In an inexplicable move on Friday night, the Ministry of Personnel dashed off a ‘wireless message’ under the category ‘crash’ to Chief Secretaries of all states/Union Territories seeking applications (October 3 last date) from suitable candidates for the post of Chairperson of Public Sector Enterprises Selection Board (PSEB).
Current Chairman and a former Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth is due for retirement in November. The move of the ministry came amid growing criticism of the Modi government from various quarters on its indifference in filling up large number of vacancies in public sector undertakings.
The chairmanship of PSEB is a much-coveted job. The PSEB is responsible for, among other things, the selection and placement of personnel in the posts of chairman, managing director or chairman-cum-managing director (Level-I), and functional director (Level-II) in PSEs as well as in posts at any other level as may be specified by the government.
The message asked the Chief Secretaries to give wide publicity to all under their administrative control and said ‘eligible and interested persons’ forward their CVs to a designated undersecretary in the ministry. An annexure detailed the eligibility requirements.
The PSEB is a high-powered body constituted by the Centre in 1987 with the objective of evolving a sound managerial policy for the Central Public Sector Enterprises and, in particular, to advise the government on appointments to top management posts.
As per the government resolution, the chairperson of PBSB shall be a distinguished serving or former chief executive of a public or private or joint sector enterprise, a distinguished person with experience in selection of top management personnel or a distinguished serving or former civil servant with experience in management of public sector enterprises or in areas of finance, industry and economic affairs.
The applicant should not be less than 55 years of age, and if working or having worked in the Central or state government, should have held a post equivalent to the secretary to the government of India at least for one year.
The PSEB makes recommendations to concerned ministries, who in turn, after the due process, forward them to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.
