New Delhi: After the oath taking ceremony of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government Saturday,and allotment of cabinet portfolios, the action will shift to the appointments to be made to the half-a-dozen top bureaucratic positions that will fall vacant in the next two to four months.
These include the three top posts in the government — cabinet secretary, home secretary and foreign secretary that are due to be vacant between August and October 2024. Government sources indicated there is a strong likelihood that the incumbent principal secretary to the Prime Minister, P.K. Mishra, might not continue for a third term in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Besides, RBI governor Shaktikantha Das’s term is also getting over in December.
The extension of cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, the topmost bureaucrat in the country, is getting over on 30 August. A 1982 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS, Gauba was appointed cabinet secretary in 2019 for a period of two years. He has been given three extensions since then.
Government sources indicated that the next cabinet secretary could be picked from the 1987 batch. Several officers from the 1987 batch are currently heading key ministries in the Centre and the state governments. These include finance secretary T.V.S. Somanathan, steel secretary N.N. Sinha, department of economic affairs (DEA) secretary Ajay Seth, department of drinking water and sanitation secretary Vini Mahajan, Gujarat chief secretary Raj Kumar, Jharkhand chief secretary Sukhdeo Singh, and Bihar chief secretary Amir Subhani, among others.
The term of Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla, who is on an extension, is due to end on 22 August.
The tenure of the 1984 batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre officer, who was appointed home secretary in August 2019, has been extended four times since November 2020, when he retired.
Another top bureaucrat whose extension is ending in October 2024 is foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra. The Modi government had appointed Kwatra, a 1988 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, foreign secretary in April 2022. His term was first extended till 30 April, 2024, and then further extended till October end.
Besides the top three posts, government sources said P.K. Mishra, principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi, is unlikely to continue in the third term of the Modi government. There are speculations that the 75-year-old top aide of Modi could be replaced by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba.
Mishra, a 1972 Gujarat cadre officer had moved to the PMO as additional principal secretary in 2014 after Modi took over as PM. Prior to that, he has worked as principal secretary to Modi, when he was the Gujarat chief minister. In 2019, during the Modi government’s second term, he was appointed principal secretary following the resignation of the then principal secretary Nripendra Misra.
The term of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, who got a second three-year extension in 2021, is also due to end in December. Das was appointed RBI governor for a three-year term in December 2018, which was extended again in 2021 for another three years. There are speculations in the government that finance secretary T.V.S. Somanathan may replace Das.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) could also see a full-time director under Modi 3.0. The government did not appoint a full-time director after Sanjay Mishra’s retirement in September 2023. Mishra was appointed the ED chief in November 2018 for a period of two years, which was later extended till 2023.
Rahul Navin, a 1993-batch Indian Revenue Service officer was appointed the acting director after Mishra’s term ended.
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