Defence Secy Shekhar Dutt takes over as Deputy NSA

New Delhi: Shekhar Dutt on Tuesday took over as the Deputy National Security Advisor for a two-year term.

According to an official announcement on Friday, Dutt - who retired 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.

Dutt will be the deputy to National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and will occupy the newly created 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 and 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.