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 (United Kingdom) and instructions to departments and agencies regarding the terms and conditions of service of civil servants. It is the guiding document which gives delegation to civil service organisations, from the Minister for the Civil Service, in order for them to make internal personnel policies. The Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code is maintained by the Civil Service Commissioners and is based on the "principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition." The Osmotherly Rules set out guidance on how civil servants should respond to Parliamentary select committees. A two-volume 125-page "Directory of Civil Service Guidance" was