IAS Officer Bharat Khera Assumes Charge As MSME Ministry Secretary

New Delhi, May 2 (KNN) Bharat Khera, a 1995-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre who previously served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, has taken charge as Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

Khera served for over five years as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence (2014–2020), handling Indian Air Force matters, coordinating Republic Day events (2017–2020), and overseeing the Border Roads Organisation and international cooperation.

He was also on the boards of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited, Goa Shipyard Limited and Hindustan Shipyard Limited, contributing to defence infrastructure and the Make in India programme.

He later served in the Cabinet Secretariat, handling Commerce & Industry and Technology during the Covid-19 period.

An engineering graduate from BITS Pilani, Khera holds an MPA from Syracuse University and has completed a public policy programme at Indian School of Business (ISB). He was also a Chevening Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

In Himachal Pradesh, he has held key roles including Home Secretary and Principal Secretary across multiple departments, and served as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister.

(KNN Bureau)