| Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India | |
|---|---|
| भारत के प्रधानमंत्री के प्रधानसचिव | |
 | |
 | |
 .jpg) since 22 February 2025 (2025-02-22) | |
| Prime Minister's Office | |
| Abbreviation | PS to PM |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Seat | Prime Minister's Office,South Block, Secretariat BuildingNew Delhi |
| Appointer | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet |
| Inaugural holder | P. N. Haksar |
| Formation | 6 December 1971; 54 years ago (1971-12-06) |
ThePrincipal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India (PS to the PM;ISO:Bhārat Ke Pradhānmantrī Ke Pradhān Saciv) is the administrative head of thePrime Minister's Office. The officeholder is generally a retiredcivil servant, commonly from theIndian Administrative Service and occasionally from theIndian Foreign Service.
Since 2019, the officeholder has been accorded with the status of acabinet minister.[1] The office holder ranks 7th in theOrder of Precedence of India.
The Prime Minister's Secretariat (PMS)—headed by an officer of the rank ofjoint secretary to the Government of India—was established after independence under the prime ministership ofJawaharlal Nehru, as a successor to the office of theGovernor-General of India's secretary.[7]Lal Bahadur Shastri appointedLakshmi Kant Jha, anIndian Civil Service officer, as his secretary, making Jha the firstsecretary to the Government of India-ranked officer in the PMS.[9] DuringIndira Gandhi's tenure as prime minister, the post of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was created;[2][4][8] with retiredIndian Foreign Service officerP. N. Haksar becoming the first PS to the PM.[11]
The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India acts as the administrative chief of the Prime Minister's Office.[6][12][13][14] The main functions of the officeholder often include, but are not limited to:
The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister is generally considered the latter's most crucial aide.[14][15][16][17]
List of office holders of the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.[10]
| No. | Portrait | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Service | Prime Minister of India |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Haskar, P. N.P. N. Haksar (1913–1998) | 6 December 1971 (1971-12-06) | 28 February 1973 (1973-02-28) | 1 year, 84 days | Indian Foreign Service | Gandhi, IndiraIndira Gandhi (INC) |
| 2 | | Dhar, P. N.P. N. Dhar | 10 March 1973 (1973-03-10) | 3 April 1977 (1977-04-03) | 4 years, 24 days | Indian Administrative Service | Gandhi, IndiraIndira Gandhi (INC) |
| 3 | | Shankar, V.V. Shankar | 4 April 1977 (1977-04-04) | 31 July 1979 (1979-07-31) | 2 years, 118 days | Indian Civil Service | Desai, MorarjiMorarji Desai (JP) |
| 4 | .jpg) | Alexander, P. C.P. C. Alexander (1921–2011) | 2 May 1981 (1981-05-02) | 18 January 1985 (1985-01-18) | 3 years, 261 days | Indian Administrative Service | Gandhi, IndiraIndira Gandhi (INC) (2 May 1981 (1981-05-02) – 31 October 1984 (1984-10-31)) Rajiv Gandhi (INC) (31 October 1984 (1984-10-31) – 18 January 1985 (1985-01-18)) |
| 5 | | Sarla Grewal (1927–2002) | 25 September 1985 (1985-09-25) | 1 March 1989 (1989-03-01) | 3 years, 157 days | Indian Administrative Service | Gandhi, RajivRajiv Gandhi (INC) (1985 (1985) – 1989 (1989)) |
| 6 | | Deshmukh, B. G.B. G. Deshmukh (1929–2011) | 27 March 1989 (1989-03-27) | 11 December 1990 (1990-12-11) | 1 year, 259 days | Indian Administrative Service | Gandhi, RajivRajiv Gandhi (INC) (27 March 1989 (1989-03-27) – 2 December 1989 (1989-12-02)) V. P. Singh (JD) (2 December 1989 (1989-12-02) – 10 November 1990 (1990-11-10)) Chandra Shekhar (SJP(R)) (10 November 1990 (1990-11-10) – 11 December 1990 (1990-12-11)) |
| 7 | | Mishra, S. K.S. K. Misra (born 1932) | 11 December 1990 (1990-12-11) | 24 June 1991 (1991-06-24) | 195 days | Indian Administrative Service | Shekhar, ChandraChandra Shekhar (SJP(R)) |
| 8 | | Verma, A. N.Amar Nath Verma | 25 June 1991 (1991-06-25) | 15 May 1996 (1996-05-15) | 4 years, 324 days | Indian Administrative Service | Rao, NarasimhaNarasimha Rao (INC) |
| 9 | | Satishchandran, T. R.T. R. Satishchandran (1929–2009) | 12 June 1996 (1996-06-12) | 30 June 1997 (1997-06-30) | 1 year, 18 days | Indian Administrative Service | Deve Gowda, H. D.H. D. Deve Gowda (JD) (12 June 1996 (1996-06-12) – 21 April 1997 (1997-04-21)) Inder Kumar Gujral (JD) |
| 10 |  | Vohra, N. N.Narinder Nath Vohra (born 1936) | 1 July 1997 (1997-07-01) | 19 March 1998 (1998-03-19) | 261 days | Indian Administrative Service | Gujral, I. K.Inder Kumar Gujral (JD) |
| 11 | ![Brajesh Mishra[a]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBrajesh_Mishra.jpg) | Mishra, BrajeshBrajesh Mishra[a] (1928–2012) | 19 March 1998 (1998-03-19) | 22 May 2004 (2004-05-22) | 6 years, 64 days | Indian Foreign Service | Vajpayee, Atal BihariAtal Bihari Vajpayee (BJP) |
| 12 | | Nair, T. K. A.T. K. A. Nair (born 1939) | 28 May 2004 (2004-05-28) | 3 October 2011 (2011-10-03) | 7 years, 128 days | Indian Administrative Service | Singh, ManmohanManmohan Singh (INC) |
| 13 | | Chatterjee, PullokPulok Chatterji (born 1948) | 3 October 2011 (2011-10-03) | 26 May 2014 (2014-05-26) | 2 years, 235 days | Indian Administrative Service | Singh, ManmohanManmohan Singh (INC) |
| 14 |  | Misra, NripendraNripendra Misra (born 1945) | 28 May 2014 (2014-05-28) | 10 September 2019 (2019-09-10) | 5 years, 105 days | Indian Administrative Service | Modi, NarendraNarendra Modi (BJP) |
| 15 | _India.jpg) | Mishra, PramodPramod Kumar Mishra (born 1948) | 11 September 2019 (2019-09-11) | Incumbent | 6 years, 157 days | Indian Administrative Service | Modi, NarendraNarendra Modi (BJP) |
| 16 | | Das, ShaktikantaShaktikanta Das (born 1957) | 22 February 2025 (2025-02-22) | Incumbent | 358 days | Indian Administrative Service | Modi, NarendraNarendra Modi (BJP) |
A prime minister—through theAppointments Committee of the Cabinet—can also appoint an additional principal secretary. The only instance of an additional principal secretary being appointed was in May 2014,Pramod Kumar Misra, a retired 1972-batch Gujarat cadreIndian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was appointed by theAppointments Committee of the Cabinet to serve as newly elected Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's additional principal secretary.[18][19]
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