New appointments in the office of India President Ram Nath Kovind
Sanjay Kothari, chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board, has been appointed as secretary and senior journalist Ashok Malik press secretary to President-elect Ram Nath Kovind.
Appointment of Joint Secretary to Kovind
An order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said that Senior Gujarat-cadre forest service officer Bharat Lal will be joint secretary to Kovind.
These appointments were approved by an Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by PM Modi. Appointments will be valid for a period of two years.
A glimpse into Sanjay Kothari’s past
A 1978-batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, Sanjay Kothari retired in June last year as DoPT secretary. In November 2016, he was appointed as PSEB, the chief of the government’s head-hunting agency. Kothari has massive experience of several years of working at the Centre and state cadre.
Kothari is also considered very privy to Dr. P.K. Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary in PMO. He was responsible for looking after the ACC, which is considered as the most important appointment in the government.
As per reports, it is also known that the officials from 1987 and 1988 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been empanelled as additional secretary or equivalent.
Ashok Malik: Press secretary to Prez Kovind
In the occupation of a journalist for 20 years, Ashok Malik is currently serving as a Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a policy think tank. He has been closely watching the interrelation and fruition of various center, state, and foreign policies. He is also involved in assessing the social impact (health, education, etc.) of different schemes.
Apart from being a columnist at various prominent publications, he is also heading the ORF’s Neighbourhood Regional Studies Initiative. According to his ORF profile, it can be understood that Malik has authored and co-authored many books including ‘India: Spirit of Enterprise’.
