New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Principal Secretary, Nripendra Misra, on Friday expressed his intention to be relieved of his duties. However, PM Modi has asked him to continue for two weeks, principal government spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said. Misra has been with Modi in the PMO since 2014.
Former cabinet secretary P K Sinha has been appointed as officer on special duty by the Prime Minister, officials said.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi wrote: “ After serving the PMO assiduously and diligently for over five years and making an indelible contribution to India’s growth trajectory, Shri Nripendra Misra Ji will be embarking on a new phase of his life. My best wishes to him for his future endeavours.”
“Shri Nripendra Misra is among the most outstanding officers, who has a great grasp of public policy and administration. When I was new to Delhi in 2014, he taught me a lot and his guidance remains extremely valuable,” he added.
Nripendra Misra’s resignation comes at a time when India's economic growth dropped to a seven-year low of 5 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2019-20 due to a sharp deceleration in the manufacturing sector and sluggish agriculture output, according to official data released on Friday. The previous low was recorded at 4.9 per cent in April-June 2012-13. The economic growth was 8 per cent in the same quarter of 2018-19.
The Reserve Bank had marginally lowered the GDP growth projection for 2019-20 to 6.9 per cent from 7 per cent projected earlier in the June policy, and underlined the need for addressing growth concerns by boosting aggregate demand.
