Saturday, August 31, 2019

Principal Secretary to Modi quits PMO

Misra is likely to be appointed Delhi L-G

31/08/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,AHMEDABAD


Nripendra Misra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s top bureaucratic aide and Principal Secretary (PS) since 2014, Nripendra Misra, quit on Friday, prompting a rejig in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). He, however, will continue for two more weeks on Mr. Modi’s request.

Mr. Modi has appointed outgoing Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the PMO.

Top sources told The Hindu that P.K. Mishra, currently Additional PS to the Prime Minister, is set to replace Mr. Misra, and Mr. Sinha will become the Additional PS. The sources indicated that Mr. Misra is likely to be appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi.

“Shri Nripendra Misra is among the most outstanding officers, who has a great grasp of public policy and administration. When I was new to Delhi in 2014, he taught me a lot and his guidance remains extremely valuable,” Mr. Modi tweeted.

According to Mr. Modi, Mr. Misra had helped him not just on a personal capacity but had been an important aide in the past five years in the PMO. He added that Mr. Misra, 74, had expressed his wish to quit after the election, but had continued on his request.

In a press statement, Mr. Misra, a U.P.-cadre IAS officer who served as Secretary, Telecom, and Secretary, Fertilizers, and also as chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, thanked Mr. Modi for the opportunity to work in the PMO and for placing complete faith in him. “I am deeply grateful to him for this opportunity and the complete confidence he has placed in me,” he said.

A number of appointments were made in the PMO on Friday. Arvind Shrivastava, Joint Secretary, Economic Affairs, Finance Ministry, has been shifted to the PMO. Four Deputy Secretaries were also appointed — Gujarat-cadre IAS officer Hardik Shah, currently Private Secretary to the Union Environment Minister; two Indian Foreign Service officers, Abhishek Shukla of the 2006 batch and Pratik Mathur of the 2007 batch; and Saurabh Shukla of the Indian Audit & Accounts Service.

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