NEW DELHI: With a new govt expected to take office over the weekend, all eyes are on several
crucial appointments
that have been in the pipeline with the list extending from a new Army chief to the
cabinet secretary
and home secretary.
Besides, several agencies, including the
Directorate of Enforcement
and the
ministry of statistics
are working without full-time bosses, while
Central Board of Direct Taxes
chairman Nitin Gupta is on extension, with the budget due to be presented in just over a month.
There are other crucial appointments to be made in the coming months —
RBI governor
Shaktikanta Das’s second three-year term is due to end in Dec, while two of his deputies M D Patra and T Rabi Shankar are on extension.
Besides, govt also has to decide on a new
State Bank of India chairman
since Dinesh Khara’s 10-month extension is due to end in Aug. Last month’s selection board meeting, where three managing directors were to appear, was cancelled at the last moment, raising speculation that the retirement age for SBI and LIC chairmen may be raised to 65 years.
Civil servants are keeping tabs on cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba’s next move. The officer is among the contenders seen to be shifting to the PMO, provided PM Modi decides to shuffle the pack. Principal secretary P K Mishra, who has worked with Modi since his days as Gujarat CM, is seen as a close aide.
Finance secretary T V Somanathan is seen to be among candidates who could replace either Gauba, if a vacancy arises, or move to RBI. Somanathan has a year to go for retirement and has been a key part of economic team.
The new govt is also expected to name a new home secretary as incumbent Ajay Bhalla has received four extensions and is line to become only the second man to hold the job for five years.
In contrast, ED hasn’t had a full-time director since Sanjay Mishra retired last Sep. Since then, Rahul Navin, an IRS officer, has been functioning as acting director. A director will get a two-year term. A coalition govt may not like to keep a sensitive position vacant for too long given that ED is probing several high-profile laundering cases, including against top politicians.
