Chief secretary (India)

The Chief Secretary is the highest-ranking executive official and civil servant of the government of an Indian state.^[3] The Chief Secretary is the ex-officio head of the state Civil Services Board, the State Secretariat, the state cadre Indian Administrative Service and all civil services under the rules of business of the state government. The Chief Secretary acts as the principal advisor to the chief minister on all matters of state administration.

Chief Secretary of the State
Emblem of India
Flag of India
State Secretariat
Status	Head of Permanent Executive
Abbreviation	CS
Member of	State Civil Services Board[a] Committee of Secretaries of the state on Administration[a] State Crisis Management Committee[a] Senior Selection Board[a]
Reports to	Governor of the State Chief Minister of the State State Cabinet State Legislative Assembly
Seat	State Secretariat
Appointer	Appointments Committee of the Cabinet The Chief Secretary is usually the senior most IAS officer of the senior most batch in the state. The appointee for the office is approved by state Chief Minister, based on appointee's ability and strong confidence with him or her.
Term length	No fixed tenure is imposed on the office but term can be extended.
Succession	23rd (on the Indian order of precedence)
Salary	₹225,000 (US$2,700) monthly[1][2]

The Chief Secretary is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service. The Chief Secretary is the senior-most cadre post in the state administration, ranking 23rd on the Indian order of precedence. The Chief Secretary acts as an ex-officio secretary to the state cabinet, therefore called "Secretary to the Cabinet". The status of this post is equal to that of a Secretary to the Government of India.

History

The position of Chief Secretary dates back to the colonial era during British rule in India and has evolved considerably since then. It was introduced by the British Colonial Government, replacing the previous system where the highest administrative officer in the provinces was known as the "Secretary to Government." The Chief Secretary, originally referred to as the "Secretary to the Government of the Province," was a senior bureaucrat who served as the main link between the British government and the provincial administration. This officer was responsible for overseeing the daily workings of the government machinery, advising the provincial governor, and implementing the policies of the colonial administration.

During the British period, the Chief Secretary was typically a senior Imperial Civil Service (ICS) officer, a position largely dominated by the British until India gained independence in 1947. The Chief Secretary was seen as the head of the administration at the provincial level and reported directly to the Governor or Lieutenant Governor.

The salary of Chief Secretary of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, Punjab and Burma was fixed and was same to Joint Secretary to Government of India during the British Raj.^[b] As per Warrant or Precedence of 1905,^[b] Secretary to Government of India was listed together with Joint Secretary to Government of India and was ranked above the rank of Chief Secretary.^[b]

States

Chief Secretaries are members of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) who are the administrative head of state governments.^[4] A Chief Secretary functions as the central point of interdepartmental coordination at the departmental level and is classified as being in the Apex Grade.^[4][5] Chief Secretary is considered to be 'a linchpin' in the administration.^[4][6][7][8] Chief Secretary of the state also acts as the ex-officio Chairman of the State Civil Service Board, which recommends transfer/postings of officers of All India Services and State Civil Services in the state.^{[4][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Traditionally, the most senior IAS officer within a state is chosen as the Chief Secretary;^{[15][16][17][18][19][20]} however, there are exceptions.^{[21][22][23][24]}

Chief Secretaries are assisted by Additional Chief Secretaries or Special Chief Secretaries, depending on the state, and Principal Secretaries, who are the administrative heads of departments they are assigned to.

Chief Secretaries are chosen by the state's Chief Minister.^{[25][26][27][28][29]} State Chief Secretaries are IAS officers generally equivalent in rank to a Secretary to Government of India and are placed 23rd on Indian Order of Precedence.^[30][31]

The post of Chief Secretary of a State Government is equivalent to senior three-star rank officers in the armed forces who are in the C-in-C (Commanding-in-Chief) grade or vice chiefs of staff, holding the rank of Lieutenant General or equivalent rank in the Indian Armed Forces, and are listed as such in the Order of Precedence.^[30][31]

List of current Chief Secretaries in the States of India^[32][33]

S.No.	State	Capital	Chief Secretary	Batch
1	Andhra Pradesh	Amaravati	K. Vijayanand, IAS	1992
2	Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar	Manish Kumar Gupta, IAS	1991
3	Assam (List)	Dispur	Ravi Kota, IAS[34]	1993
4	Bihar	Patna	Amrit Lal Meena, IAS	1989
5	Chhattisgarh	Raipur	Amitabh Jain, IAS	1989
6	Goa	Panaji	V. Candavelou, IAS	1997
7	Gujarat	Gandhinagar	Pankaj Joshi, IAS	1989
8	Haryana	Chandigarh	Anurag Rastogi, IAS	1990
9	Himachal Pradesh	Shimla	Prabodh Saxena, IAS	1990
10	Jharkhand	Ranchi	Alka Tiwari, IAS	1988
11	Karnataka	Bengaluru	Shalini Rajneesh, IAS	1989
12	Kerala	Thiruvananthapuram	A. Jayathilak, IAS	1991
13	Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal	Anurag Jain, IAS	1989
14	Maharashtra (List)	Mumbai	Sujata Saunik, IAS	1987
15	Manipur	Imphal	Prashant Kumar Singh, IAS	1993
16	Meghalaya	Shillong	Donald Philips Wahlang, IAS	1993
17	Mizoram (List)	Aizawl	Khilli Ram Meena, IAS[35]	1993
18	Nagaland	Kohima	J. Alam, IAS	1991
19	Odisha	Bhubaneswar	Manoj Ahuja, IAS	1990
20	Punjab	Chandigarh	K. A. Prasad Sinha, IAS	1992
21	Rajasthan (List)	Jaipur	Sudhansh Pant, IAS	1991
22	Sikkim	Gangtok	Ravindra Telang, IAS	1995
23	Tamil Nadu	Chennai	N. Muruganandam, IAS	1991
24	Telangana	Hyderabad	K. Ram Krishna Rao, IAS	1991
25	Tripura	Agartala	Jitendra Kumar Sinha, IAS	1996
26	Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow	Manoj Kumar Singh, IAS	1988
27	Uttarakhand (List)	Dehradun	Anand Bardhan, IAS	1992
28	West Bengal	Kolkata	Manoj Pant, IAS	1991

Union territories

In the union territories, which are governed by Administrators, Chief Secretaries are absent. In these territories an Adviser to the Administrator is appointed by the Union Government. However, the union territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry, which have been granted partial statehood, do have Chief Secretaries. In Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry, the Chief Minister chooses the Chief Secretary and is appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.^[6]

Chief Secretaries and Advisers to the Administrators of Union territories, in general, are junior in rank compared to the Chief Secretaries of the States. The office bearers generally are of the rank Joint Secretary to Government of India and its equivalents. However, in Delhi and Chandigarh, the topmost civil servant is either of the ranks of Secretary to Government of India and its equivalents or Additional Secretary to Government of India and its equivalents.

List of current Chief Secretaries/Advisor to Administrators of Union territories^[32]

S. no	Union territory	Capital	Chief Secretary/Advisor to Administrator	Batch
1	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Port Blair	Chandra Bhushan Kumar, IAS	1995
2	Chandigarh	Chandigarh	Rajeev Verma, IAS	1992
3	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	Daman	Amit Singla, IAS	2003
4	Delhi	New Delhi	Dharmendra, IAS	1989
5	Jammu and Kashmir	Srinagar (May–Oct) and Jammu (Nov–Apr)	Atal Dulloo, IAS[36]	1988
6	Ladakh	Leh	Pawan Kotwal, IAS	1994
7	Lakshadweep	Kavaratti	S. B. Deepak Kumar, IAS	2005
8	Puducherry	Pondicherry	Sharat Chauhan, IAS	1994

Additional Chief Secretary

Additional Chief Secretary is a senior administrative position in the state governments of India, held by an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The rank is above that of a Principal Secretary and below the Chief Secretary, who is the topmost civil servant in the state. Officers serving as Additional Chief Secretaries are usually in charge of key departments such as Home, Finance, Revenue, or Industries. They are responsible for overseeing the implementation of government policies and programs, and they report to the Chief Secretary and the political executive, including the Chief Minister and relevant ministers.^[37]

The position is equivalent in rank to a Special Secretary to the Government of India, and the pay structure is the same as that of a Chief Secretary.

See also

• List of chief secretaries of Assam
• List of chief secretaries of Maharashtra
• List of chief secretaries of Mizoram
• Cabinet Secretary of India
• Secretary to Government of India
• Joint Secretary to Government of India
• Principal Secretary
• Head of Forest Forces
• Director General of Police
• Advocate General
• Indian Forest Service
• Indian Administrative Service
• Indian Police Service
• List of chief secretaries of Uttarakhand