The Union government has appointed two tribal IAS officers from Manipur to secretary-level positions in the Ministry of Finance — a historic first for Scheduled Tribe members from Northeast India in this key ministry.

Vumlunmang Vualnam, a 1992-batch officer from the Paite group of the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar community, has been named Secretary, Department of Expenditure. Alongside him, K. Moses Chalai, a 1990-batch officer belonging to the Mao Naga community, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises.

These milestone appointments were part of a broader bureaucratic reshuffle announced last week, involving 16 other senior IAS officers assigned to key roles across various ministries.

Another senior officer from Manipur, Rajesh Agarwal, has been appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Commerce. He is set to succeed Sunil Barthwal as Commerce Secretary upon the latter’s retirement on September 30.