Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India the Government of India—was established after independence under the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru, as a successor to the office of the Governor-General of India's secretary. Lal Bahadur Shastri appointed Lakshmi Kant Jha, an Indian Civil Service officer, as his secretary, making Jha the first secretary to the Government of India-ranked officer in the PMS. During Indira Gandhi's tenure as prime minister, the post of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was created; retired Indian Foreign Service officer P. N. Haksar became the first PS to the PM. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India acts as the
Prime Minister of India National Highways Development Project (NHDP) and the "Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana" (PMGSY; IAST: ; Prime Minister Rural Road Scheme), for the development of roads. But during his reign, the 2002 Gujarat communal riots in the state of Gujarat took place; resulting in the death of about 2,000 deaths. Prime Minister Vajpayee's tenure as prime minister came to an end in May 2004, making him the first non-Congress PM to complete a full five-year tenure. In the 2004 election, the Congress emerged as the largest party in a hung parliament; Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA)—with outside support from the Left