Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh will stay in office till October 31, 2027. The Centre has given the 1989-batch Kerala cadre IAS officer a one-year extension.

The decision comes as India pushes self-reliance in defence, indigenous weapons production and reforms at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Extension keeps him in charge of defence and DRDO

Singh took charge as India's 40th Defence Secretary on November 1, 2024, succeeding Giridhar Aramane. His two-year fixed term was due to end on October 31, 2026, and his service had already been extended beyond retirement age till then at the time of his appointment in August 2024. The fresh extension adds one more year to his tenure.

Since May 31, 2026, Singh has also held additional charge as Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman of DRDO, after the term of former chief Samir V. Kamat ended. That arrangement was made till a regular chief is appointed or further orders, and no regular DRDO chief has been appointed since, as per available information.

Focus on self-reliance and faster decisions

During his tenure, Singh has pushed indigenous defence production and faster decision-making in the Defence Ministry and DRDO. His work has included opening the way for private companies in conventional missile manufacturing, a sector long dominated by the public sector.

The government's priorities in this period are a stronger domestic defence industry and lower dependence on foreign suppliers, and the extension keeps the same leadership in place for that agenda.

A long administrative career

Before the Defence Ministry, Singh was Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) from April 2023 to August 2024, and earlier Secretary in the Animal Husbandry and Dairying department. In Kerala, he served as Urban Development Secretary and later as Finance Secretary, giving him experience at both the Centre and the state level.

Past extensions for defence secretaries

Singh is not the first defence secretary to serve beyond retirement age. R.K. Mathur and G. Mohan Kumar continued in service to complete their two-year terms, while Sanjay Mitra received a three-month extension in 2019 after completing two years. Ajay Kumar and Giridhar Aramane, by contrast, stepped down on reaching retirement age.