Cabinet secy gets 1-year extension

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Monday approved an extension for Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha for another year.

Sinha was due to retire on June 12 after completing a fixed two-year term. He took over as Cabinet Secretary from Ajit Seth after the latter retired in 2015 having served in the post for four years. Sinha has been the power secretary as well as a secretary in the Shipping Ministry. He was also a special secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The Cabinet Secretariat is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. The administrative head of the secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary, who is also the country's top-most bureaucrat and among the few officers who have direct access to the Prime Minister. He assists the government in decision-making by ensuring inter-ministerial coordination, ironing out differences among ministries or departments, and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing or ad hoc committees of secretaries.