameworks, and enhance India’s position as a global pharmaceutical hub.