New Home Secy Madhukar Gupta has Internal Security as Priority

New Delhi, Mar 31 (UNI) Internal security shall be a Priority Area for Senior bureaucrat Madhukar Gupta who took over today as Union Home Secretary.

Mr Gupta, an IAS Officer of the 1971 batch and belonging to the Uttarakhand Cadre, returns to the Home Ministry after a gap of almost 10 years -- he was earlier Joint Secretary in charge of Jammu&Kashmir in the Ministry for five years.

Mr Gupta succeeds VK Duggal who retired today. He will have a tenure of two years as Union Home Secretary.

Talking informally to mediapersons shortly after assuming charge here, the new Home Secretary said his Key Priority Area will be Internal Security besides Centre-State Relations, Police Reforms and Disaster Management -- the last not on the Home Ministry agenda when he was attached to it almost a decade ago.

''I pray to God that no disaster takes place... and Disaster Management never accorded Priority status,'' said Mr Gupta in a jocular vein.

Mr Gupta has held important positions including Secretary in the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as also Department of Fertilisers; Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Vice Chairman; and Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand.

Mr Gupta's father Dr Anand Swarup Gupta has been a senior IPS Officer. Two of his brothers are in the IAS besides a third in the Indian Foreign Service.

UNI