The Defence Secretary (

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

: ''Rakṣā Saciv'') is the administrative head of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. This post is held by a senior

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, 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 (IPS) and the Indian ...

of the rank of secretary to the Government of India. The current Defence Secretary is Shri. Rajesh Kumar Singh IAS. As a secretary to the Government of India, the Defence Secretary ranks 23rd on

Indian order of precedence The order of precedence of the Republic of India is a list in which the functionaries, dignitaries and officials are listed for ceremonial purposes and has no legal standing and does not reflect the Indian presidential line of succession or the ...

, along with all other Secretaries to the Government of India, and

Lieutenant Generals A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, security services and police forces. The rank ...

in the grade of Army Commander.

Powers, responsibilities and postings

Defence Secretary is the administrative head of the

, and is the principal adviser to the

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

on all matters of policy and administration within the Ministry of Defence. The role of Defence Secretary is as follows: * To act as the administrative head of the

. The responsibility in this regard is complete and undivided. * To act as the chief adviser to the

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

on all aspects of policy and administrative affairs. * To represent the

before the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

. * 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

. * To act as the first among equals among the

secretaries A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, Personal assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project manageme ...

in the

Emolument, accommodation and perquisites

The Defence Secretary is eligible for a

diplomatic passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's Identity (social science), identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign ...

. The official earmarked residence of the Defence Secretary is 7, New Moti Bagh,

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, a Type-VIII

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...

. The salary and emolument in this rank is equivalent 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 The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

List of Defence Secretaries

References

Bibliography

* * {{Union ministries of India Civil Services of India Indian government officials Indian Administrative Service officers Ministry of Defence (India)

Powers, responsibilities and postings

Emolument, accommodation and perquisites

List of Defence Secretaries

See also

References

Bibliography