Nidhi Tewari, a 2014-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, will take over as the next private secretary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She is currently serving as the Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office or PMO. Her new role is set at Level 12 of the pay matrix and will be co-terminus with her current position or until further orders are issued, read the note from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), which announced her appointment today today. 

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ms Nidhi Tewari, IFS (2014), currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, in Level 12 of the pay matrix with immediate effect, on a co-terminus basis or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” read the order issued by the Ministry of Personnel on March 29.

Ms Tewari, who could be one of the youngest officers in the post, is from Mehmurganj in Varanasi, the constituency Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents in parliament since 2014. 

Before clearing the Civil Services Examination, Ms Tewari worked as the Assistant Commissioner (Commercial Tax) in Varanasi. 

Television news channel News18 reported that she secured 96th rank in the exam conducted by the Union Public Services Commission. 
Before joining the PMO, she worked in the foreign ministry’s Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division.

In 2022, she joined the Prime Minister’s Office as Under Secretary and was promoted to the post of the Deputy Secretary in 2023.

At the Prime Minister’s Office, she served in the ‘Foreign and Security’ section and took care of areas including foreign affairs, security and atomic energy. 

Her expertise in international relations helped her play a key role and she reported directly to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Her in-depth knowledge was proved crucial during India’s presidency of G20.