Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India

The Prime Minister's Secretariat (PMS)—headed by an officer of the rank of joint secretary to the Government of India—was established after independence under the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru, as a successor to the office of the Governor-General of India's secretary.^[7] Lal Bahadur Shastri appointed Lakshmi Kant Jha, an Indian Civil Service officer, as his secretary, making Jha the first secretary to the Government of India-ranked officer in the PMS.^[9] During Indira Gandhi's tenure as prime minister, the post of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was created;^[2][4][8] with retired Indian Foreign Service officer P. 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:

• Advising the prime minister on domestic and foreign policy matters.^[12]
• Overseeing the affairs of ministries and departments assigned by the prime minister.^[12]
• Coordinating activities in the Prime Minister's Office.^[12]
• Dealing with official, governmental, important paperwork in the Prime Minister's Office.^[12]
• Preparing notes on issues to be discussed by the prime minister with senior politicians, bureaucrats, and other dignitaries.^[12]
• Placing before the prime minister critical files of importance for approval and instructions.^[12]

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]

More information No., Portrait ...

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 Administrative Service	Desai, MorarjiMorarji Desai (JP)
4		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		Mishra, BrajeshBrajesh Mishra[b] (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		Mishra, PramodPramod Kumar Mishra (born 1948)	11 September 2019 (2019-09-11)	Incumbent	6 years, 278 days	Indian Administrative Service	Modi, NarendraNarendra Modi (BJP)
16		Das, ShaktikantaShaktikanta Das (born 1957)	22 February 2025 (2025-02-22)	Incumbent	1 year, 114 days	Indian Administrative Service	Modi, NarendraNarendra Modi (BJP)

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A prime minister—through the Appointments 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 cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet to serve as newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's additional principal secretary.^[18][19]