The Narendra Modi government has extended Union Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh’s tenure on more year, until October 31, 2027. The decision today, a week before he was due to complete his two year fixed tenure on October 31.
A quiet yet firm taskmaster, Singh has pushed the Defence Ministry and the DRDO into speedier decision making and opening the conventional missile manufacturing into private sector. An Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)’s order in May gave him the charge when Samir V Kamat completed his tenure. That arrangement was to last until a regular incumbent was appointed or until further orders. No regular DRDO chief has been named since.
He took charge as the 40th defence secretary on November 1, 2024, succeeding Giridhar Aramane. When he was appointed to the post in August 2024, his service was extended beyond superannuation—up to October-end this year. Kamat had headed DRDO since August 25, 2022.
Singh, a 1989-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, has been given unprecedented extensions of one year due to his work in promoting “Aarmanirghar Bharat” in the defence sector and pushing reforms in the DRDO in order to make India more self-reliant.
*Of Singh’s predecessors under the present government, Ajay Kumar and Giridhar Aramane left office on superannuation. RK Mathur and G Mohan Kumar continued beyond their normal retirement age to complete fixed two-year terms. Before that, he was secretary of the department of animal husbandry and dairying. In the Kerala government, he served as secretary, urban development, and later as finance secretary.
Sanjay Mitra received a three-month extension in 2019, beyond his two-year tenure. None was kept on for as long as Singh now will be.* Before joining the defence ministry, Singh was secretary of the department for promotion of industry and internal trade from April 2023 to August 2024.
