Indian Cabinet Secretary
| Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of India भारत गणराज्य के मंत्रिमंडल सचिव |
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Emblem of India
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Incumbent
Pradeep Kumar Sinha |
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| Reports to | |
| Residence | 32, Prithviraj Road, New Delhi |
| Seat | Cabinet Secretariat of India, South Block, New Delhi, India |
| Appointer |
Prime Minister of India The cabinet secretary is usually the senior most IAS officer of the senior most batch. The appointee for the office is approved by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister, based on appointee's ability and strong confidence with Prime Minister |
| Term length | No fixed tenure is imposed on the office but term can be extended |
| Inaugural holder | N. R. Pillai, ICS |
| Formation | 1950 |
| Salary | ₹250,000 (US$3,900) monthly |
| Website | Cabinet Secretariat of India |
The Cabinet Secretary is a post and a rank in the Government of India, who is the top most executive official and senior-most civil servant in India. The Cabinet Secretary is the ex-officio head of the Civil Services Board, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and head of all civil services under the rules of business of the Government of India.
The Cabinet Secretary is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. Though there is no fixed tenure, the average tenure of the Cabinet Secretary has been less than 3 years. His or her tenure however, can be extended.
The Executive Council (precursor of the Cabinet) of the Viceroy of India used to have a Secretariat, which was headed by the Private Secretary of the Viceroy. Initially the role of this Secretariat was merely taking care of the paper work related to the Executive Council. As work of the individual departments (precursor of Ministries) under the Council increased, the work of the Secretariat, too, became more complex. The Private Secretary came to be known as the Secretary of the Secretariat. And this post became more powerful over time as the Secretariat’s main role became coordinating work of departments. In 1946, the Secretariat became Cabinet Secretariat and the Secretary became Cabinet Secretary.
After Independence in 1947, the functions of the Secretariat underwent major changes. A series of committees on economic, defence and intelligence matters were constituted under the Cabinet Secretariat. Most of the departments created after Independence functioned under the Cabinet Secretariat, and were later on shifted to the respective ministries. The position holder is accountable for ensuring that the civil service is equipped with the skills and capability to meet the everyday challenges it faces and that civil servants work in a fair and decent environment. For nearly 25 years after independence of India, the post of the Cabinet Secretary was occupied by members of the erstwhile Indian Civil Service (ICS). All members of ICS used to be young since the upper age limit for joining was 24 years.
The retirement age in the Government of India before 1962 was 55 years. Therefore, the ICS officers would become Cabinet Secretaries after about 32 years of Service. When the retirement age increased to 58 years in 1962, the Cabinet Secretaries had an experience of about 34–35 years before they occupied that post. With further increase in retirement age to 60 years in 1998, Cabinet Secretaries have generally served for 37–38 years of service before their appointment.
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Wikipedia