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
Public service of the Republic of Ireland of the Government and the Civil Service of the State. Whilst these two components are largely theoretical they do have some fundamental operational differences. The Civil Service of the Government advises and carries out the work of the Government, through the various Departments of State, of which there are fifteen; one for each Minister of the Government. Each department is led by a senior civil servant known as the Secretary General (often referred to as "departmental head" in the media), a title equivalent to that of Permanent Secretary in the British Civil Service. The most senior civil servant and head