In a momentous development for India, NN Prasad, Joint Secretary at the DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce) has been selected as the Chef De Cabinet to the Director General of WIPO, Dr Francis Gurry. This is a very high profile appointment, as the post of Chef De Cabinet is akin to the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India.
Prasad’s legacy at the DIPP has been nothing short of exemplary. He was one of the first bureaucrats to take an active interest in the administration of the Indian patent office. He openly supported principles of public participation and transparency and was again one of the first government servants to hold public consultations on the draft Patent Manual. We had blogged about one such event in Kolkata.
Prasad has defended the interests of India and of developing countries as a whole at several international fora. Illustratively, he conveyed his deep displeasure at the recent inclusion of India in the coveted “priority watch list” by the US.
Also, see here for a recent update of the generic drug seizures at European ports, where Prasad has indicated an imminent TRIPS complaint by India. And here, for his passionate statements about the need to protect traditional knowledge through an international framework.
It’s no wonder then that Prasad was named as one of the fifty most influential IP thoughtleaders by MIP.
With this plum posting at WIPO, India is likely to become even more influential on the global IP stage. Particularly since there are already 3 other Indians with high level postings at WIPO:
1. Narendra Sabharwal, Deputy Director General,
2. Pusphpendra Rai, IP and Economic Development Division
3. Guriqbal Singh Jaiyya, Director, SME Division
We wish Mr Prasad the very best of luck and are certain that he will make a significant contribution to the current course of global IP. Further, for those of us that remain optimistic about the Development Agenda, the appointment of this brilliant IAS officer from India lends much support to the cause.
On a related note, a “development agenda” book under the stewardship of Jeremy DeBeer, a leading Canadian IP academic, has just been published. This book deals with concrete strategies to take the development agenda forward. I have a chapter with an Italian economist ,where we’ve categorised India and several other countries as “technologically proficient developing countries” (TPDCs). Our core thesis in this paper is that supporters of the Development Agenda need to explicitly recognise and leverage this TPDC distinction to make the agenda much more effective.
I just came across your article praising the appointment of NN Prasad his significant contribution to the current course of global IP. Sadly your assumptions are proved wrong:
1. Within a short span of his arrival, India’s dominant position has already been lost within the developing countries block. It is feared India’s bargaining position in IP negotiations is going to be further weakened with the presence of his wife Mrs. Anjali NN Prasad in Geneva.
2. Indian presence in WIPO is further depleted with the active connivance of NN Prasad. It started with the unceremonious ouster of Ram Kishan Singh, a junior official with over ten years of service, as reported by Ravi Kanth in Business Standard dated …..July 2009. Mr. Pushpendra Rai (a very senior Indian Government official) has already been exiled to an insignificant position in Singapore. Narender Sabharwal has already been served notice to pack-up and leave. It is also in the grapevine that the third Indian Official, Guriqbal Singh Jaiyya, Senior Director, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Division, a Division which he has assiduously built up is going to have his wings cut very soon. All of this within a short span of NN Prasad’ arrival!!
3. It is reported by Joe C Mathew, Business Standard dated 09 August 2009 that the unethical appointment of NN Prasad in WIPO as Chef de cabinet of Francis Gurry, Director General, WIPO had flouted all the established procedures applicable to foreign posting of Indian Government officials; and the subsequent posting of his wife Anjali Prasad to the slot vacated by him in the Ministry of Commerce is reported to be to help cover up his misdeeds while he was in the Ministry. It is indeed strange that N.N.Prasad’s appointment in WIPO was cleared in haste in the interregnum between outgoing minister Kamal Nath and incoming minister Ananad Sharma.
This kind of comment comparing NN Prasad’s appointment as Chef de Cabinet of WIPO Director General, as equivalent to that of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, is totally misleading and degrading the position of Mr. TKA Nair, Principal Secretary to Mr. Manmohan Singh. Even the Chief Secretary at a State level is at a much higher level than the Chef de Cabinet of WIPO. I may further add that Mr. Nambiar (a much senior Govt. of India official than Mr. Prasad), Chef de Cabinet of Mr. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General, United Nations himself has never claimed that even his post is equivalent to that of the Principal Secretary of Prime Minister of India. I would suggest this kind of misleading media hype be avoided in future, even though I understand it is intended more for innocent home consumption. The Prime Minister’s office, especially Mr. TKA Nair should take note of it since it was reported that NN Prasad’s brother is working in his own office in the PM Secretariat.
i have come across the news of the posting of sri nn prasad at wipo. prasadji is a distinguished ias officer with a vast potential.good news and a great news…..rb singh