Who is Nidhi Tewari? New Private Secretary to PM Narendra Modi
PTC Web Desk: The Central Government has appointed Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Nidhi Tewari as the Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She was promoted from her previous role as Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), according to an official order issued on March 29 by the Ministry of Personnel.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved her appointment at Level 12 of the pay matrix. She will serve in this position on a co-terminus basis with the Prime Minister or until further orders.
Who is Nidhi Tewari?
Nidhi Tewari hails from Mehmurganj in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh—Prime Minister Modi’s parliamentary constituency since 2014. She is a 2014-batch IFS officer and secured the 96th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination. Before joining the IFS, she worked as an Assistant Commissioner (Commercial Tax) in Varanasi while preparing for the exam.
Nidhi Tewari entered the PMO as an Under Secretary in 2022 and was promoted to Deputy Secretary on January 6, 2023. In her role, she was responsible for the ‘Foreign and Security’ division, reporting to National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. She has also worked in the Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division under the Ministry of External Affairs.
Currently, Prime Minister Modi is assisted by two private secretaries—Vivek Kumar and Hardik Satishchandra Shah.
In a separate key appointment in February, former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das was named ‘Principal Secretary-2’ to the Prime Minister. His tenure as RBI Governor ended in December 2023, and Sanjay Malhotra succeeded him as the 26th Governor of the central bank.
- With inputs from agencies
