Rajesh Malhotra has today assumed charge as Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau (PIB). Shri Malhotra takes over after the superannuation of Shri Satyendra Prakash.
Previously, Shri Rajesh Malhotra, an Indian Information Service (IIS) Officer of the 1989 batch, had been working in Ministry of Finance since January 2018. During the critical COVID-19 Pandemic, he effectively steered the media and communication policy in the Ministry of Finance in sync with the various AatmaNirbhar Bharat Packages announced by the Government of India over time to give relief to people and maintain economic balance.
Malhotra has over 32 years of operational experience in planning and implementation of Media & Communication strategies for various Central Government Ministries/ Departments including Finance, Company Affairs, Agriculture, Power, Coal, Mines, Communications & IT, Textiles, Labour, New & Renewable Energy. Further, he was associated with Election Commission of India as in-charge of media & communication for 21 years (1996-2017), thereby planning and implementing media & communication strategies during the six General Elections to the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament of India), along with several State Assembly Polls and elections for the President and Vice-President of India, conducted by the Election Commission. During this tenure, Shri Malhotra has worked closely with 12 Chief Election Commissioners.
Malhotra holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from IMT, Ghaziabad, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Media Laws from NALSAR, Hyderabad. Further, he has also been a part of the short-term course on Public Policy Analysis from University of California, Media Management & Strategies at Thomson Foundation, UK and the Programme on ‘Marketing: The Winning Concepts & Practices’ organised by IIM Lucknow at New Delhi. He is also a fellow member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India and also holds degree in Law.