Former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das appointed second principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi

Former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

Former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das was appointed as Principal Secretary-2 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.  The appointment of  Shaktikanta Das was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Former governor of Reserve Bank of India Shaktikanta Das was on Saturday appointed the second Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri 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 read.

Shaktikanta Das was the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and he was in that post for a period of six years. Barely a year after Das took charge as the RBI governor, Covid hit the world. As a key economic policymaker, Das faced challenging times in managing the disruptions caused by the lockdown. He chose to cut the policy repo rate to a historic low of 4 per cent, continuing with the low-interest rate regime for almost two years to help the economy hit badly by lockdowns.

With the revival of the economy hit by COVID-19, the Das-headed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was quick to raise interest rates starting May 2022 to avoid overheating. Das was instrumental in ensuring that economic growth remained over 7 per cent in the last 4 years of his six-year term.

*With Agency Inputs