Dr. P.K. Mishra, at present Principal Secretary to Prime Minister of India, has, as a former member of the Indian Administrative Service, varied work experience (holding senior positions) in field organizations as well as at the policy-making levels of the government. He headed a Task Force of the Union Home Ministry, during 2012-13, to review the Disaster Management Act, 2005. He was Chairman of a committee constituted by the Union Agriculture Ministry in 2013 to review the working of crop insurance schemes. He was on the International Advisory Group of the World Bank to prepare a Disaster Recovery Framework at the global level.

As Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister during 2014-2019 Dr. Mishra is credited with introducing innovation and transformative changes in human resource management, particularly appointments to senior positions.

When the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was set up towards the end of 2005, Dr. Mishra played a crucial role in operationalizing its structure, functions and perspectives.

As Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture during 2006-08, Dr. Mishra was actively involved in path-breaking national initiatives such as the National Agriculture Development Programme (RKVY) and the National Food Security Mission (NFSM).

He functioned during 2001-2004 as Chief Executive Officer of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) created after the Kutch earthquake of 26 January 2001. He played a crucial role in shaping the GSDMA into a vibrant, dynamic and innovative organization, which received a number of prestigious international awards for outstanding work in disaster recovery and management.

He published a book entitled The Kutch Earthquake 2001: Recollections, Lessons and Insights in 2005. He has written a book entitled Agricultural Risk Insurance and Income published from UK in 1996. He has edited a book on Agricultural Insurance for the Asian Productivity Organization, Tokyo. He has published a number of papers in national and international journals, and has been invited to many international conferences as resource person and to present papers.

He has a Ph.D in Economics/Development Studies from the University of Sussex, UK. He completed M.A. degree in Development Economics at the University of Sussex in 1990, when his academic performance was rated outstanding by the university. He did his M.A. in Economics with a first class at the Delhi School of Economics

Recently, he was conferred with the United Nations SASAKAWA Award 2019, the most prestigious international award in disaster management.