Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India (PS to the PM; IAST: ) is the senior-most bureaucrat in, and the administrative head of, the Prime Minister's Office. The officeholder is generally a civil servant, commonly from the Indian Administrative Service and occasionally from the Indian Foreign Service. The post is considered one of the most influential in the Indian civil services, and some principal secretaries are considered more powerful and influential than senior government ministers. The Prime Minister's Secretariat (PMS)—headed by an officer of the rank of joint secretary to
Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland positions are recruited openly by the Public Appointments Service (formerly the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission). The current Social Partnership agreement "Towards 2016" allows for a proportion of the previously internally filled positions to be advisertised and filled externally, at the grades of Principal Officer, Assistant Principal and Higher Executive Officer. Many positions at Assistant Secretary level (generally the second most senior grade in a Government Department) have also been advertised externally in recent years. In some departments or offices, particularly at senior levels in the Civil Service of the State, different titles (such as Director or Commissioner) may