Race for TRAI
It’s
no secret that regulators are more powerful than ministers nowadays,
whether it is the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
or the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). No wonder, the race
for the TRAI chairmanship has already started even though the post will
be vacant only in May. RP Singh, ex-Industry Secretary and great pusher
of FDI in retail, is said to be the frontrunner for prestigious post. A
selection committee comprising Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth and
Principal Secretary to the PM, Pulok Chatterji, has been charged with
choosing the new incumbent. For it is the new guy who will decide the
fate of the scam-ridden telecom companies. Another strong contender is
Sekhar Agarwal, the Secretary Defence Production, a 1977 batch IAS
officer. He has been in the ministry since February 2008. RP Singh is
close to the Manmohan camp and has been the main initiator of the FDI
plan of the Prime Minister. When he was Secretary, Industrial Promotion
and Planning, it was known in Udyog Bhawan that he never cared for
political intervention. It is to be seen whether Manmohan Singh will be
able to bring in RP Singh as the Chairman of TRAI given the sensitivity
of scams in the telecom sector and the involvement of big entrepreneurs.g
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