Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha
| Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha | |
|---|---|
 | |
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| Appointer | Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Vice President of India) |
| Inaugural holder | S. N. Mukherjee (1952–1963) |
| Formation | May 1952 |
| Website | rajyasabha |
The Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha is the administrative head of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The secretary general is appointed by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Vice President of India). In Indian order of precedence, the post of secretary general is of the rank of Cabinet Secretary, who is the senior most bureaucrat in the Government of India.
Role
As the administrative head of the Rajya Sabha secretariat, the secretary general exercises the power vested in the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, including the determination of the strength, method of recruitment and of qualifications for various categories of post. The secretary general exercises financial powers and initiates budget proposals relating to the Rajya Sabha. The secretary general is assisted by a hierarchy of officers as Secretary, Joint Secretaries and Directors, who with the help of subordinate officers perform the entire functions of the Secretariat.
It is the responsibility of the secretary general to summon each Member of Rajya Sabha to attend session of Parliament. When the President arrives to address Parliament, the secretary general along with Prime Minister, Vice President, Lok Sabha Speaker, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs receive the President at the gate of Parliament House and escorts the President to the Central Hall of the Parliament.
The secretary general prepares a list of business for each day of the session in Rajya Sabha. The secretary general signs messages to be sent from Rajya Sabha to Lok Sabha and reports to the house messages received from the Lok Sabha. For the elections of President and Vice President, Secretary General of Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha is appointed as returning officer along with one or more assistant returning officers.
List of Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha
| No. | Name | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||
| 1 | S. N. Mukherjee | 13 May 1952 | 8 October 1963 | 11 years, 148 days |
| 2 | B. N. Banerjee | 9 October 1963 | 31 March 1976 | 12 years, 174 days |
| 3 | S. S. Bhalerao | 1 April 1976 | 30 April 1981 | 5 years, 29 days |
| 4 | Sudarshan Agarwal | 1 May 1981 | 30 June 1993 | 12 years, 60 days |
| 5 | V. S. Ramadevi | 1 July 1993 | 25 July 1997 | 4 years, 24 days |
| 6 | S. S. Sohoni | 25 July 1997 | 2 October 1997 | 69 days |
| 7 | Ramesh Chandra Tripathi | 3 October 1997 | 31 August 2002 | 4 years, 332 days |
| 8 | Yogendra Narain | 1 September 2002 | 14 September 2007 | 5 years, 13 days |
| 9 | V. K. Agnihotri | 29 October 2007 | 30 September 2012 | 4 years, 337 days |
| 10 | Shumsher K. Sheriff | 1 October 2012 | 31 August 2017 | 4 years, 334 days |
| 11 | Desh Deepak Verma | 1 September 2017 | 31 August 2021 | 3 years, 364 days |
| 12 | P. P. K. Ramacharyulu | 1 September 2021 | 11 November 2021 | 71 days |
| 13 | Pramod Chandra Mody | 12 November 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 81 days |