PD Vaghela appointed as new TRAI chairman

Pharma secretary Dr Vaghela will hold the office for a period of three years or until he attains the age of 65, as per ACC's communication

by Sonam Saini
Published: Sep 28, 2020 9:23 PM | 1 min read

The Appointment Committee of Cabinet has approved the appointment of Dr PD Vaghela, IAS, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals as chairman Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

The official communication for Dr Vaghela's appointment read: "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Dr PD Vaghela, IAS (GJ: 1986), Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals as Chairperson, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)for a period of three years or until he attains the age of 65, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest."

Vaghela is known to be among the few key people who helped in GST rollout. Currently serving as Secretary in Department of Pharmaceuticals, Vaghela, is a Gujarat Cadre IAS Officer. He will be taking the role as a TRAI Chairman from 1 October.

Vaghela will be replacing RS Sharma who is going to retire on 30 September. Sharma is the current chairman of TRAI since the 10 of August 2015. He leads the regulatory body for orderly growth and consumer protection in telecom & broadcasting sectors.

According to media reports, Vaghela is a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer and was one of the key officers behind the rolling out of the Goods and Services Tax.

He has earlier worked as Commissioner, Commercial Tax, Gujarat, and Chairman of Kandla Port.

Vaghela has also worked as District Magistrate in three districts in Gujarat.