The Most Influential IAS Officers in the Modi Government (2026)
1. Dr. T. V. Somanathan — Cabinet Secretary of India, the senior-most civil servant in the country. A 1987-batch IAS officer, he took over as the 33rd Cabinet Secretary in August 2024 after previously serving as Finance Secretary and Expenditure Secretary. His tenure was extended by one year beyond August 2026 by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. As Cabinet Secretary, he coordinates the entire administrative machinery of the Union government.
2. Dr. Pramod Kumar (P.K.) Mishra — Principal Secretary-1 to the Prime Minister, arguably the single most powerful bureaucrat in Delhi. A retired 1972-batch Gujarat-cadre IAS officer, he has held this post since September 2019 and previously served as Modi's chief secretary in Gujarat between 2001 and 2004. He effectively runs the day-to-day operations of the PMO and has outsized influence over policy across ministries.
3. Shaktikanta Das — Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister. A retired IAS officer and former RBI Governor (2018–2024), he was appointed in February 2025, marking the first time the PM has had two Principal Secretaries simultaneously. His background in monetary and fiscal policy gives him a distinct portfolio focus, especially on the economy.
4. Govind Mohan — Union Home Secretary, a position with jurisdiction over internal security, Kashmir, and Centre–state relations. His tenure was also recently extended alongside the Cabinet Secretary's.
5. Rajesh Kumar Singh — Defence Secretary since November 2024. A 1989-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, he previously headed the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and now also chairs DRDO since June 2026.
6. Arvind Shrivastava — Additional Secretary in the PMO. A 1994-batch Karnataka-cadre officer, he currently holds an upgraded Additional Secretary post directly under the PM.
7. Atish Chandra — Special Secretary in the PMO. A 1994-batch Bihar-cadre IAS officer, he was elevated to this rank in a major 2025 reshuffle of secretary-level officials.
8. Rajesh Aggarwal — Chief Secretary of Maharashtra. A 1989-batch Maharashtra-cadre officer who previously headed the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment at the Centre, he took charge of India's most economically significant state administration in December 2025.
9. Sudhansh Pant — Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Formerly Chief Secretary of Rajasthan and Union Health Secretary, he moved to this Central post in December 2025.
10. Sanjay Malhotra — RBI Governor (a Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer who succeeded Shaktikanta Das), now the top economic-policy voice among serving IAS officers, overseeing monetary policy at a critical juncture.
A few important caveats:
"Top" is inherently subjective in the civil service — rankings shift constantly with transfers, retirements, and reshuffles (India has seen several major bureaucratic reshuffles just in 2025–26).
Several other officers — cadre chief secretaries of large states (UP, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu), heads of regulatory bodies (SEBI, CERC, FSSAI), and Finance Ministry secretaries — arguably wield comparable influence depending on the policy area.
The IAS is one of three All India Services (alongside IPS and IFoS); "top" officials in security or foreign policy (like NSA Ajit Doval, an IPS-background officer) fall outside the IAS itself.
