Secretary to the Government of India

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Union Secretary
Emblem of India.svg
State Emblem of India
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Flag of India
Government of India
Member ofCommittee of Secretaries on Administration
Reports to
Seat
Appointer Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
Term length No term length[ dead link ] [1] [2]
Term extendable
Formation1st November 1858;166 years ago (1st November 1858) [a]
Succession23rd (on the Indian order of precedence.)
Salary₹225,000 (US$2,700) monthly [3] [4]

Secretary to the Government of India, often abbreviated as Secretary, GoI, or simply as Secretary, is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. [5] The authority for the creation of this post solely rests with the Union Council of Ministers. [6]

Contents

The position holder is generally a career civil servant [7] [8] [9] and a government official of high seniority. The civil servants who hold this rank and post are either from All India Services or Central Civil Services. All promotions and appointments to this rank and post are directly made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

In the functioning of the Government of India, [10] [11] [12] a secretary is the administrative head of a ministry or department, [13] [14] and is equivalent to chief secretaries of state governments and Vice Chief of the Army Staff, General Officers Commanding in Chief of Army Commands, and their equivalents in the Indian Armed Forces, [15] In the Department of Military Affairs, the Chief of Defence Staff is currently designated as Secretary (GoI), similarly in the National Security Council Secretariat, the National Security Advisor is currently designated as Secretary (GoI). [16]

Secretaries (GOI) rank 23rd on Order of Precedence of India. [17] [18]

History

C. H. Bhabha with a Secretary and a few Joint Secretaries to the Government of India in 1947. C H Bhabha inaugurating meeting of the Indian Oilseeds Committee.jpg
C. H. Bhabha with a Secretary and a few Joint Secretaries to the Government of India in 1947.

In mid-1930s, the Central Secretariat contained only twenty-nine secretaries, [19] who were all members of the Indian Civil Service. The salary for a member of this rank and post was fixed at ₹48,000 (equivalent to ₹12 millionorUS$140,000 in 2023) annum in the 1930s. [19] As per warrant or precedence of 1905, [20] secretaries to the Government of India was listed together with joint secretaries to the Government of India and were ranked above the rank of chief secretaries of provincial governments. [20]

N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar had once suggested "[a] secretary should not be immersed in files and burdened with routine. It is essential that he should have time to grasp the overall picture, size up the problems facing the government in the field allotted to his charge, and think and plan ahead. All these are his proper functions and must be efficiently performed. Failure to make adequate provision in this respect cannot be compensated by a mere increase in the establishment under his control." [21] The Administrative Reforms Commission visualised the role of secretary, primarily as one of a "coordinator, policy guide, reviewer, and evaluator." [21]

Before Partition of India, notable officers who served as Secretary in the Central Government include - Allan Hume, Edward Buck, Thomas Holderness, N. R. Pillai, Y. N. Sukthankar, Charles Ogilvie, Archdale Earle, Charles Todhunter, Jeremy Raisman, Herbert Hope Risley, Robert Carlyle, Henry Smith, C. S. Venkatachar, V. P. Menon.

Tenure and Appointment

A member of All India Services is appointed to this rank and post only on tenure. This tenure is a deputation to the Central Government and does not carry a fixed term. They serve at the pleasure and will of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

A member of Central Civil Services is appointed to this rank and post as per vacancy in their own service cadre and are empanelled.

Powers, responsibilities and postings

The organizational structure of a department of the Government of India. Government of India hierarchy.svg
The organizational structure of a department of the Government of India.

A secretary to the Government of India is the administrative head of a ministry or department and is the principal adviser to the minister-in charge on all matters of policy and administration within the ministry or department. [14]

The role of a secretary is as follows:

The prime minister-led Appointments Committee of the Cabinet is the final authority on posting and transfer of officers of secretary level. [22] Secretaries report to their ministerial cabinet minister and to the prime minister.[ citation needed ]

Position

In the Indian government, secretaries are the head of the ministries of the government and hold positions such as Finance Secretary, Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Chairperson of the Railway Board and members of the Railway Board and Telecom Commission.

According to the report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission of India, seventy-one out of ninety-one secretaries to the Government of India are from the Indian Administrative Service. [3]

Emolument, accommodation and prequisites

An Indian diplomatic passport and an official generally issued to Secretaries to the Government of India. Indian Official Passports Front.svg
An Indian diplomatic passport and an official generally issued to Secretaries to the Government of India.

All secretaries to the Government of India are eligible for a Diplomatic passport or Official passport. Secretaries are allotted either type-VII or type-VIII bungalows in areas like New Moti Bagh and Lutyens' across Delhi by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' Directorate of Estates. [23] [24] [25]

The salary and emolument in this rank is equivalent [15] to chief secretaries of state governments and to Vice Chief of the Army Staff, General Officers Commanding in Chief of Army Commands, and their equivalents, in the Indian Armed Forces, which is to say Level 17 of the Central Pay Matrix. [15]

Secretary to the Government of India monthly pay and allowances
Base salary as per the Seventh Pay CommissionPay matrix levelSources
₹225,000 (US$2,700) per monthPay level 17 [3] [4]

International equivalency

The position of Secretary in Government of India is equivalent to Permanent Secretary in His Majesty's Civil Service (UK), Administrative Vice-Ministers in Civil service of Japan, Secretary General in Italian Senior Civil Service, Department secretary in Australian Government, Deputy Minister in Government of Canada and Federal Secretary in Central Superior Services of Pakistan.

List of current secretaries to the Government of India

Secretaries to the Government of India [26]
Office or MinistryDesignationName of secretaryBackgroundBatch
President's SecretariatSecretary to the President Deepti Umashankar IAS 1993
Vice President's SecretariatSecretary to the Vice President Amit Khare 1985 [b]
Prime Minister's Office Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P.K. Mishra 1972 [b]
Shaktikanta Das 1980 [b]
Supreme Court Registry OfficeSecretary General of Supreme Court of India Shri Shekhar C. Munghate Legal Service —
Parliament's Secretariat Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha Pramod Chandra Mody IRS (IT) 1982 [b]
Secretary General of the Lok Sabha Utpal Kumar Singh IAS 1986 [b]
Cabinet Secretariat Cabinet Secretary [c] T. V. Somanathan 1987
Secretary (Coordination)Manoj Govil [d] 1991
Secretary (Security)
Secretary (Research) Parag Jain IPS 1989
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Secretary (Agriculture and Farmers Welfare)Devesh Chaturvedi IAS 1989
Secretary (Agricultural Research and Education)Mangi Lal Jat Scientist —
Atomic Energy Secretary (Atomic Energy) and Chairperson, Atomic Energy Commission Ajit Kumar Mohanty [27] Scientist —
AYUSH Secretary (AYUSH) Rajesh Kotecha
Chemicals and Fertilizers Secretary (Chemicals and Petrochemicals)Nivedita Shukla Verma IAS 1991
Secretary (Fertilizers)Rajat Kumar Mishra1992
Secretary (Pharmaceuticals)Amit Agrawal1993
Civil Aviation Secretary (Civil Aviation) Samir Kumar Sinha 1994
Coal Secretary (Coal)Vikram Dev Dutt1993
Commerce and Industry Secretary (Commerce)Sunil Barthwal1989
Secretary (Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade)Amardeep Singh Bhatia1993
Communications Secretary (Posts)Vandita Kaul IPoS 1989
Secretary (Telecommunications) and ex officio Chairperson, Digital Communication Commission Neeraj Mittal [28] IAS 1992
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Secretary (Consumer Affairs)Nidhi Khare1992
Secretary (Food and Public Distribution)Sanjeev Chopra1990
Co-operation Secretary (Co-operation)Ashish Kumar Bhutani1992
Corporate Affairs Secretary (Corporate Affairs)Deepti Gaur Mukerjee1993
Culture Secretary (Culture)Vivek Aggarwal1994
Defence Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh [29] 1989
Secretary (Defence Production)Sanjeev Kumar1993
Secretary (Defence Research and Development) and Chairperson, DRDO Samir V. Kamath Scientist —
Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare)Sukriti Likhi IAS 1993
Secretary (Department of Military Affairs) and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan Indian Armed Forces —
Development of North Eastern Region Secretary (Development of North Eastern Region)Chanchal Kumar [30] IAS 1992
Earth Sciences Secretary (Earth Sciences) and Chairperson, Earth CommissionM. Ravichandran Scientist —
Education Secretary (Higher Education) Vineet Joshi IAS 1992
Secretary (School Education and Literacy)Sanjay Kumar1990
Electronics and Information Technology Secretary (Electronics and Information Technology) S. Krishnan [28] 1989
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary (Environment, Forest and Climate Change)Tanmay Kumar1993
External Affairs Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri IFS 1989
Secretary (East)Periasamy Kumaran1992
Secretary (West) Sibi George 1993
Secretary (CPV & OIA)Arun Kumar Chatterjee1992
Secretary (Economic Relations)Sudhakar Dalela1993
Secretary (South)Dr. Neena Malhotra 1992
Finance Secretary (Expenditure)Vumlunmang Vualnam IAS 1992

Secretary (Economic Affairs)

Anuradha Thakur1994
Secretary (Public Enterprises)K. Moses Chalai1990
Secretary (Revenue Secretary)Arvind Shrivastava1994
Finance Secretary
Secretary (Investment and Public Asset Management)		Arunish Chawla1992
Secretary (Financial Services)Nagaraju Maddirala1993
Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Secretary (Animal Husbandry and Dairying)Naresh Pal Gangwar1994
Secretary (Fisheries)Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi1991
Food Processing Industries Secretary (Food Processing Industries)Avinash Purushottam Das Joshi1994
Health and Family Welfare Secretary (Health and Family Welfare)Punya Salila Srivastava1993
Secretary (Health Research) and ex officio Director General, ICMR Dr. Rajiv Bahl Scientist —
Heavy Industries Secretary (Heavy Industry)Kamran Rizvi IAS 1991
Home Affairs Home Secretary Govind Mohan 1989
Secretary (Official Language)Ansuli Arya1989
Secretary (Border Management)Rajendra Kumar1992
Secretary (Inter-State Council Secretariat)Ashish Srivastava IAS 1992
Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary (Housing and Urban Affairs)Katikithala Srinivas IAS 1989
Information and Broadcasting Secretary (Information and Broadcasting)Sanjay Jaju1992
Jal Shakti Secretary (Drinking Water and Sanitation)Ashok Kumar Kaluaram Meena1993
Secretary (Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation)VL Kantha Rao1992
Labour and Employment Secretary (Labour and Employment)Vandana Gurnani1991
Law and Justice Secretary (Justice)Niraj Verma1994
Secretary (Legal Affairs)Anju Rathi Rana Legal Service –
Secretary (Legislative)Dr. Rajiv Mani
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Secretary (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)Subhas Chandra Lal Das IAS 1992
Mines Secretary (Mines)Piyush Goyal1994
Minority Affairs Secretary (Minority Affairs)Chandra Sekhar Kumar1992
New and Renewable Energy Secretary (New and Renewable Energy)Santosh Kumar Sarangi1994
NITI Aayog ( previously Planning Commission)Chief Executive Officer and ex officio Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam 1987 [b]
Panchayati Raj Secretary (Panchayati Raj)Vivek Bhardwaj1990
Parliamentary Affairs Secretary (Parliamentary Affairs)Nikunja Bihari Dhal1993
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Secretary (Personnel and Training)Rachna Shah [31] 1991
Secretary (Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances)V. Srinivas1989
Secretary (Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare)
Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary (Petroleum and Natural Gas)Pankaj Jain1990
Ports, Shipping and Waterways Secretary (Ports, Shipping and Waterways)Vijay Kumar1992
Power Secretary (Power)Pankaj Agarwal1992
Ministry of Railway (Railway Board) Chairperson, Railway Board and ex officio Principal SecretarySatish Kumar IRSME 1986
Road Transport and Highways Secretary (Road Transport and Highways)V Umashankar IAS 1989
Rural Development Secretary (Land Resources)Manoj Joshi1989
Secretary (Rural Development)Shailesh Kumar Singh1991
Science and Technology Secretary (Biotechnology) Rajesh Sudhir Gokhale Scientist —
Secretary (Science and Technology) Abhay Karandikar [32]
Secretary (Scientific and Industrial Research) and ex officio Director General, CSIR N. Kalaiselvi
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Secretary (Skill Development and Entrepreneurship)Debashree Mukherjee IAS 1991
Social Justice and Empowerment Secretary (Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities)Rajesh Aggarwal1989
Secretary (Social Justice and Empowerment)Amit Yadav1991
Statistics and Programme Implementation Secretary (Statistics and Programme Implementation) Saurabh Garg IAS 1991
Space Secretary (Space) and ex officio Chairperson of ISRO and Space Commission V. Narayanan Scientist —
Steel Secretary (Steel)Sandeep Pondrik IAS 1993
Textiles Secretary (Textiles)Neelam Shammi Rao1992
Tourism Secretary (Tourism)V. Vidyavathi1991
Tribal Affairs Secretary (Tribal Affairs)Ranjana Chopra1994
Women and Child Development Secretary (Women and Child Development)Anil Malik1991
Youth Affairs and Sports Secretary (Sports)Hari Ranjan Rao1994
Secretary (Youth Affairs)Pallavi Jain Govil1994
Notes
  1. ↑ On 1 Nov 1858, British Crown assumes rule; Queen's Proclamation issued; departments reorganized under Viceroy and Executive Council. Secretaries to the Government of India appointed for key departments like Home, Finance, Revenue, etc. During 1860s–1900s, The title “Secretary to the Government of India” is in regular use in India Office Records and gazettes (e.g., “H. H. Risley, Secretary to the Government of India in the Home Department”).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Retired
  3. ↑ Cabinet Secretary is not a secretary rank position, but the highest level of empanelment in the Government of India is at the secretary rank.
  4. ↑ Currently holding the additional charge of the Secretary (Security) since 1 August 2025, after the superannuation of Hari Nath Mishra, IPS.

Reforms and challenges

Media articles and others have argued in favour of lateral entrants being recruited to this rank/post to infuse fresh energy and thinking into an insular, complacent and archaic bureaucracy. [33] [34] [35]

Non-IAS civil services have complained to the Government of India because of lack of empanelment in the rank/post of secretary on numerous occasions. [36] [37] [9]

Lateral entry

From 1998 to 1999, Vijay Kelkar served as Finance Secretary as a lateral entry. During the term of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister of India, Ram Vinay Shahi served as Secretary (GOI) in the Ministry of Power from 2002 to 2007 as a lateral entry. [38]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fixed tenure for defence, home secretaries". Rediff.com . 22 September 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "Fixed tenure for Defence, Home Secretaries". Outlook . 22 September 2005.
  3. 1 2 3 "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 Biswas, Shreya, ed. (29 June 2016). "7th Pay Commission cleared: What is the Pay Commission? How does it affect salaries?". India Today . Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Central Staffing Scheme" (PDF). Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. January 1996. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Only Cabinet can create Joint Secretary, above level posts". Press Trust of India. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Tikku, Aloke (15 January 2016). "Parity between IAS and non-IAS? The IAS will get to decide". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "Non-IAS bureaucrats now eligible for secretary-level posts". The Asian Age . 18 January 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  9. 1 2 Dastidar, Avishek G (14 January 2017). "Alleging bias, non-IAS officers petition PM Modi". The Indian Express . Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Part I of the Constitution of India- The Union and its territory - Article 1" (PDF). Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India . Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Part XIV of the Constitution of India- Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits - Article 300" (PDF). Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India . Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Part XIV of the Constitution of India- Services under the Union and the States - Article 312(2)" (PDF). Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India . Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Laxmikanth, M. (2014). Governance in India (2nd ed.). Noida: McGraw Hill Education. pp. 3.1 –3.10. ISBN   978-9339204785.
  14. 1 2 "Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure - 14th Edition (2015)" (PDF). Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension. p. 6. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 "TGC Entry Advert, 2022" (PDF). Ministry of Defence, Government of India . 24 January 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  16. ↑ "Who's Who: Department of Military Affairs". Ministry of Defence (India) . Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Table of Precedence". Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India . President's Secretariat. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  18. ↑ Maheshwari, S.R. (2000). Indian Administration (6th ed.). New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private Ltd. ISBN   9788125019886.
  19. 1 2 Kirk-Greene, A. (2000). Britain's Imperial Administrators, 1858-1966. New York City: Springer. ISBN   9780230286320.
  20. 1 2 As per published records and book named "The India List and India Office List 1905" as published by India Office and India Office Records.
  21. 1 2 Singh, Hoshiar; Singh, Pankaj (2011). Indian Administration (1st ed.). Delhi: Pearson Education India. pp. 104–126. ISBN   978-8131761199.
  22. ↑ "PM to oversee cadre allocation of bureaucrats, postings of joint secretaries and above". The Times of India . 21 August 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  23. ↑ "Compendium (RTI Act) – Government Residence (General Pool in Delhi) Rules" (PDF). Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Urban Development They are also eligible for Y+ security i.e of 4 Para commando and 18 Armed Forces. January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  24. ↑ Gupta, Geeta (21 July 2011). "New homes for govt staff changing New Delhi". Indian Express . Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  25. ↑ Singh, Vijaita (16 September 2015). "Home Secretary gives the miss to fortified bungalow". The Hindu . Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  26. ↑ "Secretaries to the Government of India (as on 2 July 2025)" (PDF). Department of Personnel and Training. Government of India . Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  27. ↑ "Ajit Kumar Mohanty pointed As Atomic Energy Commission Chief". Times of India.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  28. 1 2 "S Krishnan is new Meity secy, Neeraj Mittal to lead telecom dept in reshuffle". Hindustan Times. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  29. ↑ "Govt appoints Rajesh Kumar Singh as Defence Secretary". Business Today. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  30. ↑ "Big Reshuffle at Centre, Modi Govt Shifts 16 IAS Officers, 3 IAS Elevated to Rank of Secy" . Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  31. ↑ "Government reshuffles senior IAS officers; Key changes in finance, textiles, education - CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  32. ↑ www.ETTelecom.com. "Government appoints Abhay Karandikar as Department of Science & Technology Secretary - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  33. ↑ Natarajan, Gulzar (13 April 2015). "Lateral entry, blind alley". The Indian Express . Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  34. ↑ Chandra, Shailaja (15 July 2017). "Should the government allow lateral entry into the civil services?". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  35. ↑ Natarajan, Gulzar; Subbarao, Duvvuri (9 August 2017). "The case for lateral entry". The Indian Express . Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  36. ↑ Tripathi, Shishir (8 December 2015). "IAS: Emperor among the kings?". Governance Now. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  37. ↑ "Need Pay Parity With IAS Officers, Say Officials Of 20 Civil Services". NDTV . 30 June 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  38. ↑ "Even Manmohan Singh was a lateral entry, says PMO". India Today . Retrieved 20 July 2024.

Bibliography

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