Raj Kumar Singh top contender for next Union Home Secretary

NEW DELHI: Raj Kumar Singh, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, is a top contender for the post of Union Home Secretary to take over from G K Pillai who retires on June 30.

Singh, currently Secretary, Defence Production, in the Ministry of Defence, had last week appeared before Home Minister P Chidambaram for an interview, along with a few others including Punjab Chief Secretary S C Aggarwal.

A formal order notifying the appointment of the next Home Secretary is expected to be issued within this week, sources said.

Singh had met Defence Minister A K Antony yesterday and expressed his desire to move into the high-profile post in the North Block.

Sources said the Defence Minister readily accepted the request of Singh and assured him that he would be relieved from the present assignment once a formal decision is taken by the government.

Once appointed, Singh will have a fixed two-year tenure. Pillai, a 1972 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, took charge as Home Secretary in June 2009 -- seven months after the Mumbai terror attacks -- and oversaw complete overhaul of the country's security establishment.