NSA Narayanan, PM's Secretary Nair to continue in office

National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Prime Minister's Principal Secretary T K A Nair have been asked to 'continue' in office till further orders, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said on Tuesday.

The decision has been taken apparently to ensure continuity and speedy implementation of the United Progressive Alliance government's flagship programmes. The sources said that last week, Manmohan Singh asked Narayanan and Nair to continue in their posts, which were co-terminus with that of the prime minister.

Narayanan, a former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, was appointed to the powerful post of NSA in 2005. Nair, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer of the Punjab cadre, was made the Principal Secretary to the prime minister in 2004.

The government had on Monday given an one year extension to Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, who was due to retire in a fortnight's time. The government is also likely to take a decision on the tenure of Shyam Saran, Special Envoy to the PM.