PESB names Sanjeev Kumar to head TCIL, giving rise to a controversy

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has announced the selection of Sanjeev Kumar, director - Technical at Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) to head the Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL). The decision was taken after an interview process on Tuesday.

DoT in a notification said, "Keeping in view of the performance of the candidates during an interview with special regard to their seniority, age profile, suitability, experience, academic background, managerial capabilities, leadership, and broad vision, the search-cum-selection committee recommended, for appointment to the post of chairman-cum-managing director, TCIL, Shri Sanjeev Kumar, director (Technical), MTNL.”

Kumar has been working as a director (Technical) at MTNL since February 2016.

The board's selection process has been marred with controversies and a last-minute inclusion of Mahesh Shukla, working as a chief general manager at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

According to sources the Indian Telecommunication Service (ITS) lobby was unhappy with the screening process adopted by the board and DoT since some of the officers were not named in the shortlist, and a couple of them are planning to challenge the controversial appointment.

Meanwhile, a final decision on Kumar's appointment would be based on the outcome of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jabalpur, the notification added.

While more than 30 candidates had applied for the post of chairman at state-owned telecom engineering and consultancy firms, only eight candidates were shortlisted by the selection board. Those called for the interview include Kamendra Kumar, director (Technical), TCIL, Narendra Jain, director (Finance), TCIL, Ramakant Sharma, chief general manager at BSNL, and Anil Kumar Rastogi, executive director, TCIL.