New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Monday appointed P.D. Vaghela as the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI).
Vaghela will take charge from 1st October for three years, or “until he attains the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest”. He is a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer.
Vaghela succeeds RS Sharma, who was at the helm of the sector regulator for five years. His two-years extension gets effective from 10th August 2018 gets completed on 30th September 2020.
Vaghela is currently in the department of pharmaceuticals (DoP) under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, where he was appointed as the secretary for a year till 30th September. Prior to the pharmaceuticals department, Vaghela was the commissioner of commercial tax in Gujarat.
The role of TRAI chairman is extremely significant given the importance of the regulatory body being in the middle of deciding many policy matter that is likely to have huge impact on Telecom and Broadcast industry.