PMO's JEEVan: Modi has now 2 private secretaries – Rajeev, IAS and Sanjeev, IFS

The order appointing Singla as Modi's PS

ON SATURDAY, the Centre appointed prime minister Narendra Modi’s second private secretary: Sanjeev Kumar Singla, 1997 batch IFS officer currently posted in Israel. Only last month, a Gujarat cadre IAS of 1996 batch Rajeev Topno was appointed as Modi’s PS. According to convention, PM takes with him two private secretaries, one from IAS and another a career diplomat. BoI picks out 5 things about this mid-career diplomat:

1. Singla, a 1997 batch IFS officer, was given the Best All Round Probationers award in 63rd Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).
2. Is currently posted at Indian Embassy in Israel’s Tel Aviv. Jaideep Sarkar is India’s ambassador there.
3.  Singla had earlier worked as director to the then foreign secretary, Ranjan Mathai. Mathai is now Indian envoy to France. SM Krishna was the minister of external affairs then.
4. For sometime, Singla will alongside Vikram Misri, a 1989 batch IFS officer and PS to the earlier PM Manmohan Singh.  Misri is appointed as new ambassador to Spain.
5. Here is the Office Memorandum dated July 19, 2014 about Singla’s appointment as PS: “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Sanjeev Kumar Singla (IFS: 1997) to the post of Private Secretary to Prime Minister in place of Shri Vikram Misri (IFS: 1989)...It has also been approved that Shri Misri will continue till 31.07.2014 for overlap purpose”. The copy of the order was also issued to cabinet secretariat's joint secretary Ms Nivedita Shukla Verma and foreign secretary Sujatha Singh.
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