Sectoral expertise: Regulators can be found beyond the IAS

Regulation, especially financial regulation, is a particularly difficult task that requires a light touch and extensive experience with the sector being regulated

Subhash Chandra Khutia, a member of the Indian Administrative Service who was chief secretary to the Karnataka government, has been chosen by a selection panel as the next chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, or IRDA. Mr Khutia replaces T S Vijayan and is to serve as IRDA chairman for three years. When Mr Vijayan was chosen to head the authority in 2013, his appointment was welcomed particularly because he had previously served as head of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. While it may not be best practice to appoint the former chairperson of the largest player