Jitesh Khosla, 56, has a Linkedin profile— an unusual appendage for a senior career bureaucrat, but not a bad tool to have for someone looking to take up a job in Mumbai.
At the moment, Khosla is both. The 1979-batch IAS officer from Assam-Meghalaya cadre is the front-runner in the race for the top job at UTI Asset Management. According to reports, he doesn’t want to let go of the former, even as he has thrown his hat into the ring for the latter. A mechanical engineer from Punjab University and MTech from IIT Delhi, his academic pursuits have taken him to Harvard, London and IIM Ahmedabad for mid-career courses.
In his three decades as a bureaucrat, Khosla has held several key positions, spending over twelve of these years in the central government in two stints separated by a five-year hiatus. Between 1994 and 1999, he was at the department of Economic Affairs under the finance ministry as Joint secretary.
The second and more eventful tenure began when the UPA returned to power in 2004. As Joint Secretary, corporate affairs, Khosla “initiated concept and debate, followed by drafting and introduction of Companies Bill 2008.” He was also part of several high profile committees that were instrumental in framing public policy. JJ Irani committee on corporate Law, Vepa Kamesam committee on corporate fraud and Amit Mitra panel on Valuation professionals are some of them. During this period, he also oversaw several controversial merger proposals of state-owned firms like IOC, IBP etc.
Also, Khosla is no stranger to Mumbai or the Dalal Street. Between 2004 and 2010, he served as a director on the board of the Bombay Stock Exchange and counts Madhu Kannan, MD &CEO of BSE among his 27 LinkedIn connections. Deena Mehta, broker and a colleague on BSE Board said, “He was a public interest director at BSE. In the one year period I have seen him, he came across as a clear thinking person. He was articulate with his views,” she said.
Fellow officers who have worked closely with Khosla say he is sharp and his integrity is impeccable. “Khosla is a very good officer who knows his job well. He is a straight forward, plain speaking guy,” said one of them.
But, all this did not seem enough when it came to selecting the successor of UK Sinha at the UTI Tower. His possible selection to one of the most powerful and prestigious seats in Indian financial services met with criticism from some quarters as his elder sister Omita Paul is advisor to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
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The fund house's foreign investors seemed to have had other ideas. So, what was a smooth transition for the previous two corner office incumbents at the UTI Tower, has become a nine-month long ordeal. The delay and indecision has affected Khosla as much as it has the fund house. Since his term at Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs got over in February, he has reverted back to his home cadre as an additional chief secretary, Government of Assam. Officers serving on deputation with central government see going back to the home cadre a negative career move. “Your name will still be in the central pool after you revert to the home cadre. But you should wait for someone to spot and pick you for these central postings. This wait can be long and unnerving,” says a former finance ministry official.
Last week, the UTI board had met prospective candidates including Khosla, sparking fresh rumours that the post of Chairman and managing director may be bifurcated. Another report said Khosla would want to keep a lien on his government service in the event of such dilution. Some people following him closely also say Khosla has not moved to Assam and continues to spend most of his time in Delhi ironing out the issues in the selection process.
Even his Linkedin profile, which lists his present designation as Additional Secretary, Government of Assam, says his location is “New Delhi Area, India”. Maybe it was inadvertent. Maybe he is waiting to change it to “Mumbai Area, India.”