Back as Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh has ensured continuity in South Block to help the transition from UPA I to UPA II.

While tenures of National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and PM’s Principal Secretary T K A Kutty Nair have been extended until further orders, four Joint Secretaries have been given extended tenures of two more years — Vinni Mahajan (1987 batch, Punjab cadre) has been asked to continue till April 2011; R Gopalakrishnan (1978, Madhya Pradesh) till September 2011; Ashish Kumar Singh (1988, Maharashtra) till June 2011; and Sanjay Mitra (West Bengal, 1982) till November 2011. The only other Joint Secretary in the PMO is Pankaj Saran, a Foreign Service officer, whose tenure is yet to get over.

PMO Secretary M N Prasad (1972, Bihar) is due to retire at the end of June. But his name is being considered for Member, UPSC on a fixed five-year tenure in place of former Civil Aviation Secretary K Roy Paul or for a year’s extension on contract. Prasad was even being considered for a fixed tenure of two years as Defence Secretary but present incumbent Vijay Singh retires on July 31, a month after Prasad.

Since the appointments of two special envoys, Shyam Saran and Satinder Kumar Lambah, were till further orders, there is no change. They will continue to advise the PM on Climate Change and policy on Pakistan respectively.

Incidentally, Pulok Chaterji, who was Secretary in the PMO and moved to World Bank as Executive Director before the Lok Sabha elections, met Manmohan Singh last week, sparking speculation that the 1974 batch UP cadre officer was returning to his old post in the PMO. Dr Sanjaya Baru, Prime Minister’s media advisor who moved to Singapore before the elections on personal grounds, also met Singh around the same time.

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