Nripendra Misra (born 8March 1945) is an Indian

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", wh ...

and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. An

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian ...

(IAS) officer of the 1967 batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, he served as the

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India (PS to the PM; ISO: ''Bhārat Ke Pradhānmantrī Ke Pradhān Saciv'') is the administrative head of the Prime Minister's Office. The officeholder is generally a retired civil servant, mostl ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

from 2014 to 2019. He earlier served as the chairperson of the

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a regulatory body set up by the Government of India under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997. It is the regulator of the telecommunications sector in India. ...

, as the Telecom Secretary of India and the Fertilizers Secretary of India. He was awarded India's third highest civilian award the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 2021. His son Saket Misra is a nominated Member of Legislative Council in Government of Uttar Pradesh since April 2023.

Education

Misra has an

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * M ...

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

from

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and has a postgraduate degrees in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

from the

University of Allahabad The University of Allahabad is a Central university (India), Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). ...

Career

As an IAS officer

Misra served in various positions for both the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

and the

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (International Organization for Standardization, ISO: ''Uttara Pradēśa Sarakāra''; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appoin ...

as an IAS officer, he served in positions such as

Principal Secretary Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Servi ...

(

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

-II),

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is the head of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the Governor (India), governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minis ...

, member of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Revenue, chairperson and chief executive officer of

Greater NOIDA Greater Noida is a planned city located in the Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was created as an extension of the area under the ''UP Industrial Area Development Act, of 1976''. Situated southeast ...

, secretary in the now-erstwhile Department of Institutional Finance, Taxation and Excise and as a special secretary in the Department of Finance in the

Uttar Pradesh government The Government of Uttar Pradesh (ISO: ''Uttara Pradēśa Sarakāra''; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the Pres ...

; and as Union Telecom Secretary and chairperson of Telecom Commission, Union Fertilizers Secretary,

additional secretary Additional Secretary (often abbreviated as AS, GoI or Union Additional Secretary or Additional Secretary to Government of India) is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for creation of thi ...

looking after

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

affairs in the

Ministry of Commerce A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

, and as a joint secretary in Department of Economic Affairs of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

in the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

. Misra also served as Minister (Economic) in India's embassy to the United States in Washington, D.C. from August 1985 to July 1988. Misra further served as a consultant to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

, the

International Fund for Agricultural Development The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. It is the on ...

and the

Government of Nepal The Government of Nepal () is the central executive authority of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The government is led by the Prime Minister of Nepal, prime minister (K. P. Sharma Oli, K.P. Oli since 15 July 2024) who selects all the o ...

Fertilizers Secretary of India

Misra was appointed as the Fertilizers Secretary of India by the

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

in January 2002 and demitted it in January 2004, serving for approximately two years.

Telecom Secretary of India

Misra was appointed as the Telecom Secretary of and chairperson of Telecom Commission by the

in January 2004 and retired from service in March 2005, serving for more than a year.

Post-retirement

Chairperson of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

After his retirement from the Indian Administrative Service, Misra was appointed as the chairperson of the

(TRAI) in March 2006, succeeding another retired IAS officer,

Pradip Baijal Pradip Baijal is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) who retired as the chief of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Baijal held several senior administrative positions in the Ministry of Finance and Industries a ...

, Misra demitted the office of chairperson of TRAI in March 2009, serving as the regulator's head for threeyears and was succeeded by

J. S. Varma J, or j, is the tenth letter of the English alphabet. J may also refer to: * Palatal approximant in the International Phonetic Alphabet * J, Cyrillic letter Je Astronomy * J, a provisional designation prefix for some objects discovered bet ...

, another IAS officer and former Telecom Secretary in May 2009. He resigned as member of the Board of Directors of Usha Martin Limited on May 26, 2014 upon being invited to join the PMO under the newly formed Modi government. He is also a former member of the Executive Council at the Vivekananda International Foundation.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India

In May 2014, newly elected

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, appointed Misra as his

principal secretary Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Servi ...

, through the

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) is a high-level committee within the Government of India responsible for appointing senior officials to key positions in the central government and public sector undertakings.Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

, the

. To confirm Misra's appointment, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 had to be amended, first by a temporary

ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * Em ...

, and then by an Act, as one of its provisions barred a former TRAI chairperson from holding any office in the Government of India or any

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

or union territorial government. During his tenure as principal secretary, Misra has been considered to be one of the most powerful bureaucrats in India. On June 11, 2019, Misra was re-appointed as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his appointment along with re-appointment of Additional Principal Secretary

Pramod Kumar Misra Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra (IAST: ; born 11 August 1948), often abbreviated P. K. Mishra, is a retired IAS officer of 1972 batch belonging to Gujarat cadre and serves as the 13th and current Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India. Be ...

with effect from May 31, 2019. These appointments were designated to be co-terminous with the term of the Prime Minister. On 30 August, Misra quit his position as principal secretary at the PMO, though he confirmed he would continue for a couple of weeks at the request of the Prime Minister.

Chairperson of NMML

Post his resignation as principal secretary, Mishra was appointed the chairperson of the executive council of the

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library The Prime Ministers' Museum and Library Society previously known as the Nehru Museum and Library Society is a museum and library in New Delhi, India, which aims to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. Housed ...

in January 2020.

Chairman of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra

Nripendra Misra was elected as the chairman of the temple construction committee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in February 2020. The move was seen as part of government strategy to keep a close engagement with the ambitious

Ram Mandir The Ram Mandir (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Shri Ramlalla Mandir, is a partially constructed Hindu temple, Hindu temple complex in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Many Hindus believe that it is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, t ...

project.

Honours

Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class, Gold and Silver Star: 2021

References

External links

Executive record sheet as maintained by Department of Personnel and Training of Government of India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Misra, Nripendra Indian Administrative Service officers Harvard Kennedy School alumni 1945 births Living people Prime Minister's Office (India) University of Allahabad alumni Principal secretaries to the prime minister of India Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class District magistrate