which had created the office of the secretary of state for india
Secretary of State for India The Secretary of State for India or India Secretary was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of the British Raj (India), Aden, and Burma. The post was created in 1858 when the East India Company's rule in Bengal ended and India except for the Princely States was brought under the direct administration of the government in London, beginning the official colonial period under the British Empire.
1946 Cabinet Mission to India The United Kingdom Cabinet Mission of 1946 to India aimed to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian leadership, with the aim of preserving India's unity and granting it independence. Formulated at the initiative of Clement Attlee, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the mission had Lord Pethick-Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, Sir Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade, and A. V. Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, did not participate in every step but was present.