The Hindu Business Line : M.K. Narayanan appointed Special Advisor to PM

THE Government today appointed retired IPS officer Mr M.K. Narayanan as Special Advisor to the Prime Minster, Dr Manmohan Singh, along with six new secretaries in Central Ministries.

Mr Narayanan, who would hold the rank of Minister of State, has been appointed for a period of three years.

In the first major secretary-level appointment exercise of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, Mr Navin B. Chawla has been appointed Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, in place of Mr Pawan Chopra, who retires on May 31.

Mr Adarsh Kishore would be taking over the Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, in place of Mr N.K. Narad, who is also retiring at the end of the month.

Mr Mano Ranjan, who was Advisor, Planning Commission, has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

The new Secretary in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries would be Mr Dhananjay Prasad Singh, who comes in place of Mr J. Vasudevan.

Mr Labanyendu Mansingh has been appointed Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, in place of Mr Navin B. Chawla.

Ms Meenaxi A. Chaudhary would replace Mr Rajiva Srivastava as Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.