[2] Additional secretary is mostly a career civil servant,[3][4][5] generally from the Indian Administrative Service,[6] and is a government official of high seniority.

[13][14][15][16] Sir Richard Tottenham, ICS had once expressed "In my opinion there is, or should be, no distinction of function, but only of pay between a joint and an additional Secretary.

"[17] Additional secretary is the overall in charge with the necessary measure of independent functioning and responsibility of the wing of the department allocated and entrusted to him.

They are allotted Type-V (D-II and D-I) and Type-VI (C-II) apartments in areas like New Moti Bagh across Delhi by the Ministry of Urban Development (Directorate of Estates).

[25][3] Non-IAS civil services have complained to Government of India because of lack of empanelment in the rank/post of additional secretary on numerous occasions.