Tenure of ED Chief Katoch extended for third time

Senior IAS officer Rajan S Katoch was given yet another extension as the Chief of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by the government today.
An order issued by the Apppointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the government has "approved continuation" of the additional charge of Katoch in ED for three more months beyond July 31, which is till October 31.
This is the third extension being given to the 1979-batch IAS officer in the post.
Katoch is handling the top ED charge in an additional capacity since August 2014 after he was promoted and appointed as the Heavy Industries Secretary. Upon his elevation, he was asked to hold the ED Director's charge till January 2015 after which he was given an extension to continue on the post till April 30.

The ACC again issued an order and extended his stint in the central probe agency till July, 2015, which had come to an end last week.
An IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, Katoch has been heading ED, under the Finance Ministry, for about three-and-a-half years now after he was first appointed in March 2012.

The ED Chief's post is an Additional Secretary-rank position in the Union government.
The agency is mandated to enforce two of the most stringent laws in the country -- the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to check black money and hawala trade cases.

A post-graduate in economics, Katoch has earlier served in the Ministry of Commerce, besides holding a number of posts in his parent cadre.