Cabinet panel snubs Sharad, rejects nominee for A-I Chairman

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7: In a major snub to the Union Minister for Civil Aviation Sharad Yadav, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has rejected his nominee–retired bureaucrat R C Jain–for chairmanship of Air India (A-I). The Indian Express had reported on August 2 how Sharad’s choice had led to disquiet in the ministry as well as in A-I.

Jain, an IAS official of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, had retired as Secretary, Coal. He had been earlier handpicked by Yadav to chair the committee that investigated the escalator tragedy at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in which an eight-year-old girl died.

Sources say the ACC objected to Yadav flouting the well-established convention of going through the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) before deciding to appoint Jain. Yadav had earlier confirmed to The Indian Express that he had decided to appoint Jain as Chairman.

Yadav also flouted the retirement age criteria. Jain, who retired in the early 1990s, is well over 60. The A-I board had passed a resolution that the retirement age would be 58. It now seems likely that Civil Aviation Secretary A H Jung will take over from former Civil Aviation Secretary Ravindra Gupta as A-I Chairman.