Four former bureaucrats are in contention for the position of Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Sources in the know told businessline that they are: former Secretary at the Ministry of Technology and IT, Ajay Prakash Sawhney; former Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board, Anil Kumar Lahoti; former Secretary of Power, Sanjiv Sahai; and former Member Technology at the Department of Telecommunications AK Tiwari.
With this, the search for the TRAI Chairperson could be complete soon. The post remained vacant for nearly six months after the surprise retirement of former Chair, PD Vaghela, who chose not to renew his term on the eve of the deadline.
While the Centre had, in a novel move, decided that they were open to appointing the Chairperson from the private sector, they have opted for the appointment of a former bureaucrat this time as well. Experts believe that Sawhney and Tiwari are the strongest candidates for the post. Both individuals possess extensive experience in the telecommunications and the electronics sector.
This is the second time the TRAI Chairperson candidate list has been drawn up. 1988 batch S Aparna and a former executive from Tata were also in consideration for the post. That list was scrapped, leading to the current delay in the appointment of a TRAI chair.
key regulations
The tenure of the Chairman is up to three years or till the post holder is 65 years old, whichever comes first. In the absence of a TRAI Chairman, key regulations are on hold. The telecom regulator has extended deadlines on comments and counter comments of nearly 12 papers.