Decks cleared for Bharat Lal to join PMO as joint secy

The Indian Forest Service officer is seen close to Modi; top PMO jobs have usually gone to IAS officers

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday paved the way for Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer Bharat Lal to join the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as a joint secretary.

The DoPT issued a circular to announce the empanelment of 29 officers of the IFoS batch of 1988 for appointment to the posts of joint secretary or its equivalent. These officers include Bharat Lal, Gujarat’s resident commissioner in the national capital for the past four years.

Lal is a Gujarat cadre officer and considered close to Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. Bureaucratic sources said it was rare for an IFoS officer to serve in the PMO in the capacity of a joint secretary. Top PMO jobs have historically remained with Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers with one Indian Foreign Service officer to help with foreign affairs.

Apart from Lal, Modi’s PMO is also likely to have Gujarat cadre IAS officer A K Sharma as a joint secretary. Sharma also belongs to the 1988 batch.

Others already appointed to the PMO are National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval, who has replaced Shivshankar Menon. Last week, former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman Nripendra Misra was appointed the principal secretary to the PM. S Jaishankar, India’s former ambassador to Beijing, is likely to be the foreign policy advisor in the PMO.