Nripendra Misra named principal secretary to PM

Modi to start work early today

Narendra Modi has brought in former UP-cadre IAS officer Nripendra Misra to head his bureaucratic set-up in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The 1967-batch officer, who had retired from service in 2009, had met Modi recently, and was informed of the decision to make him principal secretary to the prime minister. Government sources said orders have already been issued to make his appointment official, since Modi will join the South Block office at 8 am on Tuesday. His staff will be officially introduced to him before he holds bilateral meetings an hour later with visiting Saarc dignitaries.

Modi is still to reshuffle PMO bureaucrats, but former Intelligence Bureau director Ajit Kumar Doval is set to become the National Security Adviser, who reports directly to the prime minister.

Misra replaces another UP-cadre IAS officer, Pulok Chatterjee, who had served as principal secretary to Manmohan Singh Misra’s government stint post-retirement included chairman of the Trai.

Unlike his predecessor Manmohan Singh, Modi stamped his belief in directly communicating with the people.

Hours before he took oath, Modi tweeted that he had asked the Cabinet secretary to take an “overview of the situation” and ensure “timely assistance to those injured” in the Gorakhdham Express accident.

Immediately after taking oath, Modi posted a message to the people of the country and world on the official PMO website, which sported a new look. “I envision this website as a very important medium of direct communication between us.

I am a firm believer in the power of technology and social media to communicate with people across the world. I hope this platform creates opportunities to listen, learn and share one’s views,” he said.

The BJP leader also announced that he would use this platform to often share “all the latest information about my speeches, schedules, foreign visits…” and “about innovative initiatives undertaken by the government”.

The revamped website has, in the “media gallery” slot, video clippings of his political campaign that ended in electoral victory, dethroning the Congress-led UPA government.