The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) in an order said, “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Govind Mohan, IAS (SK:89), Secretary, Ministry of Culture as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with immediate effect.

"The officer will take over as Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs vice Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, IAS (AM: 84) on completion of his tenure on 22.08.2024.”   

Mohan had a substantial tenure in the MHA as Additional Secretary looking after border management.

He also held additional charge of the Land Port Authority (LPA) as its Chairman. This authority functions under the MHA. During his stint as the LPA chairman, he oversaw the construction of the Indian side of the historical Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims.

In bureaucratic circles it is believed that Mohan’s rise among the officers is due to his ‘seemingly’ extraordinary performance as the nodal MHA official who dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also said that he is workaholic and puts in as many as 18 hours a day to his job.

Mahan is a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, which he completed during July 1986-88, where he specialised in marketing, organisational behaviour and finance (including public finance) and marketing.

He also holds a BTech degree from IIT affiliated to the BHU in Varanasi in electrical engineering. 

Earlier he has also held positions in the MHA as Joint Secretary. He headed the Union Territories (UT) division of the MHA.

Before his stint in the MHA, Mohan served as Joint Secretary, Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance. Here he co-ordinated the signing of the bilateral investment treaties with foreign countries, framing of a comprehensive investment framework for India besides formulating a policy for India on fintech.

Before coming on Central deputation, Mohan had a short stint of 27 months in Rajasthan as a powerful secretary to the then Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. But for some reason, Raje developed ‘temperamental differences’ with him. This forced Mohan to opt for a central deputation.

Mohan had also served in the Indian mission in the United States as Minister (Economic) and coordinated issues of selected Ministries and Departments of Government of India with corresponding entities of the Government of USA.

As Joint Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, he was given special assignments relating to prices and inflation. development of a natural gas grid. transparency in allotment of natural resources and development of inland waterways.

Before leaving for Jaipur, Mohan held the position of Principal Resident Commissioner, Government of Sikkim in New Delhi.