Historic First: Two Tribal IAS Officers from Manipur Appointed as Secretaries in Finance Ministry

New Delhi, April 21:

In a landmark move, the Union Government has appointed two tribal IAS officers from Manipur to top secretary-level positions in the Ministry of Finance — a historic first for Scheduled Tribe communities from Northeast India.

Vumlunmang Vualnam, a 1992-batch IAS officer from the Paite tribe, has been appointed as the Expenditure Secretary, while K. Moses Chalai, a 1990-batch officer from the Mao community, will now serve as the Secretary of the Department of Public Enterprises.

These appointments are part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle announced last week, which saw 16 senior IAS officers assigned to key posts across various central ministries. The elevation of Vualnam and Chalai is being hailed as a significant milestone for tribal representation in the top echelons of Indian administration.

Another senior officer from Manipur, Rajesh Agarwal, has also been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Commerce. He is expected to take over as Commerce Secretary upon the retirement of incumbent Sunil Barthwal on September 30.

The timing of these appointments carries deeper resonance, as Manipur continues to grapple with prolonged ethnic tensions over the past two years. The elevation of officers from diverse tribal backgrounds is being seen as a positive step toward inclusive governance and representation of marginalized communities from the region at the national level.

The appointments have been widely welcomed in Manipur and across the Northeast, with several civil society organisations and political leaders lauding the government’s move to recognize merit and diversity in top bureaucratic roles.