Ajay Kumar Bhalla IAS | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Home Secretary of India | |
Assumed office 22 August 2019 | |
Appointed by | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet |
Preceded by | Rajiv Gauba |
Secretary,Ministry of Power | |
In office July 2017 –July 2019 | |
Director General of Foreign Trade | |
Additional Secretary,Department of Commerce | |
Joint Secretary,Ministry of Coal | |
Director (Ports),Department of Shipping | |
Secretary,Department of Personnel and Training | |
Assumed office July 2024 | |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] Jalandhar,Punjab,India | 26 November 1960
Alma mater | University of Delhi,University of Queensland |
Occupation | Civil servant |
Known for | Handling significant national events and administrative challenges |
Ajay Kumar Bhalla (born 26 November 1960) is the current Home Secretary of India. He assumed the office on 23 August 2019,succeeding Rajiv Gauba. He is a senior IAS officer of 1984 batch, [2] [3] from Assam Meghalaya cadre. He served as Home Secretary of India for around five years there till 30 August 2024. [4] He hails from Jalandhar,Punjab,India.
Ajay Kumar Bhalla was born on 26 November 1960 in Jalandhar,Punjab,India.[ citation needed ] He completed his early education in Punjab before pursuing higher studies. Bhalla obtained his Master of Science degree in Botany from the University of Delhi. [5] He further enhanced his academic qualifications by earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Queensland in Brisbane,Australia. [6]
Ajay Kumar Bhalla is a 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. [7] Throughout his career,he has held several significant positions in the Indian government,showcasing his administrative expertise.
Bhalla was appointed as the Union Home Secretary on August 22,2019. [8] His tenure has been marked by several significant events and challenges:
Bhalla's tenure as Home Secretary has been extended multiple times,with his fourth extension in August 2023 set to keep him in office until August 22,2024. This will make him only the second Union Home Secretary to complete five or more years in office. [8]
Prior to his appointment as Home Secretary,Bhalla held several key positions in the Indian government:
The Indian Police Service is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948,a year after India became independent from the British Empire.
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service. Members of these three services serve the Government of India as well as the individual states. IAS officers are also deployed to various government establishments such as constitutional bodies,staff and line agencies,auxiliary bodies,public sector undertakings,regulatory bodies,statutory bodies and autonomous bodies.
The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is the premier forest service of India. It was constituted in the year 1966 under the All India Services Act,1951.
The Ministry of Home Affairs,or simply the Home Ministry,is a ministry of the Government of India. It is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and domestic policy. It is headed by Minister of Home Affairs.
Ram D. Pradhan was an Indian Administrative Service officer,from the 1952 batch who served as Union Home Secretary and Governor of Arunachal Pradesh during the Rajiv Gandhi government.
Balmiki Prasad Singh was the 14th Governor of Sikkim,India. He is a retired IAS officer and has written books and articles relating to Indian culture,in particular the culture of North-East India. Among his prominent books are Bahudha and the post 9/11 World and The problem of change:a study of North East India.
Harishankar Brahma served as 19th Chief Election Commissioner of India. He is a retired I.A.S. officer of the 1975 batch of the Andhra Pradesh cadre.
The Directorate General of Shipping,Indiais an attached office under the Ministry of Shipping,Government of India,responsible for life,health,vessel and the environment for Indian registered ships and ships at Indian ports. The Directorate,is located in Mumbai and led by Director General of Shipping Shri Shyam Jagannathan,IAS and Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
The Chief Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the state government. The Chief Secretary is the ex-officio head of the state Civil Services Board,the State Secretariat,the state cadre Indian Administrative Service and all civil services under the rules of business of the state government. The Chief Secretary acts as the principal advisor to the chief minister on all matters of state administration.
Jamchonga Nampui was an Indian civil servant. He was an Indian Administrative Service officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre. He was the first person from Assam to be directly recruited to the IAS as well as the first Scheduled Tribe IAS officer in India when he cleared the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission in 1954. He belongs to the Biate community of Northeast India.
Rajiv Gauba is an Indian civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary of India from 2019 to 2024. His term is the longest in history. He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer belonging to the 1982 batch of Jharkhand cadre. Prior to his appointment as Cabinet Secretary,he was Home Secretary of India. His tenure as the Cabinet Secretary of India has been extended 4 times by 1 year durations by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) which is chaired by the Prime Minister of India
The Home Secretary is the administrative head of the Ministry of Home Affairs. This post is held by a senior IAS officer of the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. The current Home Secretary is Ajay Kumar Bhalla. All Central Forces including the Central Reserve Police Force,Central Industrial Security Force,Border Security Force and Central Police Organizations are under the Union Home Secretary.
Durga Shanker Mishra is a 1984 batch retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. He served as Chief Secretary to Government of Uttar Pradesh from 30 December 2021 till 30 June 2024. Previously,he served as Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary and Chairman of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
Dr. Ajay Kumar is the former Defence Secretary of India and currently an advisor for electronics development projects. He is an Indian Administrative Service officer from the 1985 batch. Dr. Ajay Kumar is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the University of Minnesota.
Anup Chandra Pandey is a retired 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer belonging to the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He served as Election Commissioner of India. Pandey had also served as the Chief Secretary of the Government of Uttar Pradesh,in addition to serving as the Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh,before retiring on 31 August 2019. He was Member,National Green Tribunal Oversight Committee,U.P before joining Election Commission.
Ajay Prakash Sawhney is a retired 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre. He has served as the Secretary to the Government of India,at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Rajesh Bhushan is a retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service from the 1987 Bihar cadre.
Rajesh Khullar is a former Indian bureaucrat who served as Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister,Haryana. Previously,he was Executive Director at the World Bank Group representing India,Bangladesh,Bhutan,and Sri Lanka. Khullar is a retired 1988 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
Arvind Kumar Sharma is an Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh,former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and bureaucrat of 1988 batch. He is currently a Cabinet Minister in Uttar Pradesh. Before joining politics,Sharma was an IAS officer from Gujarat Cadre of the 1988 batch. Sharma was an aide of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi,with whom he had worked for 20 years. He was also CEO,Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board and has also managed multiple Vibrant Gujarat summits. He joined the Prime Minister's Office as a Joint Secretary in 2014 and was elevated to the Additional Secretary rank in 2017. In 2019,he moved out of the PMO to become a secretary in the Ministry of Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises but took voluntary retirement in January 2021.