Mohan Kumar emerges as front-runner for defence secretary's post

NEW DELHI: G Mohan Kumar, a 1979 Odisha cadre IAS officer, is emerging as the front-runner to replace R K Mathur as the country's next defence secretary when the latter retires on May 24.
Though some other names are also in the reckoning, sources on Saturday said the government seems to have narrowed down on Kumar – the current secretary (defence production) -- for the crucial post that comes with a fixed two-year tenure like the foreign and home secretaries as well as the R&AW and IB chiefs.
Incidentally, if Kumar is not appointed the next defence secretary, he will retire this month-end on turning 60. Apart from Kumar, names of other secretary-level officers like Bimal Julka (information & broadcasting), Amitabh Kant (industrial policy & promotion) and R S Sharma (electronics & IT) have also figured in the run-up to the coveted post.
As secretary (defence production) since September last year, Kumar is deeply involved in the Modi government's "Make in India" policy with defence being designated a high-priority sector. Kumar is also co-chair of India-US Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI), which seeks co-development and co-production of advanced military technologies between the two countries.
The defence ministry is a complex, gigantic ministry, with the armed forces, civilian bureaucracy, defence PSUs, ordnance factories and DRDO under it, and a Rs 246 lakh crore annual budget to boot.
The Army, Navy and IAF chiefs may rank higher than the defence secretary, in terms of pay and position in the order of precedence, but the last plays a pivotal role as principal advisor to Raksha Mantri.
While a Service chief may be supreme within his force, a defence secretary deals with all the three forces, as also the Coast Guard, apart from virtually controlling the purse strings.
The new incumbent will take over at a time when the armed forces continue to grapple with many critical operational gaps, even as they struggle to properly maintain their existing weapon systems and build much-needed infrastructure. India's budgeted defence expenditure remains just 1.75% of the GDP, far less than the 3% being long demanded for adequate deterrence against both China and Pakistan.