Archive · 12 Aug 2026
Archana Varma assumes charge as Water Resources Secretary
A very experienced government worker named Archana Varma got a big new job in India.
She is now the boss of the department that looks after rivers, water, and the Ganga river.
Her official title is Water Resources Secretary.
Before this, she was in charge of a special project called the National Water Mission, which helps save water.
She has worked for the government for a very long time, since 1995.
The person who had her job before, V L Kantha Rao, is moving to a different department that handles official languages.
Ms. Varma began her career in a small town called Hamren in Assam.
She studied history in Delhi at Lady Shri Ram College and Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Her new job is in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, which means her team works to keep India's water clean and available for everyone.
Archana Varma, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, assumed charge as Secretary of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
She replaced V L Kantha Rao, who was appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Official Language under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Varma was previously Mission Director of the National Water Mission in the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The Personnel Ministry announced her appointment late Monday night in a partial modification of its July 23 order.
Varma, a history graduate from Lady Shri Ram College with a postgraduate degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, began her career as Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Hamren in Assam's Karbi Anglong district.
- Who
- Archana Varma, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre
- What
- Assumed charge as Secretary of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation in the Ministry of Jal Shakti
- When
- Wednesday, August 12; the appointment was announced late Monday night
- Where
- New Delhi, at the Ministry of Jal Shakti
- Why
- The Personnel Ministry appointed her in a partial modification of its July 23 order, replacing V L Kantha Rao, who has been assigned to the Department of Official Language.
- New Secretary
- Archana Varma
- Department
- Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
- Ministry
- Jal Shakti
- Predecessor
- V L Kantha Rao (moved to Department of Official Language as OSD)
- Previous Role
- Mission Director, National Water Mission
- Cadre
- Assam-Meghalaya, 1995 batch IAS
- Joined Ministry of Jal Shakti
- September 2022
- Education
- History graduate, Lady Shri Ram College; postgraduate, Jawaharlal Nehru University