Former Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain appointed as the chairman of Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Monday appointed former Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain as the new chairman of Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board – a post which has been lying vacant since December 2020.

“The ACC has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, based on the recommendations of the Search Committee, for appointment of Anil Kumar Jain as Chairperson, PNGRB, for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or till attaining the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest, on a consolidated pay package of Rs 4.50 lakh per month (without house and car) or as revised by the Ministry of Finance from time to time,” says the May 15 order.

Jain is a 1986 Indian Administrative Service officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre. He served in the Petroleum Ministry as Director (Natural Gas) from June 2003 to November 2006 after which he was promoted as Joint Secretary (Exploration) which he held until June 2008.

He later became Adviser (Energy) at government’s think-tank Niti Aayog in 2012, where he was promoted as Additional Secretary for the Energy vertical. He served at the Aayog until 2017 after which he moved to Environment Ministry. He was appointed Coal Secretary in September 2019.

The PNGRB chief post has been vacant since December 2020 after DK Sarraf superannuated. The Petroleum Ministry first suggested former Petroleum Secretary Tarun Kapoor’s name, but he was whisked away by the Prime Minister’s Office as Adviser to the PM to handle energy and infrastructure issues.

Subsequently, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. chairman and managing director Arun Kumar Singh’s name was proposed but he was appointed as Chairman of Oil & Natural Gas Corp.

The Search Committee interviewed fresh set of shortlisted candidates on March 31 and selected Jain as the new PNGRB chief.