New Delhi. Senior IAS officer Rajesh Kumar Singh has been made the new Defense Secretary of the country. Rajesh Kumar Singh took charge as Defense Secretary in the Ministry of Defense located in South Block, New Delhi on 1 November. He is a 1989-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre. Before becoming the Defense Secretary, he was holding the charge of Officer on Special Duty (designated as Defense Secretary) in the Ministry of Defence. He got this posting as Defense Secretary in the Defense Ministry on August 20 this year. Before assuming charge on November 1, Rajesh Kumar Singh laid wreath and paid tribute to the martyred heroes at the National War Memorial, New Delhi. During this he said, “The country will always be indebted to our brave soldiers who made supreme sacrifice in the service of the motherland. The extraordinary bravery and sacrifices of our soldiers give us the strength to make India a secure and prosperous nation and these sacrifices are our source of inspiration.
Rajesh Kumar Singh was holding the charge of Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry from April 24, 2023 to August 20, 2024. Before this he was the Secretary of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. He has held various positions in the Central Government such as Director in the Ministry of Urban Development, Works and Urban Transport, Commissioner (Land) – DDA, Joint Secretary – Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Joint Secretary – Department of Agriculture, among many other important ministries. Apart from this, he has also served under the state government. He has also held important positions in the State Government as Secretary, Urban Development and most recently as Finance Secretary, Government of Kerala. Rajesh Kumar Singh succeeds Giridhar Armane, a 1988-batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, who retires from the post of Defense Secretary on October 31, 2024. It is noteworthy that the Appointment Committee of the Union Cabinet had changed the departments of Secretary level officers on August 16.