Team News Riveting
Raipur, July 2
Former Governor of Chhattisgarh and retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Shekhar Dutt passed away in New Delhi on Wednesday.
He was 80 and breathed his last at AIIMS in New Delhi where he was admitted following major health issue.
Dutt was the fourth Governor of Chhattisgarh and assumed the office on January 23, 2010. He served the post till his resignation on June 18, 2014.
Dutt belongs to the 1969 batch of IAS from Madhya Pradesh cadre. Dutt became a short service commission officer in the Indian Army. He was awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry while serving with 218 Medium Regiment during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He held various posts in the Madhya Pradesh government, including Principal Secretary in the Department of Tribal and Scheduled Caste Welfare and Principal Secretary, Departments of School Education, Sports and Youth Welfare.
Dutt was appointed Secretary of the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homeopathy in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India. As Director General of the Sports Authority of India, Dutt played a role in the hosting of the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad, India in November 2003.
He eventually became the Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence Production and later took over as the Defence Secretary of India in 2005. In July 2007, Dutt retired as Defence Secretary and was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor for a two-year term.
In September 2009, Dutt was named to the board of trustees of DeSales University.
Chhattisgarh Governor Ramen Deka and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the passing away of Shekhar Dutt.
