Ajit Doval, a spymaster of great repute and P.K. Mishra an extremely experienced Bureaucrat have been re - given another five- year tenure as NSA and Principal Secretary (PS) to PM respectively with effect from June 10, 2014. For Doval, it is a third straight innings which is unprecedented as the NSA.
Both Doval and Mishra will be assigned the rank of Cabinet Minister in the Table of Precedence and Terms and conditions for both of them would be issued separately.
An IPS officer of the 1968 batch from Kerala cadre, Doval retired as IB chief in 2005. He was first appointed as NSA on 30th May 2014 and subsequently reappointed on 31st of May 2019. During his first stint also, Doval was instrumental in delivering surgical strikes at terrorist bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the Uri attack. Also, he is also credited to have had contributed towards the national security by his involvement in the Balakot airstrike after the Pulwama attack.
At 79, Doval is known for his negotiating skills predominantly during the 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 to Kandahar. He served the IB for over 33 years in areas like the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Punjab, and even the United Kingdom. Doval and Mishra are considered to be advisers to Modi.
While Doval, as NSA, will be direct overall issues of national security. Mishra will take care of the admin part, including appointments and ACC led by Modi. Mishra, a seasoned bureaucrat from the 1972 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Gujarat cadre, served as Additional Principal Secretary in Modi’s first term from 2014 to 2019. He was reappointed on May 31, 2019, during Modi’s second term and became Principal Secretary in September 2019, with his term tied to Modi’s tenure.
At 75, Mishra previously served as Principal Secretary to Modi during his time as Gujarat Chief Minister from 2001 to 2004. He also worked as Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture from December 2006 to August 2008.
The ACC also approved the appointments of Amit Khare and Tarun Kapoor, former IAS officers, as Advisors to the PM for two more years with effect from 10 June 2024. Khare, a 1985 batch officer from the Jharkhand cadre, was appointed in October 2021, with his term extended on a co-terminus basis with the PM’s tenure. Kapoor, a 1987 batch officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre, became an advisor in May 2022 for a two-year period.
Read Also | Canadian Diplomat Condemns Promotion of Violence by Pro-Khalistani Elements
