Govt searches for a replacement of DPS Sandhu in World Bank; PMO, finance ministry directors turn hot favorites

THE government has begun the search process to find a replacement of DPS Sandhu, an adviser to World Bank executive director Mukesh N Prasad. DoPT in a circular dated January 27, 2014 asked state chief secretaries and Union secretaries of the cadre controlling ministries to nominate names of suitable officers of deputy secretary or director ranks. But as history suggests, this Washington-based post with a tenure of three years usually gets filled by officers working in one of the two ministries viz.
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and finance ministry. So, speculations have already begun in the corridors about who from the PMO and finance ministry could actually make it to the post. As adviser to ED, the officer gets a dollar salary according to the scale of the Bank, making it an attracting proposition for IAS officers with a fair degree of knowledge and understanding about trade, finance etc. to lobby for the same.

Outgoing officer Sandhu is an Indian Railway Traffic Service officer of 1987 batch, and in a way is an odd man among the IAS in the ED office of the Bank. But he was a director in the PMO when he was handpicked to assist Prasad, the then PMO secretary who had replaced Pulok Chatterjee as World Bank ED in 2011. For a brief period, Sandhu also handled media for Manmohan Singh during UPA-I.
Another adviser in the World Bank and 1994 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS, Anuradha Thakur too is returning to India as her term in Washington ends on March 24, 2014. She had earlier served as deputy secretary and then director between 2008 and 2011 in the department of economic affairs (DEA) under the ministry of finance.
Two current senior advisers to ED in the Bank are Manoj Pant, former private secretary to ex-finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and former PMO official LK Atheeq. Whereas Pant assists Prasad on India, Atheeq helps him on Sri Lanka matters. On Bhutan, it is Sandhu who assists the ED.
The officer who would replace Sandhu can’t be over 54 years in age, and he must have completed at least two years under Central Staffing Scheme. The desirable qualifications include experiences in areas of infrastructure development, international trade, public finance and externally aided projects. A degree in economics, management, public finance, or international trade is desirable, though not mandatory.