After eventful MoD term,Shashi Kant Sharma appointed CAG

The 1976-batch IAS officer from Bihar cadre,who spent nearly 10 years in the defence ministry,has held a series of sensitive appointments,most of which were linked to acquisition of weapon systems and is known to be close to Defence Minister A K Antony.

When Sharma takes over from Vinod Rai as the CAG on Thursday,a significant part of his duties will be to audit defence acquisitions,most of which took place during his tenure at the defence ministry.

Sharma started his central deputation in the Youth Affairs Ministry as a Director but for most part of his career has been associated with the defence ministry. A post graduate from the University of York,he first joined the ministry as a Joint Secretary in charge of Air Acquisitions in 2003 and held the post till February 2007. This was the time when IAF was going through a major modernisation phase.

Prominent among the projects was the proposal to acquire 12 VVIP helicopters — a deal that is under the scanner with the CBI investigating allegations that bribes worth 51 million euros were paid to swing the contract in favour of Italian firm AgustaWestland. Former Air Chief S P Tyagi is among the accused in the case.

A few months after his tenure as the Joint Secretary,Sharma was elevated to a more sensitive posting,as the Director General of Acquisitions,a post he held till 2010. During this tenure he was instrumental in clearing several major acquisition proposals,including the floating of tenders for the multi-billion dollar deal to purchase 126 new generation fighters for the IAF.

Other procurements finalised during his tenure included the purchase of C 130 J and C 17 transport aircraft for the IAF,P 8I maritime surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft and new jet trainers for the Navy,indigenous defence contract worth Rs 45,000 crore to manufacture seven advanced stealth frigates for the Navy and a $2.2 billion deal to upgrade the Mirage fighters.

It was during this tenure that the Ordnance Factory Board scam broke out with the arrest of ex-chairman Sudipta Ghosh. The bribery scandal led to the blacklisting of six firms,including Israeli major IMI.

Sharma took over as the Defence Secretary in July 2011,after a stint as the Banking Secretary. His entry came at a time of major civil-military rift with then Army Chief V K Singh raising his date of birth issue with the government. Sharma spent his first few months in this job in sorting out the matter. With Singh approaching the Supreme Court,he was at the forefront of formulating the government view that a change of birth date was not tenable.

The last few months in office were embroiled in the VVIP chopper controversy that saw the Defence Ministry come under the scanner for its reluctance in initiating a formal probe.