Yet another term for Ajit Doval; Pramod Kumar Mishra stays as Principal Secretary to Narendra Modi

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, June 13

After retaining core ministers in the Union Cabinet, PM Narendra Modi on Thursday opted for continuity in the PMO too by reappointing top two advisers, Pramod Kumar Mishra and Ajit Doval as Principal Secretary and National Security Adviser, respectively.

The appointments, effective from June 10, will be coterminous with the PM’s term or until further orders, whichever is earlier, according to government orders. Both Mishra and Doval will continue in the ranks of Cabinet ministers in the Table of Precedence.

2 others also retained

• Former bureaucrats Amit Khare (1985-batch, Jharkhand cadre) and Tarun Kapoor (1987-batch, Himachal cadre) have been retained as advisers to the PM
• Both appointments have been made in the rank and scale of Secretary to the govt for 2 years

Mishra (75) and Doval (79) were elevated to Cabinet ranks in 2019 in the Modi’s second term as PM.

The return of Mishra, a retired 1972-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre and Doval, a former Intelligence Bureau Director, signals PM’s stress on continuity in security and administrative policy besides reflecting the high level of trust he reposes in the duo. Doval’s tenure as NSA has seen major military actions — the 2015 surgical strike across the Myanmar border following the killing of 18 Army men in an ambush in Manipur; the 2016 surgical strike following a terror attack in Uri; and the 2019 airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan’s Balakot after the Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel on February 14 that year.

PM’s frequent “ghar mein ghus ke marenge” warning stems from these military actions. Earlier Doval, a 1968-batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, was the first cop to be awarded Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime bravery award, for his role in the 1988 Operation Black Thunder-II that was launched to take out terrorists holed up in the Golden Temple. Doval continues to be critical to the government amid ongoing LAC tension with China and had earlier worked with then Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar (now External Affairs Minister) to end the 73-day military standoff with China at Doklam.

PK Mishra was the Gujarat CM Modi’s Principal Secretary from 2001 to 2004 before he left for a Central deputation in 2004. The powerful officer is known to have aided Modi through the challenge of rebuilding Kutch after the 2001 earthquake that devastated the region and claimed over 20,000 lives.

Mishra retired as Union Agriculture Secretary (2006-2008) during the UPA-I rule. Modi, still the Gujarat CM at the time of Mishra’s retirement in 2008, appointed him the Chairman of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission for five years.

When Modi became the PM in 2014, he inducted PK Mishra into the PMO as Additional Principal Secretary, elevating him to Principal Secretary’s position in 2019.

Former bureaucrats Amit Khare (1985-batch Jharkhand cadre) and Tarun Kapoor (1987-batch Himachal cadre) have also been retained as advisers to the PM for two years, starting June 10.

Khare (62) has earlier served as Union Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, and Secretary, Higher Education. Kapoor (62) was the Petroleum Secretary.

Both appointments have been made in the rank and scale of secretary to the government for two years on contractual basis.

The appointments were notified before the PM left for Italy for the G7 summit.