Pranab Mukherjee knows how to reward his loyalists. His aides have never been let down. His private secretary for two years, Anil Verma, a 1989-batch West Bengal cadre IAS officer, is going to break into the preserve of the IFS lobby, being posted to the Indian High Commission in London as the Minister (economic affairs). Not too long ago, Mukherjee had got his trusted aide of many years, Omita Paul, who served as his advisor in the Defence and Finance ministries, appointed as an Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission. Now, Paul has re-joined Mukherjee as his advisor. Vikram Misri, who was director during Mukherjee’s term in the MEA, was sent as the deputy chief of mission in Sri Lanka last year.