Jaishankar dons corporate mantle

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 23

Dr S Jaishankar who retired as Foreign Secretary after an extended three-year term in January will now play a major corporate role. Confirming speculation, Tata Sons on Monday announced his appointment as president, Global Corporate Affairs.

“Dr Jaishankar will report to N Chandrasekaran, executive chairman of Tata Sons in his new role,” said a company release.

A 1977-batch IFS (Indian Foreign Service) diplomat, Jaishankar worked closely with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on foreign policy and security issues in the Modi government. 

As per the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) norms, “a retired officer of Central Service Group A cannot accept any commercial employment before the expiry of two years from the date of retirement without prior sanction of the President”.

The cooling off period was relaxed for Jaishankar whose term as Foreign Secretary was extended by a year in 2017 just days before his retirement. He was known to enjoy Modi’s confidence as a key architect in the Prime Minister’s relations with US Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. He was central to negotiations in Delhi and Beijing during the 21-day Depsang stand-off and 73-day Doklam confrontation between the Indian and Chinese militaries.

“In his new role, he will be responsible for the Tata group’s global corporate affairs and international strategy development and Tata Sons’ international offices will report to him. Dr Jaishankar will work with Tata companies to help them strengthen their business presence and positioning in their respective geographies globally,” said the company.

Aside from key career assignments, Jaishankar also served as High Commissioner to Singapore and Ambassador to China and US prior to appointment as Foreign Secretary in January 2015.

Speculation was on though if he would be accommodated in some special envoy’s role in the Prime Minister’s Office post retirement. “I look forward to being part of the Tata group and working with key stakeholders to make an impact,” Dr Jaishankar was quoted as saying by the group.

While some former bureaucrats have taken up private commercial jobs, most retired Foreign Secretaries in recent years have chosen the academic and think-tank world options. Jaishankar was also on a fellowship with National University of Singapore last few months.