| Defence Secretary of India | |
|---|---|
| भारत के रक्षा सचिव | |
 Emblem of India | |
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 Ministry of Defence | |
| Member of | Strategic Policy Group Committee ofSecretaries on Administration Defence Acquisition Council Defence Planning Committee Defence Procurcement Board (asChairman) Defence Production Board Defence Research and Development Organisation |
| Reports to | Defence Minister |
| 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; 78 years ago (1947-07-21) |
| Salary | ₹225,000 (US$2,700) monthly[5][6] |
| Website | Official Website |
Thedefence secretary (ISO:Rakṣā Saciv) is the administrative head of theMinistry of Defence. This post is held by a seniorIndian Administrative Service officer of the rank ofsecretary to the Government of India. The current defence secretary is Shri.Rajesh Kumar Singh IAS.[7]
As asecretary to the Government of India, the Defence Secretary ranks 23rd onIndian order of precedence, along with all other secretaries to the Government of India, andlieutenant generals in the grade of army commander.[8]
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 India portal |
The defence secretary is the administrative head of theMinistry of Defence, and is the principal adviser to theminister of defence on all matters of policy and administration within the Ministry of Defence.[9]
The role of defence secretary is as follows:
The defence secretary is eligible for adiplomatic passport. The official earmarked residence of the defence secretary is 7,New Moti Bagh,New Delhi, a Type-VIIIbungalow.[1]
The salary and emolument in this rank is equivalent[12] tochief secretaries of state governments and toVice Chief of the Army Staff/GOC-in-C and its equivalents in theIndian Armed Forces.[12]
| Base salary as per the7th Pay Commission (per month) | Pay matrix level | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| ₹225,000 (US$2,700) | Pay level 17 | [5][6] |
| 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 | May 24, 2013 |
| 35 | R. K. Mathur | May 25, 2013 | May 24, 2015 |
| 36 | G. Mohan Kumar | May 25, 2015 | May 24, 2017 |
| 37 | Sanjay Mitra | May 25, 2017 | August 22, 2019 |
| 38 | Ajay Kumar | August 23, 2019 | October 31, 2022 |
| 39 | Giridhar Aramane | November 1, 2022 | October 31, 2024 |
| 40 | Rajesh Kumar Singh | November 1, 2024 | Incumbent |
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