The post was under the additional charge of former special secretary Ashok Prasad till January this year.Patnaik, as the new Natgrid chief, will oversee the government's efforts to link individual databases into a single network called Natgrid. NEW DELHI: As the Narendra Modi government prepares to give a push to Natgrid, a network of around 21 databases that can be accessed by intelligence and law enforcement agencies in one go, it has appointed a full-time chief executive officer, senior IPS officer AK Patnaik, to oversee the exercise.Patnaik, who belongs to the Gujarat cadre, is son-in-law of former PM Manmohan Singh. He has had a long innings in the Intelligence Bureau, his last assignment being as additional director.Patnaik will hold charge as Natgrid CEO till December 31, 2018, the date of his retirement from the service, according to an order issued on Wednesday.The top post in Natgrid had been lying vacant since the Modi government decided against renewing the contract of Raghu Raman, the first CEO. Natgrid, in different phases, will connect data providing organisations and users besides developing a legal structure through which information can be accessed by the law enforcement agencies.In the first phase, 10 user agencies and 21 service providers will be connected while in later phases abou 950 additional organisations will be linked and another over 1,000 organizations in the subsequent years.These data sources include records related to immigration entry and exit banking and financial transactions and telecom munications.While the clearance for Rs 3,400 crore project from the cabinet committee on security came in 2011, its execution slowed down after the exit of home minister P Chidambaram in July 2012.

Source: Times of India July 13, 2016 23:48 UTC