Sunil Paliwal Named new Secretary of Department of Youth Affairs, Sushil Kumar Lohani is New IWAI Chairman

New Delhi:

Port Wings News Network:

Sunil Paliwal (Left) , and Sushil Kumar Lohani (Right)

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on 10 August has appointed Sunil Paliwal (IAS:1993:TN), incumbent Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), as the new Secretary of the Department of Youth Affairs, Government of India.

Accordingly, Sushil Kumar Lohani (IAS:1995:OR) has been named as the new Chairman of IWAI with the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India. To accommodate this appointment, the post has been temporarily upgraded to the Secretary level. This new assignment supersedes his previous appointment to the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying announced on 23 July.

Sunil Paliwal will succeed Pallavi Jain Govil, has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs,Succeeding Deepti Gaur Mukerjee (IAS:1993:MP).

Sunil Paliwal on 1 December 2025 assumed charge as the Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). Prior to this posting, Paliwal was the Chairperson of the Chennai Port Authority and Chairman of Kamarajar Port Limited.

In Oct 2021, Sunil Paliwal, who was then serving as CMD of Kamarajar Port Limited, appointed as the Chairperson of Chennai Port Authority.

Profile of Sunil Paliwal

Paliwal is a 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. He is currently serving as Chairman of IWAI. He has done his B Tech in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur, M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, USA and MBA from the University of Birmingham, UK.

Paliwal started his career as Sub Collector of the Collector of Tirunelveli, Theni and Kanniyakumari Districts. He also held crucial portfolios in the Government of Tamil Nadu such as Managing Director of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Limited (TNRDC), Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), Secretary to Government, Commercial Taxes & Registration Department and Commissioner for Milk Production & Dairy Development and Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation Ltd. (AAVIN), Principal Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department and Principal Secretary to Government, Labour & Employment Department. In a key development, the Central Government approved a two-year extension for the Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) of two major Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).