S Ramadorai quits govt bodies; rumoured to be next Tata Sons chairman

His resignation as chairman of the government's skill development agencies triggered talk that he may be headed back to the Tata Group where a search committee is looking for a full-time chairman.

Tata veteran S Ramadorai has resigned as chairman of the government's skill development agencies, sparking speculation that he might be headed back to India's largest conglomerate.

Ramadorai, 71, quit sometime last month and his resignation has been accepted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources privy to the development said.

Rohit Nandan, vice-chairman of the governing body and secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has been appointed interim head of the National Skill Development Agency till a full-time chairman is appointed.

The National Skill Development Corporation Board is likely to meet on Wednesday, November 2, to discuss the future road map, post the resignation.

Ramadorai, the former Tata Consultancy Services chief, was appointed chairman of the skill development agencies in May 2013 with Cabinet rank.

He is also the Chairman of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and AirAsia India.

His resignation triggered talk that he might be headed back to the Tata Group where a search committee is looking for a full-time chairman after the board of Tata Sons ousted its first non-family chairman, Cyrus Mistry, last month.

Meanwhile, top sources in the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship said the government is scouting for a replacement.

The Modi government, which has taken the skill development initiatives on top priority, wants to scale up skilling efforts and has set a target to train over 400 million people in India in different skills by 2022.

To achieve the objective, the government is eyeing revamp of key bodies, including the NSDC and NSDA.

Ramadorai's resignation paves the way for a major shake-up of the bodies.

Sources close to Ramadorai said the 71 year old, who was appointed by the Manmohan Singh government, had cited health reasons for putting in his papers.

Last year, NSDC's then managing director and CEO Dilip Chenoy and its COO Atul Bhatnagar, who were appointees of the previous government, had also resigned.

Union Minister for Sill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy had expressed displeasure at the way the NSDC was run and lashed out at its failure to meet the industry's needs for trained manpower.

The National Skill Development Agency is an autonomous body under the skill development ministry, which coordinates and harmonizes the skill development efforts of the government and the private sector to achieve skilling targets.