NEW DELHI, Feb 22:
Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das was today appointed the second Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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P K Mishra, a retired IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, is currently serving as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
According to an official order, the tenure of Das, a retired IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, will be “co-terminus” with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
This is the first time that two persons will simultaneously serve as principal secretaries to the Prime Minister. Both Mishra and Das are from Odisha.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shaktikanta Das, IAS (Retired), as Principal Secretary-2 to Prime Minister with effect from the date he assumes the office. His appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the order said.
Sixty-eight-year old Das has been a career civil servant with over 44 years of distinguished service, primarily in the areas of finance, taxation, investment and infrastructure.
He was the Central Government’s revenue secretary. During his tenure as economic affairs secretary in 2016, the Modi Government had announced the demonetisation.
Das played a key role when multiple indirect taxes were merged into one GST, which came into effect on July 1, 2017. Post-retirement, he was appointed as a member of the 15th Finance Commission and G20 Sherpa of India.
Das became the 25th Governor of the RBI in 2018 after Urjit Patel resigned.
Initially appointed for three years, his tenure was extended for a further period of three years in 2021. He demitted office in December 2024 when Sanjay Malhotra was appointed as RBI Governor.
Das was the second longest serving governor of the RBI in its 90-year history after Benegal Rama Rau, who had a seven-and-a-half-year tenure in the 1950s.
Das, a 1980-batch IAS officer, holds a Master’s degree in history from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and a postgraduate degree in public administration from the University of Birmingham.(PTI)
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