Retired IAS officer Amit Khare, who currently serves as advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was Sunday appointed secretary to Vice-President (V-P) CP Radhakrishnan.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of Khare, a retired 1985-batch officer of Jharkhand cadre, on contract basis for three years, according to a government order. Radhakrishnan was sworn in as V-P on September 12, after he polled 152 votes more than the Opposition candidate, retired Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy on September 9. The ACC on Sunday also approved the appointment of Kerala cadre IAS officer of 2014 batch Chandrasekar S as private secretary to the V-P.
Khare had been appointed as advisor to the Prime Minister in October 2021, after retiring as Union Higher Education Secretary in September that year. His term as advisor was to complete in June 2026. During his time in the civil service, Khare served as Union Information and Broadcasting Secretary and in the departments of finance, education and general administration in the state. As Higher Education Secretary, he worked on the National Education Policy. Before the creation of Jharkhand in 2000, he had served across the undivided state of Bihar, including as district collector of West Singhbhum from 1995 to 1997, when he played a role in exposing the fodder scam.
The V-P election was necessitated by the mid-term resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21. After presiding over the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar handed in his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, citing health reasons. Dhankhar’s term was till 2027.
Dhankhar made his first public appearance since resigning at Radhakrishnan’s swearing-in ceremony, where he was seen greeting his successor and other dignitaries.
