After independence, in 1949 an Economic Committee of the Cabinet was set up with its Secretariat at Ministry of Finance. In 1950 this was transferred to Cabinet Secretariat and designated as Economic Wing and ultimately merged with the Secretariat in 1955. In 1954, the Organisation and Methods Division was established under the Cabinet Secretariat which was later transferred to Ministry of Home Affairs during 1964.

In 1957, the Defence Committee of the Cabinet was constituted under Cabinet Secretariat for which officers were drawn from the Defence services. This wing was transferred during 1991 to the Ministry of Defence. Department of Statistics was created in 1961 under Cabinet Secretariat which was transferred to Ministry of Planning in Feb. 1973. Department of Special Economic Coordination was set up under Cabinet Secretariat in 1962 and later transferred to Ministry of Economic Defence Coordination and at present the Department does not exist. The Intelligence Wing was set up to provide secretarial assistance to the Joint Intelligence Committee in 1965.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises was brought under the Cabinet Secretariat for short duration from Jan. 1966 to June, 1966 and later transferred to Deptt. of Economic Affairs under Ministry of Finance and later during 1985 to the Deptt. of Public Enterprises under Ministry of Industry.

In June, 1970 three departments namely:

• Department of Electronics
• Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and
• Department of Personnel

were created under Cabinet Secretariat and in July, 1970 Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence-cum-Directorate of Enforcement was set up under Deptt. of Cabinet Affairs under Cabinet Secretariat and later this directorate was shifted to Department of Personnel in August, 1970.

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research became independent department in May, 1971.

The Department of Electronics became independent department in 1971 and the Department of Personnel became independent. Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms were transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs from the Cabinet Secretariat. At present it is a part of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension with a bifurcation as Department of Personnel and training and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.

Department of Ocean Development was created in July 1981 under Cabinet Secretariat and became independent department in Feb. 1982.

Directorate Of Public Grievances (DPG)

The Directorate of Public Grievances was set up in the Cabinet Secretariat in March, 1988. This Directorate entertains grievances from the public. Citizens can file grievances, either on paper or online with the Directorate of Public Grievance in respect of Departments/organizations which have extensive public interface such as MTNL/BSNL, Railways, Posts, Insurance Companies, Public Sector Bank, etc.

Depending on nature and gravity of the grievances, the Directorate either seeks comments or transfers the same for appropriate action to the concerned Department(s).

National Authority, Chemical Weapons Convention (NA, CWC)

National Authority, Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was set up by a resolution of Cabinet Secretariat dated 5th May 1997 to fulfill the obligations enunciated in the Chemical Weapons Convention initially signed by 130 countries in a conference which concluded on 14th January 1993 for the purpose prohibiting of the development, production, execution, transfer, use and stockpiling of all chemical weapons by Member-States is a non-discriminatory process. To fulfill its obligations, each State Party has to designate or establish a National Authority to serve as the national focal point for effective liaison with Organization for Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons and other State Parties and hence the NA, CWC under the administrative control of the Cabinet Secretariat was set up.

The National Authority is headed by the Chairperson who is in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India and is supported by a suitable Technical Secretariat to look after the various functions. A High Level Steering Committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary with Secretary (Chemical and Petrochemicals), Foreign Secretary, Secretary, Defence Research & Development, Defence Secretary and Chairman, National Authority as its other members would oversee the functions of the National Authority. The National Authority, CWC is responsible for implementation of CWC Act, liaison with CWC and other State parties, Collection of data fulfilling of declaration obligations, negotiating facility agreements, coordinating OPCW inspections, providing appropriate facilities for training national inspectors and industry personnel, ensuring protection of confidential business information, checking declarations for consistency, accuracy and completeness, registration of entitles engaged in activities related to CWC etc.

Direct Benefit Transfer(DBT) Mission

DBT is a major reform initiative where benefits, cash or in-kind, are delivered directly to identified beneficiaries using Aadhaar. It envisages efficiency and inclusion in the delivery processes leading to greater accountability and transparency in the system.

DBT Mission was created in the Planning Commission to act as a nodal point for implementation of DBT. The Mission was transferred to the Department of Expenditure in July’13 and shifted to Cabinet Secretariat w.e.f. 14.09.2015.

Office of Principal Scientific Adviser (O/o PSA)

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (O/o of PSA) was set-up in November, 1999  , primarily to:

• Evolve polices, strategies and missions for the generation of innovations and support systems for multiple applications,
• Generate science and technology tasks in critical infrastructure, economic and social sectors in partnership with Government departments, institutions and industry,

Office of PSA also services the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC)

Office of PSA has been placed administratively under the Cabinet Secretariat in August, 2018.