The author,
G.S.Rajamani, is a post graduate in Economics from the Madras University and
also holds a degree in law (B.L.). He presently stands enrolled as an Advocate
of the Madras High court. On the professional front, he holds the Master’s
Diploma in Public Administration after undergoing the Advanced Professional
Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) in the Indian Institute of Public
Administration (IIPA). He also participated and qualified in the long term
course in the National Defence College which involved submission of a thesis.
This course has recently been accepted to be eligible for award of M.Phil. by
the Madras University.
Rajamani joined
the Civil Service in 1965 and had held many important positions in the
government. Besides his postings in his cadre he had a long stint in the Union
Ministries at New Delhi. He served as Under-Secretary and Deputy-Secretary in
the Finance Ministry. Later he took over as an Officer on Special Duty, in the rank
of Director, in the Radar and Communication Project of the Ministry of Defence.
This project was administered by the Radar and Communication Board, chaired by
the Prime Minister. Rajamani held the post for full tenure of 5 years. During this
period he came into close contact with the advancements in electronics of the
1980s with special reference to fibre optics, use of computers in
communication, online diagnostics system of communication network, satellite
technology, etc. During this period, he was associated with the Project Titan,
an RCPO project for the ONGC which was entrusted with the task of establishment
of telemetry systems for oil output from the off-shore wells and electronic
transfer of data from the computers in the oil platforms of Bombay High North
and South to the mainland using satellite technology.
Subsequently
Rajamani held the post of Joint-Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry
of Communications (Department of Post) and functioned as Member, Postal
Services Board with the concurrent charge in the Ministry of Environment .He
also held the additional charge of Ministries of Electronics, Non-Conventional
Energy and Welfare at different points of time.
In 1996 he was
appointed as the Member, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Ex-Officio
Additional-Secretary to the Government of India. Later, on the setting up of
the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), he took over as its
founder Member in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India which he held
to the full tenure of 5 years till he demitted office in 2003. In this post, he
functioned as Quasi-Judicial Authority. During his tenure in the power sector,
Rajamani was associated with the electronic grid control systems using online
computers. The concept of Power-Exchange was also conceived by the CERC in its
embryonic form, right in the beginning, which has now become a reality today.
In the
International Relations, Rajamani has represented India as a delegate in the
Universal Postal Union held in Seoul, South Korea. He was also a delegate to
the World Bank in Washington D.C., USA, from the Ministry of Environment. He
had also visited the Public Utility Commission, Boston in the USA as part of
the Exchange Program between the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission of
India and Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission of the USA. Besides, he has
participated in number of international programs especially dealing with the
Electricity Regulation.
The author is a
life member of the Forum of Indian Regulators (FOIR). He is also a life member
of the Indian Society of Authors (INSA). At present he is a Member of the
Advisory Committee of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC).