IRPS Officer Nikhil Dhongari Deputed to National Health Authority
Railway Board approves the deputation of IRPS officer Shri Nikhil Dhongari as Deputy Secretary in the National Health Authority under the Department of Health & Family Welfare.
New Delhi: The Railway Board has approved the deputation of Shri Nikhil Dhongari, an Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) officer of the 2013 batch, to the Department of Health & Family Welfare. According to an order issued on 4 December 2025, Shri Dhongari will take charge as Deputy Secretary in the National Health Authority for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission under the Central Staffing Scheme.
The competent authority cleared his appointment for a tenure co-terminus with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, with provisions for extension as per the admissible rules of the Central Staffing Scheme. The Railway Board has directed Northern Railway to relieve the officer immediately so that he may assume his new responsibilities in the Health Ministry.
The order states that the officer will automatically be considered relieved on the completion of his deputation period unless an extension is formally approved before expiry, in accordance with DoP&T norms. Copies of the communication have been forwarded to senior officials across the Railway Board, the Department of Personnel & Training, and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Shri Dhongari, who joined the IRPS cadre in February 2013, is expected to contribute to the digital expansion and administrative strengthening of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission—India’s flagship health-tech initiative aimed at creating a unified digital health ecosystem.