Sanjay Kothari appointed secretary to new president

x-default, Sanjay Kothari. File photo

New Delhi: Sanjay Kothari, chairman, Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), has been appointed secretary to president-elect Ram Nath Kovind.

Senior journalist Ashok Malik has been named as press secretary to Kovind, said an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday.

Senior Gujarat-cadre forest service officer Bharat Lal will be joint secretary to Kovind, the order said.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by prime minister Narendra Modi, has cleared the appointments for an initial period of two years, it said.

Kothari, a 1978-batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, retired in June last year as DoPT secretary.

He was in November 2016 appointed the chief of the government's head-hunter the PESB.

Malik is at present distinguished fellow, Observer Research Foundation -- a policy think tank.

Lal, a 1988-batch officer of Indian Forest Service, is at present resident commissioner of Gujarat government in Delhi.

Read more: Latest national news | Prez polls in-depth | US 'looks forward' to working with president-elect Kovind