MUMBAI: After serving as the secretary for IT (Information Technology), Ram Sewak Sharma, has been thrust into the role of chairman for TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). He will take up the mantle from former TRAI chairman-Rahul Khullar, who stepped down in May this year.

Sharma will work towards improving the quality of services provided by Telecom operators.

The appointment of Sharma comes at a time when there is huge uproar regarding net neutrality, and penalising telcos for call drops.

I&B secretary Bimal Julka, commerce secretary Rajeev Kher, defence secretary RK Mathur, steel secretary Rakesh Singh and former telecom secretary MF Farooqui, were other contenders for the top post of the telecom watchdog.

Sharma, an IAS 1978 batch from the Jharkhand cadre, will hold his TRAI position for three years. Alongside Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekani, Sharma designed a roadmap, followed by implementation of its plan in a span of four years, to have in place the largest biometric database. At UIDAI, he served as director-general and mission director, and was the second most important man, after Nilekani. He is also an integral part of Prime Minister- Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ campaign.

Sharma is a famous code-writer, who has a Masters degree in Mathematics from IIT Kanpur, and a Masters in Computer Science from the University of California.