Defence Secretary (India)

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. Giridhar Aramane, I.A.S.

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.^[7]

Powers, responsibilities and postings

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.^[8]

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.^[9]
To act as the chief adviser to the Defence Minister on all aspects of policy and administrative affairs.^[9]
To represent the Ministry of Defence before the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament of India.^[9]
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.^[10]
To act as the first among equals among the secretaries in the Ministry of Defence.

Emolument, accommodation and perquisites

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^[11] 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.^[11]

List of Defence Secretaries

References

^ 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.
^ "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