Rajesh Malhotra, a 1989-batch Indian Information Service (IIS) officer, on Wednesday assumed charge as Principal Director General (DG) of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
He has taken over as the Principal DG following superannuation Satyendra Prakash on Tuesday.
Malhotra has over 32 years of operational experience in planning and implementation of Media and Communication strategies for various Central Government Ministries/ Departments including Finance, Company Affairs, Agriculture, Power, Coal, Mines, Communications and IT, Textiles, Labour, New and Renewable Energy, as per a communique issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
He was associated with Election Commission of India as in-charge of media and communication for 21 years (1996-2017), thereby planning and implementing media and communication strategies during the six General Elections to the Lok Sabha, along with several State Assembly polls and elections for the President and Vice-President of India, conducted by the poll panel, the release said.
During this tenure, Malhotra had worked closely with 12 Chief Election Commissioners, it said.
Malhotra holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from IMT, Ghaziabad, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Media Laws from NALSAR, Hyderabad. He is also a fellow member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India and also holds a degree in Law, the statement said.
