UPSC Choice For Joint Secy From Private Sector Faces Questions

New Delhi: The first major lateral entry into the government for top jobs has caused unease as questions are being raised about the choice of some of the candidates by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Sujit Kumar Bajpayee’s appointment as joint secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has raised eyebrows because as a senior manager in public sector power generator NHPC, he is too junior for the key decision-making post in the government.

Bajpayee is the younger brother of veteran movie star Manoj Bajpayee. Selection of Amber Dubey, partner with consultancy firm KPMG, as joint secretary in Civil Aviation Ministry, has also caused unease because of his possible conflict of interest as he has been advising many private companies in the aviation space including airport major GMR Infrastructure and full-service carrier Vistara. Some senior IAS officers told that that hiring domain experts as joint secretaries is a welcome move, but expressed surprise at the appointment of Bajpayee, a junior officer in a PSU, in the elite club. An officer said that a Secretary in the Central government department records the annual confidential report (ACR) of PSU chiefs but joint secretary effectively manages the show. (IANS)

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