Piyush Goyal (IAS), a 1994‑batch officer of the Nagaland cadre, has formally taken charge as Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India. He succeeds V. L. Kantha Rao, who has moved to the Department of Water Resources.
Before this posting, Shri Goyal led NATGRID as its Chief Executive Officer under the Ministry of Home Affairs. His experience in national‑scale data systems and inter‑agency coordination is expected to support India’s push on critical minerals, domestic exploration and downstream processing.
A career civil servant with postings across the Union Government, Shri Goyal has handled technology‑heavy and coordination‑intensive portfolios. At NATGRID, he supervised secure integration of databases to aid lawful investigations. His administrative background is expected to help streamline policies, approvals and monitoring within the mining ecosystem.
| Milestone | Detail |
|---|---|
| Charge assumed | 04 September 2025 (announced by PIB/Ministry of Mines) |
| Predecessor | V. L. Kantha Rao (now Secretary, Department of Water Resources) |
| Previous role | CEO, NATGRID (Ministry of Home Affairs) |
Q1. When did Piyush Goyal (IAS) take charge as Mines Secretary?
On 04 September 2025, as per PIB and ministry updates.
Q2. Who did he succeed?
V. L. Kantha Rao, IAS (1992 batch), now Secretary, Department of Water Resources.
Q3. What was his previous posting?
Chief Executive Officer, NATGRID (Ministry of Home Affairs).