Bharat Khera has assumed charge as Secretary of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India. He is a 1995-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre with more than three decades of administrative experience. Prior to this posting he served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs. He has held key assignments across central and state governments, providing operational and policy expertise. He served over five years as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence from November 2014 to February 2020, where he handled Indian Air Force matters and coordinated national ceremonial events for four consecutive years. He also oversaw the Border Roads Organisation and international cooperation, and contributed to defence infrastructure and Make in India initiatives. He was a board member of major shipyards, including Mazagon Dock and Garden Reach. He subsequently served as Joint Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat for nearly two years, managing commerce, industry and technology verticals and contributing to strategic policy making during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Himachal Pradesh he held senior posts including Home Secretary and Principal Secretary for departments such as Public Works, State Taxes and Excise, Information and Public Relations, and Power. Earlier in his career he served as managing director of the state road transport corporation, the state industrial development corporation and a horticultural marketing company. An Electronics Engineer from BITS Pilani, he holds a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University, and completed an Advanced Management Programme in Public Policy at the Indian School of Business. He was a Chevening Gurukul Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. As Secretary, MSME he is committed to strengthening a sector that contributes over 30 per cent to India's GDP and supports employment generation, manufacturing and exports in realising the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.