An ordinance to bring one man into the government

The News Minute| May 28, 2014| 9.30 pm ISTNripendra Mishra was the one chosen to be Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister has been the political buzz for days. But the appointment faced a legal hurdle as Mishra, former TRAI chairman was bound by TRAI Act 1997 to not take any government posting for a period of two years.The government seems to have found a way around the problem and has promulgated an ordinance amending the act in such a way that it will now allow Mishra to take charge. Section 5 (8) of the TRAI Act 1997 initially read- “The chairperson or any other member ceasing to hold office as such, shall — (a) be ineligible for further employment under the Central government or any state government or (b) not accept any commercial employment, for a period of two years from the date he ceases to hold such office,” says the TRAI Act of 1997 available on the law ministry's website.The ordinance amends this section to read as: "The chairperson and the whole-time members shall not, for a period of two years from the date on which they cease to hold office as such, except with the previous approval of the Central government, accept — "(a) any employment either under the Central government or under any state government; or "(b) any appointment in any company in the business of telecommunication service."Nripendra Mishra, an IAS officer from the 1967, retired in 2009. Mishra's last posting was that of chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Misra had held top positions in many ministries and also held key posts in the Uttar Pradesh government.Mishra, a crucial witness in the 2G case had debunked A Raja's first-come-first-serve basis policy. Mishra countered Raja's claim and maintained TRAI had recommended that entrants be brought through an auction process.A Raja was defending himself claiming he had followed what TRAI had suggested in 2007, Mishra said his recommendations were being “cherry-picked”, rather than being implemented in full.