Prime Minister’s man-for-all-seasons Amitabh Kant is likely to bag the most-coveted job of Chairman, Competition Commission of India (CCI) as the selection committee has placed his name on the top of the panel submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Ministry sources said the committee, headed by Justice AK Sikri, has recommended Kant’s name followed — in order of merit — by former Gujarat bureaucrat DK Sikri and Dr Harsha Vardhan Singh, a senior associate with Geneva-based International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development. The committee’s recommendation would be forwarded to the Department of Personnel for seeking approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) which, in essence, means only the Prime Minister as the home minister’s consent is sought after ACC approval. Kant, presently secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, was on Thursday appointed as chief executive officer of NITI Aayog but the order was silent on his tenure at the planning body. “The terms and conditions of his appointment as CEO, NITI Aayog will be conveyed in due course,” said the DoPT circular. [related-post] Kant is credited with ‘Make in India’ mission that captured last year’s headlines and made Prime Minister Narendra Modi a sought-after leader overseas. He also initiated the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings among states which measures a state’s success in rolling out regulatory reforms to facilitate investments. Sources said Kant was ranked highest out of the 56 applicants who were interviewed by the committee last month. A total of 79 applications were received by October 23 deadline for the much sought-after position out of which only 72 made the grade. The applicants included urban development secretary Madhusudan Prasad; former I&B secretary Bimal Julka and Subir Gokarn, former RBI deputy governor, among others. Six CCI members — SL Bunker, UC Nahta, MS Sahoo, Sudhir Mital, Augustine Peter and GP Mittal — had also applied. Besides a consolidated monthly salary of Rs 4.5 lakh (without a government accommodation or car), the CCI chairman gets the casting vote on all cases that deal with competition and position of dominance in business. In the nearly seven years of its functioning, the CCI has ordered penalties totalling about Rs 14,000 crore. Kant, an IAS officer of Kerala cadre, is due to retire in March. Present chairman Ashok Chawla completed his term on January 7 on attaining the age of 65 years. Other selector members were corporate affairs secretary Tapan Ray, legal affairs secretary PK Malhotra, Niti Aayog member Bibek Debroy and National Law University vice chancellor Dr Ranbir Singh.
