Shekhar Dutt appointed Deputy National Security Advisor

NEW DELHI: Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt on Friday was appointed as the Deputy National Security Advisor for a two-year term.

Dutt, who will retire as defence secretary on July 31, will hold the new post in the National Security Council Secretariat for dealing with strategic and defence-related subjects, an official announcement said.
   
The post of the Deputy National Security Advisor is a newly created one. Former Intelligence Bureau chief M K Narayanan is the National Security Advisor.

Dutt will have the rank of secretary in the new post.

A 1969 batch IAS officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, Dutt has served in the defence ministry in various capacities in his 38-year career.

Before taking over as defence secretary, he was the defence production secretary. He also served as additional secretary and joint secretary in the ministry.

Dutt also did a stint in the army as a short service commission officer and won a Sena Medal during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.
   
The announcement said Dutt would hold the post of Deputy National Security Advisor for a "period of two years in the first instance or until further orders".