New Delhi: Senior Leader and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has been virtually nominated number two in the Government in the absence of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is abroad.

Before leaving on a nine-day visit to United Kingdom and United States, Singh had got a communication issued by Cabinet Secretary B K Chaturvedi that Mukherjee would chair the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) in his absence.

Sources said a similar notification was issued when the Prime Minister went to Thailand few months back.

The Defence Minister today (Sep 24, 2004) chaired a meeting of the Group of Ministers on strengthening the Patents regime and proposing amendments to the Patents Act 1970.