Defence Secretary (India)
| Defence Secretary of India | |
|---|---|
| Rakṣā Saciva | |
 Emblem of India | |
 | |
since 1st November, 2024 | |
 Ministry of Defence | |
| Member of | Strategic Policy Group Committee of Secretaries on Administration Defence Acquisition Council Defence Planning Committee Defence Procurcement Board (as Chairman) Defence Production Board Defence Research and Development Organisation |
| Reports to | |
| Residence | 15, New Moti Bagh, New Delhi[1] |
| Seat | Ministry of Defence South Block, Cabinet Secretariat Raisina Hill New Delhi |
| Appointer | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet |
| Term length | Two years, term can be extended.[2][3][4] |
| Inaugural holder | G. S. Bhalja, ICS |
| Formation | 21 July 1947 |
| Salary | ₹225,000 (US$2,700) monthly[5][6] |
| Website | Official Website |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of India |
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The Defence Secretary (IAST: Rakṣā Saciva) is the administrative head of the Ministry of Defence. This post is held by a senior Indian Administrative Service of the rank of secretary to the Government of India. The current Defence Secretary is Shri. Rajesh Kumar Singh IAS.[7]
As a secretary to the Government of India, the Defence Secretary ranks 23rd on Indian order of precedence, along with all other Secretaries to the Government of India, and Lieutenant Generals in the grade of Army Commander.[8]
Powers, responsibilities and postings
[edit]Defence Secretary is the administrative head of the Ministry of Defence, and is the principal adviser to the Minister of Defence on all matters of policy and administration within the Ministry of Defence.[9]
The role of Defence Secretary is as follows:
- To act as the administrative head of the Ministry of Defence. The responsibility in this regard is complete and undivided.[10]
- To act as the chief adviser to the Defence Minister on all aspects of policy and administrative affairs.[10]
- To represent the Ministry of Defence before the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament of India.[10]
- The Defence Secretary is responsible for coordinating the activities of the other departments (Department of Defence Production, Department of Military Affairs, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and Department of Defence Research and Development) in the Ministry of Defence.[11]
- To act as the first among equals among the secretaries in the Ministry of Defence.
Emolument, accommodation and perquisites
[edit]The Defence Secretary is eligible for a diplomatic passport. The official earmarked residence of the Defence Secretary is 7, New Moti Bagh, New Delhi, a Type-VIII bungalow.[1]
The salary and emolument in this rank is equivalent[12] to chief secretaries of state governments and to Vice Chief of the Army Staff/GOC-in-C and its equivalents in the Indian Armed Forces.[12]
| Base salary as per the 7th Pay Commission (per month) | Pay matrix level | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| ₹225,000 (US$2,700) | Pay level 17 | [5][6] |
List of Defence Secretaries
[edit]| S. No. | Name | Assumed office | Demitted office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G. S. Bhalja | 21 July 1947 | 6 October 1947 |
| 2 | H. M. Patel | 7 October 1947 | 20 July 1953 |
| 3 | B. B. Ghosh | 21 July 1953 | 12 November 1953 |
| 4 | M. K. Vellodi | 13 November 1953 | 13 June 1957 |
| 5 | O. Pulla Reddy | 14 June 1957 | 21 November 1962 |
| 6 | P. V. R. Rao | 21 November 1962 | 3 April 1965 |
| 7 | A. D. Pandit | 4 April 1965 | 4 August 1965 |
| (5) | P. V. R. Rao | 5 August 1965 | 31 December 1966 |
| 8 | V. Shankar | 1 January 1967 | 2 November 1968 |
| 9 | H. C. Sarin | 3 November 1968 | 7 December 1970 |
| 10 | K. B. Lall | 8 December 1970 | 18 May 1973 |
| 11 | Govind Narain | 19 May 1973 | 31 May 1975 |
| 12 | D. R. Kohli | 1 June 1975 | 31 March 1977 |
| 13 | Gian Prakash | 4 April 1977 | 26 March 1978 |
| 14 | S. Banerjee | 27 March 1978 | 3 July 1979 |
| 15 | J. A. Dave | 9 July 1979 | 10 April 1980 |
| 16 | K. P. A. Menon | 5 May 1980 | 11 August 1981 |
| 17 | P. K. Kaul | 12 August 1981 | 30 June 1983 |
| 18 | S. M. Ghosh | 26 July 1983 | 25 June 1984 |
| 19 | S. K. Bhatnagar | 6 July 1984 | 31 May 1988 |
| 20 | T. N. Seshan | 1 June 1988 | 22 February 1989 |
| 21 | Naresh Chandra | 22 February 1989 | 21 March 1990 |
| 22 | Narinder Nath Vohra | 21 March 1990 | 6 April 1993 |
| 23 | K. A. Nambiar | 6 April 1993 | 6 June 1996 |
| 24 | T. K. Banerjee | 5 August 1996 | 31 May 1997 |
| 25 | Ajit Kumar | 31 May 1997 | 1 January 1999 |
| 26 | T. R. Prasad | 1 January 1999 | 20 October 2000 |
| 27 | Yogendra Narain | 20 October 2000 | 30 June 2002 |
| 28 | Subir Dutta | 20 June 2002 | 4 July 2003 |
| 29 | Ajay Prasad | 14 July 2003 | 30 June 2004 |
| 30 | Ajai Vikram Singh | 1 July 2004 | 31 July 2005 |
| 31 | Shekhar Dutt | 1 August 2005 | 31 July 2007 |
| 32 | Vijay Singh | 1 August 2007 | 31 July 2009 |
| 33 | Pradeep Kumar | 1 August 2009 | 14 July 2011 |
| 34 | Shashi Kant Sharma | 14 July 2011 | 22 May 2013 |
| 35 | R. K. Mathur | 25 May 2013 | 24 May 2015 |
| 36 | G. Mohan Kumar | 25 May 2015 | 24 May 2017 |
| 37 | Sanjay Mitra | 25 May 2017 | 23 August 2019 |
| 38 | Ajay Kumar | 23 August 2019 | 31 October 2022 |
| 39 | Giridhar Aramane | 1 November 2022 | 31 October 2024 |
| 40 | Rajesh Kumar Singh | 1 November 2024 | Incumbent |
See also
[edit]- Cabinet Secretary of India
- Home Secretary of India
- Foreign Secretary of India
- Finance Secretary of India
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Telephone numbers and addresses of top executives in Defence Ministry" (PDF). Retrieved October 10, 2017.
- ^ Khare, Harish (February 8, 2005). "Fixed tenure planned for Home, Defence Secretaries". The Hindu. Retrieved January 10, 2018.[dead link]
- ^ "Fixed tenure for defence, home secretaries". Rediff.com. September 22, 2005. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ "Fixed tenure for Defence, Home Secretaries". Outlook. September 22, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ a b "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 20, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b Biswas, Shreya, ed. (June 29, 2016). "7th Pay Commission cleared: What is the Pay Commission? How does it affect salaries?". India Today. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ "Govt appoints Rajesh Kumar Singh as Defence Secretary". Business Today. 2024-08-16. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
- ^ "Order of Precedence" (PDF). Rajya Sabha. President's Secretariat. July 26, 1979. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ "Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure - 14th Edition (2015)" (PDF). Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension. p. 6. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ a b c Laxmikanth, M. (2014). Governance in India (2nd Edition). Noida: McGraw Hill Education. pp. 3.1–3.10. ISBN 978-9339204785.
- ^ "About DoD". Department of Defence, Government of India. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ a b "Army Pay Rules, 2017" (PDF). Ministry of Defence, Government of India. May 3, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ "Defence Secretaries (Page 1)". Department of Defence, Government of India. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ "Defence Secretaries (Page 2)". Department of Defence, Government of India. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ "Defence Secretaries (Page 3)". Department of Defence, Government of India. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
Bibliography
[edit]- Maheshwari, S.R. (2000). Indian Administration (6th Edition). New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private Ltd. ISBN 9788125019886.
- Laxmikanth, M. (2014). Governance in India (2nd Edition). Noida: McGraw Hill Education. ISBN 978-9339204785.
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