IIS officer Manisha Verma takes charge as Press Secretary to President Droupadi Murmu

The term of Singh, a veteran journalist, was extended for one year by the ACC on September 26 last year. He demitted office last week after serving in the Rashtrapati Bhavan for six years. He was appointed as the press secretary to former President Ram Nath Kovind for one year in September 2019. His tenure was extended to be co-terminus with that of Kovind in 2020, and later it was extended again to enable him to serve under President Murmu.

President’s Press Secretary Has 30 Years Of Experience

Verma has nearly three decades of professional experience in government communications. She most recently served in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, where she was the ministry’s media officer for 12 years, handling communications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last IIS officer to serve in the President’s office was Archana Datta, who worked as officer on special duty (public relations) under President Pratibha Patil from 2007 to 2012. Before her, S M Khan, one of the longest-serving media officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), had been picked by President A P J Abdul Kalam as his press secretary — the first time an IIS officer was appointed to that role.

Traditionally, the post of press secretary to the President was held by officers of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). In fact, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had served as press secretary and speechwriter to President Shankar Dayal Sharma in the 1990s.

Kalam was the first to break this convention by inducting S M Khan from the IIS. However, President Pranab Mukherjee chose IFS officer Venu Rajamony as press secretary from 2012 to 2017. Kovind appointed noted journalist Ashok Malik as press secretary — the first-ever private individual to occupy the position. He was succeeded by Singh.

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