Former telecom secretary JS Deepak has joined Bharti Airtel as group director for policy and international strategy of the company, an internal note of the company said.
A 1982 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, Deepak, as joint secretary at the Department of Telecom had successfully steered the first spectrum auction in 2010 that paved the way for 3G and wireless broadband services in the country.
"Former telecom secretary and former Ambassador WTO JS Deepak has been appointed Group Director for Policy and International Strategy of the Bharti Airtel," according to an internal note.
Bharti Airtel did not comment on the development.
Deepak later served as additional secretary at the Department of Commerce before being appointed as secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and IT.
He was given charge of telecom secretary in February 2016 but abruptly shifted to the post of officer on special duty in the commerce department on March 1, 2017 when he was in Spain to attend global telecom industry event Mobile World Congress.
Under Deepak's regime, the Telecom Commission, the apex decision making body at the DoT, without naming Jio, in February 2017, asked the TRAI to look into free data being offered by telecom operators that allegedly hit government revenue of around Rs 800 crore.
Incumbent telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea had protested against the free data plans provided by Jio as part of its back-to-back promotional offers.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
