Having failed to find a suitable person to wear the shoes of the secretary for the department of science and technology (DST), the Centre is now calling for open nominations from the science community to find a "visionary and a major contributor in shaping the future of Indian science, technology and innovation".
DST is responsible for building national capacity and capability in science, technology and innovation. It also serves as the funding agency for scientific research, disbursing funds through several schemes. The department has been without a permanent secretary since April when T Ramasami retired from the post. Professor K Vijayraghavan, secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, has been given additional charge of DST.
The Central government has been trying hard to find a person for the post but despite instituting a committee, it has been unable to find a consensus candidate. The department has therefore now put up an advertisement seeking to fill the secretary position as well as that of the director general (DG) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The DG is responsible for driving research and development in nearly 40 premier national laboratories across India. The post has been vacant since January.
"An advertisement such as this one seeking open nominations for the secretary's post is certainly new, and a welcome move. It is for the first time that the government is proceeding in this manner to find a secretary for an important department," a senior DST official said, requesting anonymity. "Now, no one will be able to cry foul or accuse others of bias in the selection of the secretary. It will also create confidence among the scientific community that they have an equal chance to reach the top."
A niche spot
IAS officers are generally not appointed to the departments of science and technology, earth sciences, scientific and industrial research, biotechnology, etc. The position of secretary for these departments is usually reserved for eminent scientists, who are given longer tenures so that they are able to see through the implementation of long-term vision and policies.
For instance, T Ramasami had taken over as secretary of DST in 2006 and was given several extensions before he retired in 2014. His predecessor, VS Ramamurthy, served as DST secretary for over a decade from 1995-2006. Similarly, the secretary at the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Shailesh Nayak, has held his post since 2008.
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