1 July 2019 OUTLOOK 23
by Bhavna Vij-AuroraA
joke often heard in the corrid-
ors of power is that files had to
travel from ‘Pillai to Pillai’ in
the UPA government and now
things get settled much faster—
between Misra and Mishra.
There may not have been too many
‘Pill ais’ in Manmohan Singh’s govern-
ment, but there was surely a predomi-
nance of Malayali officers, including
many from the Kerala cadre. And
Misra and Mishra, or ‘Bade’ Misra and
‘Chhote’ Mishra, are PM Narendra
Modi’s principal secretary Nripendra
Misra and additional pri-
ncipal secretary P.K. Mis-
hra. Along with national
security adviser Ajit Dov-
al, they form the fulcrum
of Modi’s PMO, and all
three have been given the
status of cabinet minis-
ters, making them senior
to the MoS in the PMO,
Jit endra Singh, in the
table of precedence. Earl-
ier, when their position
was equivalent to that of
an MoS, protocol allowed
a cabinet minister to call
Mishra to his office to dis-
cuss matters of transfers,
postings and appoint-
ments. Not anymore.
“Power was centralised in
the PMO even during
Modi’s first term, but this
PMO will wield even more
power as cabinet rank gives
these bureaucrats more
authority,” says a senior IAS
officer. “The PM has enough
confidence in them to give
them the authority to dic
tate terms by enhancing
their status in the hierar
chy.” According to this officer, this was
also necessitated after the PM’s trusted
diplomat S. Jaishankar, a 1977 batch IFS
officer, was made external affairs minister.
“The three PMO officers are senior to him
in the civil services and the PM wanted to
avoid a situation where they had to report
to their junior,” he explains.
A former bureaucrat says Modi, since
his days as Gujarat CM, has always bel
ieved in a more centralised, closeknit
bureaucracy he can bank on to deliverresults. “For his first term, Modi could say
he had to deal with the mess left behind
by the UPA, but no longer. The next five
years have to be bigger than the previous
five in terms of outcomes,” he adds.
The task of the government is cut out:
build on and expand the PM’s pet projects
and social schemes such as Ujjwala, Awas
Yojana and Ayushman Bharat; turna
round the economy with more jobs, dou
ble farm incomes, and reforms for ease of
business; and continue with “offensive
defence” as foreign policy visàvis the
neighbourhood. The playbook heavily
relies on bureaucracy to deliver results,
and the PM has his trusted team of
bureaucrats. “As the first
sitting CM to become PM,
Modiji brought many of his
bureaucrats from Gujarat,”
says a Gujarat BJP leader.
“He preferred those who
understood his way of
functioning and his expec
tations. The familiarity has
made him continue with
many of them.”
Mishra was Modi’s princi
pal secretary in the CM’s
office. As was Girish Cha
ndra Murmu, who is now
secretary in the dep artment
of expenditure, and is part
of Modi’s trusted closeknit
team working on the crucial
budget. Others in the team
include finance secretary
Subhash Chandra Garg,
revenue secretary Ajay
Bhushan Pandey and dep
artment of investment and
public asset mana gement
(DIPAM) secretary Atanu
Chak raborty, also from the
Gujarat cadre.
The previous finance sec
retary Hasmukh Adhia, one
of the few who were aware
of Modi’s dem onetisation decision, was
also from the Gujarat cadre and has been
appointed chairman of Bank of Baroda
after retirement. Arvind Kumar Sharma,
once known as the Vibrant Gujarat man
for his role in Modi’s signature campaign
to att ract investment, is another powerful
Gujaratcadre officer in the PMO. Also
known as AK, he has worked with Modi
since 2001 and, as additional secretary in
charge of infrastructure, now handles
Pragati, the PM’s monthly interactionNRIPENDRA MISRA, 74
Principal secretary to the PM
1967-batch UP-cadre IAS
The PM’s troubleshooter, he is on top
of contentious issues like Dalit
violence, reservations for the
economically backward and jobs data.
The PMO’s pointsman for all minis-
tries, he is responsible for policy
decisions. He lays down the roadmap
for bureaucrats and keeps up the
pressure on timelines of projects.
AJIT DOVAL, 74
National security adviser
1968-batch Kerala-cadre IPS
He is credited for the muscular
approach to national security that
also pervades Modi government’s
foreign policy. The Uri surgical strike
across the LoC and the Balakot air
attack that found resonance with
voters in the run-up to the Lok
Sabha elections are a brainchild of
Doval. Straddling security,
intelligence, defence and diplomacy,
Doval is now working on a national
security blueprint.
PRAMOD K. MISHRA, 70
Additional principal secretary to the PM
1972-batch Gujarat-cadre IAS
Misra enjoys complete trust of the PM,
having served as his principal secretary
when Modi was the chief minister of
Gujarat. In the PMO, he is in charge of
top-level postings and transfers in the
government and recently nudged the
finance ministry to do a clean-up—
several senior officers of the Central
Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
were compulsorily retired.
SUBHASH C.
GARG, 58
Finance secretary
1983-batch Rajasthan-
cadre IAS
At a time when the
economy needs a
booster dose, Modi has
put his trust in Garg,
considered one of the
better number-crunch-
ers. Given the unenvi-
able task of reviving the
economy and creating
jobs, Garg has to draw a
roadmap for reforms to
promote ease of doing
business and economic
growth. He is known to
have a good equation
with the RBI and SEBI.Photograph: TRIBHUVAN TIWARI