Harish Khare resigns as media advisor to PM

Harish Khare, Media Advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, resigned on Thursday after serving more than two years in the PMO.

Khare, 65, resigned hours after television journalist Pankaj Pachauri was appointed as Communication Advisor in the PMO and would report to Pulok Chatterjee, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.

A former journalist, Khare said that he has sent his resignation to the Prime Minister and thanked him for the opportunity to work under him.

"I want to rediscover the joys of being a reporter," he said adding he wants to go back to journalism.

Before joining the PMO in June 2009, Khare was senior Associate Editor and Chief of Bureau with The Hindu in New Delhi and earlier resident editor of Times of India in Ahmedabad.

As media advisor, he held the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

A PMO announcement today said that Pachauri, who was managing editor of NDTV India, will advise the PMO on communications strategies on print, electronic and social media.

48-year-old Pachauri had earlier had stints with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London and with India Today.