P.K. Misra, a 1972 IAS Gujarat cadre officer appears all set to take over as the new Principal Secretary to PM Modi. In the alphabet soup popular in Lutyens Delhi, M & M is now being known as M & S or PK 1 and PK 2. Ironically, the trinity which ran the PMO for PM Modi Act 1 were all from Vivekananda International Foundation including its founder Ajit Doval who has been a constant as the NSA in both innings.
Pramod Kumar Misra has served in various eminent positions for both central and Gujarat governments, such as the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue), Principal Secretary (Agriculture and Cooperation), Principal Secretary to the CM, member of the the Gujarat Electricity Board, and as the DM and Collector of Mehsana and Basnaskanta districts. Thereafter he was Union Agriculture Secretary and prior to that, Special Secretary in the Home Ministry and Urban Development Ministry.
He was also the member secretary of the NCR Planning Board. After his retirement from the Indian Administrative Service, Misra was appointed the chairman of Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) by the Gujarat CM of the time - Modi.
His term as the chairman of GERC came to an end on August 11, 2013, when he attained the age of 65.
Till recently Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha who has been brought into the PMO as OSD will replace Misra as the new Additional Principal Secretary. Sinha's third extension as Cabinet Secretary a post he held for over four years, made him the longest-serving Cabinet Secretary in history. A discreet demeanour, sheer competence and a single-point focus on delivery make him Mr Reliable.
An Uttar Pradesh cadre officer of the 1977 batch, Sinha, unlike many powerful bureaucrats in the present dispensation, had no experience of working with Modi during his years as the Gujarat CM. Nripendra Misra had also never worked directly with the PM in any capacity though he came from the powerful policy think tank Vivekananda International Foundation.
Immediately prior to this, the delivery-oriented Sinha, an economics student, was Union Power Secretary and Union Shipping Secretary and before that, Special Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Joint Secretary in the ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
( With inputs from IANS )