Nripendra Mishra Retained as PS to PM Modi, Gets Cabinet Minister Rank
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday formally re-appointed his two top aides, Nripendra Misra and PK Mishra for his second term in office. Both of them have been assigned the rank of a cabinet minister, according to orders issued by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet.
Nripendra Misra will continue to be principal secretary to the Prime Minister while PK Mishra will be Additional Principal Secretary.The two appointments will be co-terminus with the Prime Minister’s term, Tuesday’s order said.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved both the appointments with effect from May 31, an order issued by the personnel ministry said. Their appointments will be co-terminus with the term of the prime minister.
The new order places the two key officials on par with National Security Adviser AK Doval, who was last week elevated in the rank of cabinet minister.
The three officers were handpicked by PM Modi soon after his stunning 2014 victory when he started his first term. Officials said the PM Modi had then made up his mind on the three even before he took oath. They will continue to play a lead role in running the prime minister’s office in his second term also.
Nripendra Misra, a 1967-batch retired IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, had served in various capacities. His last assignment in the government was as the chief of the telecom regulator, TRAI.
Doval, an Indian Police Service officer, had exited the bureaucracy as Intelligence Bureau chief (DIB). PK Mishra, also a retired IAS officer, has worked closely with PM Modi since the days he was Gujarat Chief Minister. It was PK Mishra who had first introduced PM Modi to the intricacies of file work. At the PMO, among other things, he plays a key role in overseeing Modi’s governance initiatives and selecting officers with a track record to deliver.
