Pramod Kumar Mishra: Veteran IAS Officer and Architect of Key Administrative Reforms in India
Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra, serving as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1972 Gujarat cadre, who has held this position since 2019.Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra was born on August 11, 1948, in the Sambalpur district of Odisha. He completed his primary education in the Sambalpur district of Odisha, after which he pursued higher studies at the Delhi School of Economics, where he earned a Master’s degree. Subsequently, he obtained a Ph.D. in Economics and Development Studies from the University of Sussex in the UK. Career On September 11, 2019, he was appointed as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India. In addition to serving as the Additional Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, he has held various significant positions in both the Government of India and the Government of Gujarat. These roles include Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Member of the Gujarat Electricity Board, and District Magistrate and Collector for the Mehsana and Banaskantha districts within the Gujarat government. Furthermore, within the Government of India, he has served as the Union Agriculture Secretary, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Secretary in the Ministry of Urban Development, and as a Member of the National Capital Region Planning Board. After retiring from the Indian Administrative Service, he was appointed by the Chief Minister of Gujarat as the Chairman of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission. His tenure as the Commission’s Chairman concluded on August 11, 2013, at which time he had reached the age of 65. Upon Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister, Dr. Mishra was appointed as the Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. He was accorded this position with the rank and status of a Cabinet Secretary—considered the highest bureaucratic post in the Government of India—and was subsequently re-appointed to this role. Alongside Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra, the effective Principal Secretary, Mr. Nripendra Mishra, was also re-appointed; these appointments were designated to run concurrently with Prime Minister Modi’s tenure. Awards In 2019, he was honored with the prestigious United Nations Sasakawa Award for his outstanding contributions to disaster risk reduction.