Union minister Arun Jaitley, who is recovering from a kidney transplant, may be back at work by the first or second week of August.

For now, the 65-year-old minister has almost no physical contact with the outside world. Being a kidney recipient, he is highly susceptible to post-operative infections.

A senior official, who is in constant touch with him through video-conferencing, said Jaitley has been kept in isolation and is not allowed to meet even his family members.

The official said the minister may have lost a few kilos due to a critical surgery but otherwise, he is “very active” and even reads online. A team of doctors including nephrologist, cardiologist and endocrinologist are closely monitoring his recovery. His official residence at Krishna Menon Marg has been turned into a mini-hospital for the time being, he said.

A close friend, who defined him as a “gregarious” person, said, “he is fit and fine and wishes to come back to work as soon as possible”.

“It is difficult for him to stay in isolation without meeting people for a long time. He talks over the phone to friends and sounds quite okay. If in a good mood, he talks for more than 10-15 minutes. He keeps a close watch on politics and other developments,” according to the friend, who said it is possible that Jaitley will make a brief appearance in the House during the Monsoon session of Parliament.

“Doctors are hopeful, he will return to work by mid-August if all goes well”.

Jaitley may not be coming to office but has been holding important meetings with finance and other ministry officials and group of ministers through video conferencing. On the day of his discharge from AIIMS on June 4, Jaitley held his first meeting with finance ministry officials and took stock of the situation.

Before that, during his one-month stay in the hospital after his surgery on May 14, Jaitley worked from a controlled environment.

Barring a brief lull last month, Jaitley has been active on the social media platform throughout. He has been writing on the Facebook on various issues including on sticky ones defending the government.