In a surprise move, Union Health Secy Mishra transferred

New Delhi, October 11

Union Health Secretary CK Mishra was today moved to Environment Ministry as part of a major administrative reshuffle effected by the Cabinet Appointments Committee. His batchmate Preeti Sudan, Secretary, Food and Public Distribution, is the new Health Secretary.

Mishra's is the most prominent transfer among 13 ordered today. A 1983-batch IAS officer from the Bihar cadre, he was seen by many in Health Ministry as an asset to the sector and someone who gave a boost to the government's Mission Indradhanush, which seeks to raise the child vaccination rate in India to 90 per cent by 2020. 

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Ministry sources were clueless about Mishra’s sudden transfer, especially when earlier he had been one of the frontrunners for the post of Defence Secretary. The transfer comes close on heels of child deaths across hospitals in India, particularly in UP, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. The Congress has been blaming the Modi government's "sluggish" attitude. — TNS