Senior IAS officer Govind Mohan has been appointed the next Union Home Secretary, succeeding Ajay Kumar Bhalla, according to an official announcement on Wednesday.
Currently serving as Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Mohan will assume the role of Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“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.
“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,” an official order said.
Mohan, from Uttar Pradesh, previously served as Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry before his current role. He holds a B.Tech from Banaras Hindu University and a Postgraduate Diploma from IIM Ahmedabad. He has also held various positions in the Sikkim government.
One of Mohan’s immediate challenges will be overseeing the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which must be conducted by September 30 per a Supreme Court directive. Bhalla, who has been Union Home Secretary since August 2019, recently met with the Election Commission to discuss security arrangements for the elections.