Overview
- Pithode assumed the post on October 23 with a tenure running to September 8, 2029, or until further orders.
- The 2009-batch IAS officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre previously served as Joint Secretary and earlier as Director at the MoEF&CC.
- He succeeds Arvind Kumar Nautiyal as the full-time Member Secretary of the air-quality commission.
- Following a Delhi AQI of 296 on October 19, the CAQM GRAP Sub-Committee activated a 12-point Stage-II plan across the NCR, with Stage I and II measures now in force.
- Delhi’s 2025–26 Winter Action Plan launched on October 16 outlines 25 actions across seven themes, with real-time oversight via the Green War Room and public reporting encouraged through the Green Delhi App.