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| {{Short description|Indian civil servant}} | |||
| '''Pradip Baijal''' is a much respected retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service. He is a 1966 batch officer from the ] cadre. He is part a long list of IAS officers who have spent time at ] for specialised training{{Citation needed|reason=what special training and when?|date=December 2010}}. ], in an article in 2003 called him a storm-raiser. On one hand, he is seen as one of the most successful officers in the government, and has several accomplishments across multiple sectors, while on the other hand, he is seen as a controversial bureaucrat who took some tough decisions and also worked post-retirement in a strategic consulting firm that was owned by a corporate lobbyist (though not in the lobbying firm, itself). | |||
| {{Multiple issues| | |||
| {{BLP sources|date=November 2014}} | |||
| {{original research|date=January 2011}} | |||
| }} | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} | |||
| {{Infobox officeholder | |||
| |name = Pradip Baijal | |||
| |image = | |||
| |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1943|02|15}} | |||
| |birth_place = | |||
| |residence = ], ] | |||
| |death_date = | |||
| |death_place = | |||
| |spouse = | |||
| |children = 2 | |||
| |alma_mater = ] | |||
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| }} | |||
| In his distinguished career, '''Pradip Baijal''' held senior administrative positions in the Ministry of Finance and industries at state level but he first came into prominence as the disinvestment secretary in the BJP Govt on 1999 and was part of the team that was involved in the disinvestment of various Govt companies like BP, VSNL, IPCL and Maruti. He received many accolades through his stint in the disinvestment ministry, and a reputation of 'getting things done'. | |||
| '''Pradip Baijal''' is an officer of the ] (IAS) who retired as the chief of the ] (TRAI). | |||
| Baijal held several senior administrative positions in the Ministry of Finance and Industries at state level but first came into prominence as the ] secretary in 1999 and was part of the team that was involved in the disinvestment of various Govt companies like BP, VSNL, IPCL and Maruti. He is credited for the sale of Maruti which resulted in a Rs 1000 crore ] for the government).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/maruti-ipo-may-garner-rs-700-cr/70412/|title=Maruti IPO May Garner Rs 700 Cr|work=The Financial Express|accessdate=18 November 2014}}</ref> He retired as the Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in March 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/mar/21baijal.htm|title=TRAI chairman Pradip Baijal retires|work=Rediff.com|accessdate=18 November 2014}}</ref> | |||
| He was appointed chairman of TRAI in a critical phase in 2003 when Arun Shourie of the BJP was minister, and then for a brief time with ]. He retired as the Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in March 2006; much before the current 2G spectrum sale which has been under controversy. | |||
| Post retirement, Baijal<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715111309/http://pradipbaijal.com/profile.html |date=15 July 2011 }}</ref> setup Noesis Strategic Consulting Company. | |||
| == Education == | == Education == | ||
| He was trained as an engineer before he joined the ]. Baijal earned his BE (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology |
He was trained as an engineer before he joined the ]. Baijal earned his BE (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from University of Roorkee; now renamed the ]. He took part in a one-year visiting fellowship at the ] on the Privatisation of Public Enterprise.{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} | ||
| == |
== Career == | ||
| Baijal also pushed for ], under which an operator can offer telecom and broadcasting services on a single licence and next generation networks for Indian telecom sector that would bring down the network costs significantly. He is credited<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k6/mar/mar273.htm|title=Indiantelevision.com > News Headlines > Trai's Baijal ends tenure; Misra likely successor|author=Anil Wanvari|publisher=Indiantelevision.com|accessdate=18 November 2014}}</ref> with suggesting a reduction in ADC, a fee that private operators pay ] for compensating its rural operations, and its eventual withdrawal by 2009. | |||
| During his tenure, TRAI articulated and adopted allegedly pro-development and consumer-friendly regulatory practices and made important recommendations on the growth of telecom services in rural India to the Government of India. TRAI has also urged the industry to think of next generation telecom networks. Baijal, directly dealt with a variety of key issues impacting the telecom industry in India, including changes to the Access Deficit Charge (ADC) that punctured mobile phone bills. | |||
| Baijal has trained telecom regulators on behalf of the World Bank (Infodev) in Africa. He similarly works for ITU in Southeast Asia and has also undertaken restructuring of telecom regulation in Lao, Myanmar, and Oman, and has lectured ministers and regulators in Southeast Asia on reforms and regulation. He had also taken training classes on power regulation in 1999, in Vietnam. He is on the boards of Nestle, GVK, and Patni Computers, and advisory boards of the India Oil Corporation, Infrastructure Development Finance Company. For a few months in 2009, he was the chairman of an advisory committee to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board in India. He was Chairman of the ] (TRAI).<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715111309/http://pradipbaijal.com/profile.html |date=15 July 2011 }}</ref> | |||
| In fact, it was he who is credited with suggesting a reduction in ADC, a fee that private operators pay ] for compensating its rural operations, and its eventual withdrawal by 2009. This was by no means a small decision given the clout and might<!-- OK here: don't correct it--> of BSNL and the support of department of telecom to continue with the levy, which works out to not less than Rs 5,000 crore. | |||
| ==Post retirement== | |||
| Another step of far-reaching implications was Baijal's continued thrust on ], under which an operator can offer telecom and broadcasting services on a single licence and next generation networks for Indian telecom sector that would bring down the network costs significantly. As a result of his incredible work in the sector, the sector grew remarkably - from adding 0.2 million subsribers a year, the sector was adding close to 20 million subscribers monthly by the time he retired. Shosteck, a research Group based in US wrote in 2004<ref>http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/imt-2000/DocumentsIMT2000/TechnicalArticles2008/IndiaPaper_FINAL.pdf</ref>: “This study analyzes the Indian mobile market to understand the lessons that it might offer the rest of the world. It concludes that India’s “ Unified License “ – with which any operator can offer any access technology, whether landline or wireless – has enabled for more robust competition than otherwise would be possible”. | |||
| Baijal spent a year after retirement writing the book ''Disinvestment in India - I Lose and you Gain'', published by Pearsons<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pradipbaijal.com/disinvestment_book.html |accessdate=18 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825012143/http://pradipbaijal.com/disinvestment_book.html |archivedate=25 August 2011 |title=Disinvestment in India - I lose and you gain | Pradip Baijal | Pradip Baijal Profile }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/Books-and-Guides/Man-With-A-Mission.html |accessdate=22 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010025645/http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/Books-and-Guides/Man-With-A-Mission.html |archivedate=10 October 2008 |title=Businessworld - Man with a Mission }}</ref> He also co-founded a strategy consulting firm Noesis<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noesis.in/|title=Noesis Consultancy|publisher=Noesis.in|accessdate=18 November 2014}}</ref> with Niira Radia. He also serves on the boards of GVK, Nestle India and Patni Computers. He works as an independent consultant and advisor to several countries including ], ] and ]. He has recently self-published a book and released it on Amazon. "This is an honest account of the journey of one of India's finest civil servants .... and it is a clarion call to stop the witch hunt practices, otherwise Baijal might just be the last of his tribe to have the courage to carry out big and bold reforms. The India of today cannot afford this. " - Mr. Deepak Parekh | |||
| ==References== | |||
| To quote from a 2005 report titled “The Indian Telecom Industry” produced by Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta<ref>http://www.docstoc.com/docs/22630772/The-Indian-Telecom-Industry</ref>, “Indian telecommunications today benefits from among the most enlightened regulation in the region, and arguably in the world. The sector, sometimes considered the ‘poster-boy for economic reforms’ has been among the chief beneficiaries of the post-1991 liberalization… Despite several hiccups along the way, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the independent regulator, has earned a reputation for transparency and competence”. | |||
| ⚫ | {{Reflist}} | ||
| ⚫ | {{Indian civil servants}} | ||
| == Controversies == | |||
| His tenure as TRAI chairman coincided with multiple policy changes that are alleged to have directly benefited some telecom companies, including ] and ]. | |||
| '''Pradip Baijal''' was the TRAI Chairman when the technology neutral "Unified Access License" was implemented, a policy change which allowed fixed line operators who had paid much lower license fees to offer mobile phone services, at first in the limited WLL mode (]) and later, following an out of court settlement between mobile operators and the BJP govt, full mobility. | |||
| The TRAI, headed by '''Pradip Baijal''' at the time also made a controversial recommendation to the Group of Ministers in 2003, that was used as a basis to give the 4th operator license to the same set of companies in areas where there was no fourth operator. Baijal recommended a charge of Rs.1658 crores as license fee without adjustments for inflation or market growth since 2001. '''Pradip Baijal''' was also part of the team that was involved in the disinvestment of several Govt companies, along with Arun Shourie as Minister. Among the many transactions he worked on was the sale of Govt owned telecom company ], that was sold to ] albeit through a transparent public auction: one of the 150+ companies that formed the client base of ], whose firm he later joined<ref>Did Pradip Baijal make a mistake in joining Niira Radia's firm? http://m.economictimes.com/PDAET/articleshow/7108777.cms</ref>. This raises a critical questions of conflict of interest. | |||
| His houses and offices were recently raided by the ] as part of their investigations into the Telecom Scam<ref>CBI conducts raids; swoops on DMK associates, Niira Radia & Pradip Baijal http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/CBI-conducts-raids-swoops-on-DMK-associates-Niira-Radia--Pradip-Baijal/articleshow/7108883.cms</ref>. | |||
| == Post-Retirement == | |||
| He recently co-founded a strategy consulting firm . Noesis was established to provide strategic advisory services based on a blend of experience, foresight, a deep understanding of the economic and business landscape, and the ability to take a holistic view. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Baijal, Pradip}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 14:27, 24 October 2024
Indian civil servant | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
| Pradip Baijal | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1943-02-15) 15 February 1943 (age 81) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Noida, India |
| Alma mater | Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee |
Pradip Baijal is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) who retired as the chief of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Baijal held several senior administrative positions in the Ministry of Finance and Industries at state level but first came into prominence as the disinvestment secretary in 1999 and was part of the team that was involved in the disinvestment of various Govt companies like BP, VSNL, IPCL and Maruti. He is credited for the sale of Maruti which resulted in a Rs 1000 crore control premium for the government). He retired as the Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in March 2006.
Post retirement, Baijal setup Noesis Strategic Consulting Company.
Education
He was trained as an engineer before he joined the Indian Administrative Service. Baijal earned his BE (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from University of Roorkee; now renamed the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. He took part in a one-year visiting fellowship at the University of Oxford on the Privatisation of Public Enterprise.
Career
Baijal also pushed for unified licensing, under which an operator can offer telecom and broadcasting services on a single licence and next generation networks for Indian telecom sector that would bring down the network costs significantly. He is credited with suggesting a reduction in ADC, a fee that private operators pay BSNL for compensating its rural operations, and its eventual withdrawal by 2009.
Baijal has trained telecom regulators on behalf of the World Bank (Infodev) in Africa. He similarly works for ITU in Southeast Asia and has also undertaken restructuring of telecom regulation in Lao, Myanmar, and Oman, and has lectured ministers and regulators in Southeast Asia on reforms and regulation. He had also taken training classes on power regulation in 1999, in Vietnam. He is on the boards of Nestle, GVK, and Patni Computers, and advisory boards of the India Oil Corporation, Infrastructure Development Finance Company. For a few months in 2009, he was the chairman of an advisory committee to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board in India. He was Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Post retirement
Baijal spent a year after retirement writing the book Disinvestment in India - I Lose and you Gain, published by Pearsons He also co-founded a strategy consulting firm Noesis with Niira Radia. He also serves on the boards of GVK, Nestle India and Patni Computers. He works as an independent consultant and advisor to several countries including Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. He has recently self-published a book and released it on Amazon. "This is an honest account of the journey of one of India's finest civil servants .... and it is a clarion call to stop the witch hunt practices, otherwise Baijal might just be the last of his tribe to have the courage to carry out big and bold reforms. The India of today cannot afford this. " - Mr. Deepak Parekh
References
- "Maruti IPO May Garner Rs 700 Cr". The Financial Express. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- "TRAI chairman Pradip Baijal retires". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Anil Wanvari. "Indiantelevision.com > News Headlines > Trai's Baijal ends tenure; Misra likely successor". Indiantelevision.com. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- "Disinvestment in India - I lose and you gain | Pradip Baijal | Pradip Baijal Profile". Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- "Businessworld - Man with a Mission". Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
- "Noesis Consultancy". Noesis.in. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
