Senior IAS officer Govind Mohan, who is currently the secretary at the Ministry of Culture, has been appointed the next Union home secretary. Mohan will succeed Ajay Kumar Bhalla whose tenure ends on August 22.
"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Govind Mohan, IAS (Sikkim: 1989), Secretary, Ministry of Culture as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Home Affairs with immediate effect,” said an official release.
“The officer will take over as Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs vice Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, IAS (Assam-Meghalaya: 1984) on completion of his tenure on 22.08.2024," it said.
Mohan, a 1989-batch IAS officer, had previously served as the joint secretary from May to September 2018 and additional secretary from September 2018 to September 2021 in the Union Home Ministry before being appointed as secretary at the Ministry of Culture in October 2021.
Prior to that, he had served in various roles in Sikkim government.
Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Mohan did his BTech from Banaras Hindu University and PG Diploma from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
After assuming charge as the home secretary, Mahan’s immediate challenge would be to peacefully hold Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections which are expected in September-October.
A team of the Election Commission has already visited the Union territory to review the security situation. Bhalla, the incumbent home secretary, on Wednesday held a meeting with the poll officials to discuss the election preparedness in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bhalla was to retire in November 2020 after attaining 60 years of age, but his tenure was extended multiple times till August 2024.
