Nripendra Misra, the 1967 batch retired IAS officer who has been Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s key aide for five years, has expressed his intention to step down, a senior government functionary familiar with the development said.
PM Modi has requested Nripendra Misra to continue for two weeks and appointed former Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha, also a retired UP cadre officer, as Officer on Special Duty in the PMO.
Misra was one of the first retired bureaucrats inducted into the Prime Minister’s Office after Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2014 national elections.
When PM Modi returned to power with a bigger majority in May, he had retained his core team at the PMO to build on their strengths: Nripendra Misra’s expertise in economy and delivery, additional principal secretary Pramod Kumar Misra’s management of key bureaucratic appointments and probity in the government, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval handling of national security.
Nripendra Misra’s decision to exit the PMO is being attributed to personal reasons.