New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Somnath Ghosh (IFS) as Joint Secretary (JS) in the Department of Defence under the Ministry of Defence on Monday. He is currently serving as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the same department. According to an order from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Ghosh has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence for an overall period of three years up to September 11, 2022, or until further orders whichever is earlier.
Somnath Ghosh has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence for an overall period of three years. Prior to this, he was serving as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the same department
Ghosh is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1997 batch. He has served in various important positions such as Ambassador of India to Mongolia and Ambassador of India to the Republic of Tajikistan. He was appointed as OSD in the Department of Defence since September 3, 2019.
The Department of Defence (DoD) deals with the three services i.e Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard. It also deals with the inter-services organisation. It is also responsible for the defence budget, establishment matters, defence policy, matters relating to the parliament, defence cooperation with foreign countries, and coordination of all defence-related activities. It is headed by Defence Secretary who is assisted by Director General (Acquisition), Additional Secretaries and Joint Secretaries. Defence Secretary is also responsible for coordinating the activities of the other departments i.e DDP, DESW and DRDO in the Ministry of Defence.