Former ED chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra appointed full-time EAC-PM member

Sanjay Kumar Mishra, a retired officer of the 1984 batch of the Indian Revenue Service, is an economic expert who has overseen numerous high-profile cases

The government on Tuesday approved the appointment of former Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra as a full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) in the rank of secretary.

 

During his tenure, ED got approval for the extradition of fugitives such as Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

 

ED initiated investigations involving prominent political figures, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Robert Vadra, husband of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, during Mishra's term.

 

The agency also took action against several high-profile politicians, such as Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, ex-Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti, and National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.

 

Sanjay Kumar Mishra was initially appointed as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief in 2018. He was given multiple extensions by the Centre.

 

Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India, specifically to the Prime Minister.

 

The Terms of Reference of EAC-PM include analysing any issue, economic or otherwise, referred to it by the Prime Minister and advising him thereon, addressing issues of macroeconomic importance and presenting views thereon to the Prime Minister. These could be either suo-motu or on reference from the Prime Minister or anyone else. They also include attending to any other task as may be desired by the Prime Minister from time to time.

 

The present composition of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) includes Suman Bery as the chairman, with Sanjeev Sanyal and Dr. Shamika Ravi serving as members. The part-time members are Rakesh Mohan, Dr. Sajjid Chinoy, Dr. Neelkanth Mishra, Nilesh Shah, Prof. TT Ram Mohan, and Dr. Poonam Gupta.

 

Mishra, a retired officer of the 1984 batch of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), is an economic expert who has overseen numerous high-profile cases. A native of Uttar Pradesh, he was appointed as the head of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on November 19, 2018, for an initial term of two years. Prior to his appointment, Mishra served as the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in Delhi.

 

On November 13, 2020, his appointment was retrospectively modified, extending his term to three years. The government further extended his tenure on November 17, 2021, for one year, until November 18, 2022, and again for another year until November 18, 2023. In July 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Mishra's tenure as ED chief would be extended until September 15, 2024, citing “national interest”, with the clarification that no further extensions would be considered.