I&C Dept employees say Principal Secretary brought corporations back on track
Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Srinagar August 06 (KINS): Over five months after the appointment of Indian Railway Traffic Service officer Ranjan Prakash Thakur as Principal Secretary to the Government Industries and Commerce Department, the Centre has issued an order for his new posting as CVO, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC).
On February 25 this year, Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha picked top Indian Railway Traffic Service officer Ranjan Prakash Thakur to help him in the Union Territory’s industrial outreach.
Thakur has been appointed as Principal Secretary to the Government, Industries and Commerce Department.
This was after Sinha had asked the Union Home Ministry to help select highly-rated officers to assist him.
However on Thursday Under Secretary to the Government of India issued an order a copy of which lies with news agency KINS says, “Government of India Secretariat of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Department of Personnel and Training approved the appointment of Ranjan Prakash Thakur IRTS (90) as CVO, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) Delhi under the ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas with pay at level 14 (Rs 144200-218200) of the pay matrix for an initial period of three years, from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders.”
The order has not gone well within the employees of the Industries and Commerce Department. “Ranjan Prakash Thakur made serious efforts to bring various corporations of the Industries and Commerce Department back on track. He took several measures so that industrialists invest in Jammu and Kashmir. Projects worth Rs 6000 crore have already been approved where the industrialists have decided to invest in J&K and projects worth Rs 10,000 crore are in a pipeline,” a senior officer told news agency KINS.
This year, Manoj Sinha had announced a new industrial policy for Jammu and Kashmir, aimed at developing industries and bringing in big-time investments to the Union Territory in the next two years.
Thakur was brought to J&K to help drive that policy.
While a railways officer (IRTS, 1990 batch) who has been ED (Tourism & Catering) and Divisional Railway Manager, Danapur, Thakur has had multiple assignments outside the railways as well.
An alumnus of Delhi’s prestigious St Stephen’s college, IIFT and IIM Indore, he was Executive Director (Fuel Transportation) at NPTC, PS to then I&B Minister Ambika Soni, ADG Doordarshan (DTH), and Brand Head, Shatabdi Express.
When contacted by KINS, Thakur said, “I have not yet decided to join a new place of posting.” (KINS)
