Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Kumar Singh took over as defence secretary on Friday ( 01 November). The 1989-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre assumed charge at the South Block, where the ministry is housed.

• Singh laid a wreath and paid homage to the fallen heroes at the National War Memorial.
• He had assumed charge as officer on special duty (defence secretary-designate) on August 20.
• Singh held the post of secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry from April 24, 2023, to August 20, 2024.