Special post created: Ex-governor of RBI Shaktikanta Das 2nd principal secretary to PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Former RBI governor

Shaktikanta Das

has been appointed as principal secretary-2 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a post that has been created for the first time. The notification was made on Saturday by the appointments committee of the cabinet.
The appointment of Das, a 1980 batch

IAS officer

of Tamil Nadu cadre, would be co-terminus with the term of the PM. PK Mishra, a 1972 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, will continue as the current

principal secretary

to the PM.
Mishra, who worked with Modi during his stint as Gujarat CM, was appointed to the post in Sept 2019 and was initially additional principal secretary. Former cabinet secretary PK Sinha also served as additional principal secretary for a short while. The PMO also had two advisers in Amit Khare and Tarun Kapoor, both retired secretaries.
Das showed his mettle during demonetisation and lockdown

Shaktikanta Das, who was the 25th RBI governor, completed a six-year term in Dec after being given the job at a critical time. His predecessor Urjit Patel resigned abruptly after the relationship between the central bank and the govt soured over a raft of issues, including reducing rates to revive growth.

A former economic affairs secretary, Das took on the task of repairing the relationship between the central bank and the finance ministry, and unleashed a number of measures which helped both monetary and fiscal policy to work seamlessly and ushered in stability in the delicate relationship.
He improved the communication with the markets and helped open the central bank to the wider world with key officials interacting and communicating with all stakeholders, including the media.
During his long innings as a civil servant, Das handled many challenges deftly, earning the trust of his bosses.
Perhaps the toughest assignment for this soft-spoken bureaucrat was during the 2016 demonetisation drive. Das emerged as the face of the entire exercise and worked tirelessly with his team to ensure order and calm in the markets.
He also worked to make sure that the impact of the disruption was minimised and the transition was smooth. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Das used his more than 40 years of experience as a civil servant to ensure that the markets functioned smoothly.
Since the national lockdown was announced in late March 2020, a team of more than 200 personnel from RBI and services providers were holed up in four locations to ensure that the financial markets and the system across the country provided uninterrupted services.
An alumnus of St Stephen's College in the capital with a master's degree in history, Das has held important positions in the central and state governments in finance, taxation, industries, infrastructure and other sectors.
He was also member of the 15th Finance Commission and served as India's sherpa to

G20

.