After decades in govt,parked in a PSU board

46 retired babus currently directors in PSUs; concerned PMO steps in,seeks their profiles

Post-retirement positions in government or quasi-government bodies may be highly coveted by IAS and IPS officers at the end of their careers,but for the many who dont make the cut,it is not really the end of the road. In what clearly appears to be a second rung of sinecures,dozens of retired bureaucrats have over the years been appointed non-official (independent) directors in prominent public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Information accessed by The Indian Express shows that there are 133 independent directors in the 21 Maharatna and Navratna PSUs and at least 46 of them are former bureaucrats. Apparently concerned over such a high number,the government is even considering returning to a controversial system under which serving CEOs of private companies were appointed independent directors in PSUs,sources said.

The Prime Ministers Office,they said,has asked the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) to analyse the profiles of such directors in around 250 central PSUs and the DPE has already sent a detailed analysis of 42 prominent PSUs. The 42 include all five Maharatnas and 16 Navratnas.

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IAS officers have cornered a bulk of the independent director positions in PSUs,accounting for 32 of the total 46. Some former bureaucrats are,in fact,on the boards of more than one PSU.

While independent directors do not have executive powers or a fixed salary they are paid an honorarium for attending meetings their role is considered significant in decision-making at the PSUs.

Former revenue secretary Sushma Nath is on the boards of public sector giants Indian Oil Corporation and ONGC. Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran is also with Indian Oil Corporation. Former home secretary G K Pillai is with HPCL,former CBEC (Central Board of Excise and Customs) chairman P C Jha is with SAIL,while another former home secretary,Madhukar Gupta,is with NALCO.

Former Haryana-cadre IAS officer Anil Razdan is with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and HPCL. Another former secretary,S C Tripathi,is with Shipping Corporation of India. R P Singh,who retired as secretary,Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP),and was last month appointed chairman of the National Highways Authority of India,is also an independent director at Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).

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Sheela Bhide,a 1973-batch,Andhra Pradesh-cadre officer who worked in prominent ministries such as defence and commerce,is now an independent director with Coal India Limited.

The system of appointing serving CEOs of private companies as independent directors of PSUs had been stopped in September 2010 because of fears of a conflict of interest. Others,however,argue that PSUs could gain from the experience of these CEOs.

Now,following a recommendation by the DPE,the PMO is said to be considering returning to this system.