Nidhi Tewari, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer from the 2014 batch, has been appointed as the Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Her appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, as per a memorandum issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on March 29.
Nidhi Tewari appointed as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. pic.twitter.com/erpTlJfjfn
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 31, 2025
Nidhi Tewari’s Background and Career
Tewari secured the 96th rank in the Civil Services Examination in 2013. She hails from Mehmurganj, Varanasi, which is also Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency since 2014. Before clearing the exam, she had worked as an Assistant Commissioner (Commercial Tax) in Varanasi while preparing for the Civil Services Examination.
Nidhi Tewari joined the bureaucracy as an Indian Foreign Service officer from the 2014 batch of civil servants.
Experience in the Prime Minister’s Office
Tewari has been working at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for more than three years. She entered as an Under Secretary in 2022 and was also elevated to the rank of Deputy Secretary on January 6, 2023. In the PMO, she served in the ‘Foreign and Security’ vertical under the supervision of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Among other things, it was her job to deal with External Affairs, Atomic Energy, Security Affairs, and Rajasthan affairs.
Tenure at the Ministry of External Affairs
Before her stint at PMO, Nidhi Tewari worked in the Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), handling sensitive international security matters.
Previous Private Secretaries to PM Modi
Before Tewari’s appointment, PM Narendra Modi had two Private Secretaries—Vivek Kumar and Hardik Satishchandra Shah. Her extensive experience in foreign and security affairs is expected to play a crucial role in her new position as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.
