Why Modi's favourite officials never seem to retire

What does another extension for the ED director signify?

The Central Government has granted a one-year extension to the Director of the Enforcement Directorate, Rahul Navin. He was originally set to complete his tenure on 13th August 2026, but will now remain the ED Director until 13th August 2027.

While extensions of officials' tenures have occurred previously, under the Modi government, it has become more of a norm than an exception, especially for key positions where the tenures of favoured officials are consistently extended.

1. Previously, the tenure of Sanjay Kumar Mishra in this position was also extended repeatedly. He was appointed as Director in November 2018 and remained in the position until November 2023. The government even approached the Supreme Court in July 2023 to further extend his tenure, but the court only allowed him time until August 2023.
2. Recently, the Central Government extended the tenures of Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan and Home Secretary Govind Mohan by one year each. Somanathan's tenure was initially for two years, but he will now remain in his position until August 2027, while Govind Mohan's tenure had already ended in August 2025, yet he has been granted two consecutive extensions.
3. The tenures of Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla (2019-2024) and Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha were similarly extended by a year each to the maximum possible limit.
4. Similarly, IPS Tapan Kumar Deka was given a one-year extension in 2024 and then a two-year extension in May 2025 as Director of the Intelligence Bureau, setting a record for the longest tenure in this position. He will now remain in this role until at least May 2027. The maximum tenure for this position was set at two years in 2005, but Deka will remain for at least five years. Before him, Arvind Kumar also held this position for more than two years.

An interesting story in this context is that of the country's most powerful bureaucrats, Prime Minister's Principal Secretary P.K. Mishra and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Pramod Kumar Mishra, a 1972 batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, served as Chief Secretary when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat between 2001 and 2004. After becoming Prime Minister, Modi brought him to Delhi and appointed him as Principal Secretary on 11th September 2019, even after his retirement. In 2024, Ajit Doval and P.K. Mishra were given a five-year extension. This duo is considered the most powerful in the country.

There are more examples, but the question remains as to why the tenures on such important positions are continuously extended instead of appointing new people. Is there a lack of capable individuals in the bureaucracy? If we look at the Mishra-Doval duo, Mishra is 78 years old and Doval, at 81, is the world's oldest NSA. Does their age not affect their efficiency? Or is it that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah cannot trust other officials?

In the case of the ED, it has been accused of working in line with the government's interests in recent years. The ED has played a significant role in targeting opposition leaders, even sending them to jail. There have been discussions about the ED's role in opposition leaders defecting to join the BJP. Naturally, the position of ED Director becomes important for the government in such a scenario.

Change is a fundamental necessity in a democracy. Elections every five years are meant for a change in power, and fixed tenures for top positions are meant to ensure a rotation of officials. When someone remains in one place for too long, dictatorial tendencies are bound to develop. The Constitution had provisions to prevent this.

However, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the BJP government consistently grants extensions to favoured officials, clearly indicating that the government prefers to keep its chosen officials in place rather than embrace change. Had the Supreme Court not intervened, Sanjay Kumar Mishra, appointed as ED Director in November 2018, might still be in the position. As for the Mishra-Doval duo, it seems Modi cannot envision anyone else as Principal Secretary and NSA.

It seems he also cannot envision that one day he himself will no longer be Prime Minister.