Reports our correspondent from New Delhi: Anil Goswami's appointment as Union home secretary was all due to the timely intervention of Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Gulam Nabi Azad.

Many top bureaucrats hailed Azad's gesture, which they termed was at the right time. Insiders say that Goswami's clearance by the Prime Minister's Office was after the intervention of Azad .

Goswami will superannuate in 2015, as he is now 58 years of age -- this is not an extended tenure; the government also overlooked several seniors of 1977 Indian Administrative Service batch for the same position.