Additional Secretary (often abbreviated as AS, GoI or Union Additional Secretary or Additional Secretary to

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

) is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the

. The authority for creation of this post solely rests with

Cabinet of India The Union Council of Ministers Article 58 of the ''Constitution of India'' is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which is responsible for being the senior decision making body of the executive branch. It is chaired by t ...

. Additional secretary is mostly a career civil servant, generally from the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

, and is a government official of high seniority. The civil servants who hold this rank are either from

All India Services The All India Services (AIS) comprises the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service. A unique feature of the All India Services is that the members of these services are recruited by the centre (Union gover ...

(on deputation; on tenure, after empanelment) or Central Civil Services (Group A; on empanelment). All promotions and appointments to this rank and post are directly made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. In the functioning of

, an additional secretary is the administrative head of a wing in a department. Additional secretaries — on deputation — can senior positions at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, like as India's

permanent representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. The post is somewhat analogous to a

principal secretary The Principal Secretary is a senior government official in various Commonwealth countries. * Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan * Principal Secretary to the President of Pakistan * Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Ind ...

in a state government. But because of seniority, office-bearers can hold senior positions like as that of additional chief secretary to a state government, and in Union Territories, they can hold the position of Chief Secretary of a UT government. Additional secretaries in the

Union Government The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

is somewhat analogous to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

(Level 15/HAG) and equivalent ranks in

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

, but the rank of lieutenant general is placed above on the order of precedence. Additional secretaries rank 25th on Order of Precedence of India

History

Sir Richard Tottenham, ICS had once expressed "In my opinion there is, or should be, no distinction of function, but only of pay between a

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

and an additional secretary. Additional and joint secretaries should not be either chief secretaries or deputy secretaries."

Powers, responsibilities and postings

Additional secretary is the overall in charge with the necessary measure of independent functioning and responsibility of the wing of the department allocated and entrusted to him. An additional secretary in charge of administration also exercises all administrative powers as head of the department wing of the ministry/department. Additional secretaries and joint secretaries are responsible for filing all affidavits and responses before the Supreme Court of India. The Prime Minister of India is the final authority on posting and transfer of officers of additional secretary level. Additional secretaries report to their departmental

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

and ministerial/departmental cabinet minister.

Position

In the Union government, the members head department wings in the departments and ministries of Union Government. Government nominated Board members in the Central Public Sector Enterprises/ Public Sector Undertakings are either of the rank of additional secretary or

joint secretary Joint Secretary to Government of India (often abbreviated as JS, GoI or Union Joint Secretary or Joint Secretary to Union of India) is a post under the Central Staffing Scheme and the third highest non-political executive rank in Government of I ...

. According to the Seventh Central Pay Commission of India, IAS officers hold 98 out of 107 positions of additional secretary in the

Emolument, accommodation and perks

All additional secretaries to Government of India are eligible for a

diplomatic passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

. They are allotted Type-V (D-II and D-I) and Type-VI (C-II) apartments in areas like New Moti Bagh across

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

by the

Ministry of Urban Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in Ind ...

(Directorate of Estates). The salary and emolument in this rank is equivalent to

to a state government and

(Level 15/HAG) and equivalent ranks in

Reforms and challenges

Non-IAS civil services have complained to Government of India because of lack of empanelment in the rank/post of additional secretary on numerous occasions.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{refend Civil Services of India Indian Administrative Service officers Indian Foreign Service officers Indian government officials Indian Police Service officers