Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India the Government of India—was established after independence under the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru, as a successor to the office of the Governor-General of India's secretary. Lal Bahadur Shastri appointed Lakshmi Kant Jha, an Indian Civil Service officer, as his secretary, making Jha the first secretary to the Government of India-ranked officer in the PMS. During Indira Gandhi's tenure as prime minister, the post of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was created; retired Indian Foreign Service officer P. N. Haksar became the first PS to the PM. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India acts as the
Prime Minister of India and 40 years old at the time—was sworn in on the evening of 31 October 1984, becoming the youngest person ever to hold the office of prime minister. Rajiv immediately called for a general election. In the subsequent general election, the Congress secured an absolute majority, winning 401 of 552 seats in the Lok Sabha, the maximum number received by any party in the history of India. Vishwanath Pratap Singh—first finance minister and then later defence minister in Gandhi's cabinet—uncovered irregularities, in what became to be known as the Bofors scandal, during his stint at the Ministry of Defence; Singh