Govt approves re-appointment of NSA Ajit Doval, PM’s Principal Secy P K Mishra

According to the orders, the appointment of both officials will be effective from June 10 and it will be “co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders whichever is earlier”. During the term of their office, they will be assigned the rank of Cabinet Minister in the Table of Precedence.

However, the “terms and conditions” of their appointment will be notified separately, according to the orders.

A 1972-batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, Mishra has been at the helm of affairs in the PMO for the past 10 years — first as the Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister during 2014-19, and then as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister since September 2019. He shares a special rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom he has worked in various capacities, since his days in Gujarat.

Former IPS officer Doval has been re-appointed as the NSA for a third time. He took over as the NSA in 2014.

In a separate order, the ACC also approved the appointment of former IAS officers Amit Khare and Tarun Kapoor as Advisors to the Prime Minister, in the PMO, in the rank and scale of Secretary to Government of India with effect from June 10. Their term will be for a period of two years with effect from June 10 or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the order said. It said their appointment is on contract basis as per usual terms and conditions.

A 1985-batch Jharkhand cadre IAS officer, Khare retired as Higher Education Secretary. He helped shape the new National Education Policy. Khare was appointed as advisor to the Prime Minister on a contract basis for two years on October 12, 2021. In September last year, he was given an extension.

Khare, who holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, took charge as the Higher Education Secretary in December 2019. He served as Information and Broadcasting Secretary between May 2018 and December 2019.

While in the PMO, Khare played a key role in the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra —a saturation drive launched by the government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Kapoor, a 1987-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre former IAS officer, was appointed as Advisor to the Prime Minister in the PMO in the rank and scale of Secretary to Government of India in May 2022.