PD Vaghela, IAS officer who helped in GST rollout, appointed as TRAI's new chairman

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) announced on Monday the appointment of PD Vaghela as the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory of India (Trai). Vaghela will be replacing the outgoing chairperson RS Sharma, who held the high post at the telecom regulator for over five years, after a rare extension till September 30. Sharma was appointed TRAI chief in July 2015 for a three-year term before he got an extension one day before retirement on August 10, 2018.

Who is PD Vaghela?

Vaghela is a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer of batch 1986. Prior to his new stint, he was secretary, department of pharmaceuticals (DoP), under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. He was responsible for controlling the prices of medicines and medical devices.

Vaghela was also the commissioner of commercial tax in Gujarat and had played an incremental role in the formation of GST in 2017.

Vaghela has been appointed the TRAI chairman for a period of three years.