For the second time in four months, the government has sought applications for the post of new chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) last week. The post has been lying vacant since the retirement of Ashok Kumar Gupta on October 25 last year.
The Competition Commission is not the only regulator where the search is on for a chairman.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has been functioning without a chairman for the last two years. The advertisement for this post has been released twice and the last one was released in June last year.
The post of PNGRB chairman has been lying vacant since December 4, 2020, when Dinesh K Shroff completed 3 years in office. The government is running the selection process, but so far no one has been found for the post.
The government has said that the search is on for a successor to Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairman Supratim Bandyopadhyay, whose term ended in January this year.
Experts say that in the absence of leadership in these strategic economic regulatory bodies, important policy decisions have been stalled and this has weakened the oversight of the regulators.
DK Mittal, former Secretary, Department of Financial Services, said, “This is not a good administrative practice and is sending a wrong message to the corporate world. The search for a successor is initiated 3 months before the incumbent retires. The bureaucracy needs to be serious on this.
For example, the CCI has not been able to take any action against complaints received since last October due to insufficient quorum. The quorum of three members is not complete as the post of chairman is yet to be filled.
The Competition Monitoring Commission, after legal consultation, decided to dispose of the pending merger applications by using the necessity principle, ignoring the quorum. A senior official said this is more a policy of convenience than necessity and the government should expedite the process of appointing the chairman.
Due to non-availability of a chairman in the petroleum regulator, all important policy works have been stuck, which includes amendment in the PNGRB Act. The amendment will give more powers to the regulator over plans to classify city gas pipelines as common carriers.
The search-selection committee headed by VK Saraswat, member of science and technology in NITI Aayog, had selected former power secretary Sanjeev Nandan Sahay for the post in June 20021. But the appointment could not be confirmed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (SCC).
According to sources, the ACC has also not cleared the candidate recommended for the post of CCI chairman.
A senior oil ministry official said, “The government bodies in the oil and gas sector have always been administrations or public sector enterprises. There has been difficulty in filling the top posts. In the selection, special attention is paid to the fact that the person has worked in this field for 2-3 decades and is aware of the challenges and realities of this field. Large numbers do not come in this.
PFRDA chief Supratim Bandyopadhyay retired on January 16, 2023 and the new chairman is yet to be appointed. The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary has recommended 3 names for the post, the file is pending with the cabinet.
The PNGRB Board consists of 4 members apart from the Chairman. Posts are not filled in this also. It is the same story in PFRDA, which has vacancies on its board. At the same time, 2 members of CCI are going to retire soon, for which advertisement has already been issued.
