Chatterjee replaces TKA Nair who has been made advisor to the prime minister. Nair, a retired IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, will hold the office of advisor with the rank and status of Minister of State in the PMO with effect from October 3 till further oders.
According to an official press release issued here on Thursday, Chatterjee will take charge on October 3. His appointment will be co-terminus with that of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The two appointments have come shortly after the posting of M N Prasad as executive director of the World Bank the position which Chatterjee currently holds.
The appointment of Chatterjee, an IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, had been in the air for some time. It was expected that Nair would be posted as governor but that has not happened, at least for now.
Chatterjee, a 1974-batch officer, is considered a close confidant of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. He was private secretary to Sonia Gandhi when she was elected Opposition leader in Lok Sabha in 1999. His proximity to the Gandhi family goes back to days when he was the district magistrate in Rae Bareli. Chatterjee served as secretary in the PMO before he headed to Washington for the World Bank job in 2008.