Who is Nidhi Tewari, the newly appointed private secretary to PM Modi?

Tewari, whose appointment was confirmed by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on March 29, was serving as the Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office or PMO at the time of the announcement.

Her appointment took effect immediately.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ms Nidhi Tewari, IFS (2014), currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, in Level 12 of the pay matrix with immediate effect, on a co-terminus basis or until further orders, whichever is earlier," the Ministry of Personnel and Training said in its order.

Tewari hails from Mehmurganj in Varanasi, which is also the Prime Minister's Lok Sabha constituency.

Tewari worked as the Assistant Commissioner (Commercial Tax) in Varanasi before clearing the civil service examination.

She had secured 96th rank in the 2013 Civil Services Examination.

Tewari joined the PMO in November 2022 as the Under Secretary. She was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the PMO in 2023.

She also served the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) before her joining in the PMO.

She was a part of the Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division of the MEA.

Tewari banked on her expertise in international relations working for MEA in transitioning to the PMO, where she worked in the Foreign and Security section under National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.