Odia Bureaucrat Gets Extension, Cabinet Rank In PMO

New Delhi: Odisha-born retired IAS officer Pramod Kumar Mishra continues to enjoy the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as is evidence from the decision of the central government to give him and another senior bureaucrat Nripendra Misra an extension and cabinet ranks in the Prime Minister’s Office, reported Economics Times.

Misra, a retired IAS officer of 1967-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Mishra, a 1972-batch officer of the Gujarat cadre, is the Additional Principal Secretary.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Nripendra Misra, IAS(Retired) as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister with effect from 31. May, 2019. His appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” an official statement said.

PM Modi had handpicked the Odia IAS officer and re-employed him after retirement in 2009 after he assumed office for the first term in 2014.

A native of Sambalpur district, Mishra is an alumnus of Gangadhar Meher College. He then pursued a Master’s degree in Economics in Delhi School of Economics and completed his PhD in Development Economics from the University of Sussex.

Mishra has also authored books, The Kutch Earthquake 2001: Recollections, Lessons and Insights and Agricultural Risk Insurance and Income.