Shaktikanta Das appointed as second Principal Secretary to PM Narendra Modi

Former governor of Reserve Bank of India Shaktikanta Das was appointed the second Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 22.

His appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier. As the ACC order, he will be serving as PS to PM along with Dr P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister-1. 

Das demitted the office of RBI governor on December 10, marking the end of his six-year tenure as the 25th Governor of the central bank. The 25th governor of Reserve Bank of India has also acted as India's G20 Sherpa and member, 15th Finance Commission. 

In December 2018, Das was the government's surprise pick as the leader of the central bank. He succeeded Urjit Patel. In 2021, the government gave Das an extension of three years. There were reports last month of a second extension for the hawkish RBI governor. The extension would have made him the longest-serving head of the Reserve Bank in nearly 70 years.

The 67-year-old, who hails from Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar, is a 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre. During his career, he served in various capacities for the Union and Tamil Nadu governments. With the Centre, he served as Economic Affairs Secretary, Revenue Secretary and Fertilizers Secretary at various stages.

Das is an alma mater of Delhi's prestigious St Stephen's College.