The Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) is the chief advisor to the government on matters related to scientific policy. It is currently a Secretary level position created in 1999 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. At the time, the position was a Cabinet rank position, with the first PSA being A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. This was followed by Rajagopala Chidambaram who held the rank of a Minister of State and was the PSA for 16 years. The current PSA is Ajay Kumar Sood. The 'Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser', through the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) helps scientific cross-sectoral synergy across ministries, institutions and the industry. From Wikipedia
