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Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear a case tomorrow before the Chief Justice bench, and just hours prior, Pharmaceutical Secretary Amit Agarwal has made a major turnaround. Read the full story.
PM Jan Aushadhi CEO Appointment Process Cancelled
New Delhi: Four days ago, the country’s leading investigative media outlet, Dynamite News, published a report exposing serious irregularities in the appointment process of the CEO for the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), under the central government’s flagship scheme—the Prime Minister’s Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).
The story was titled, “Allegations in Jan Aushadhi CEO Appointment, Delhi HC Moved, Pharma Secretary Under Lens.”
Within 100 hours of this report’s publication, the entire appointment process was cancelled. Dynamite News is the only media outlet in the country to have highlighted these grave irregularities.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court alleging serious irregularities in the appointment process and raising questions about Pharmaceutical Secretary Amit Agarwal’s role. The petition is listed for hearing tomorrow before a division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela in Court No. 01, as Item No. 52.
Just a few minutes ago, Dynamite News was informed that the Department of Pharmaceuticals had issued an official statement, declaring:
“This is to inform all concerned that the Vacancy Circular, published in various newspapers on 24.4.2025 inviting applications for the post of Chief Executive Officer in the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India, is hereby cancelled due to administrative reasons.”
The PIL alleges that the appointment process was neither transparent nor impartial, but was influenced to benefit a particular candidate. According to Dynamite News, the advertisement for the post was issued in May 2025. The original application deadline was May 23, which was extended twice—first to June 7 and then to June 21.
The petition claims this extension was made to benefit an IAS officer posted with the Delhi state government who couldn’t apply within the earlier deadlines. All applications were required to be submitted online, but this IAS officer’s application was accepted offline—at the last minute—raising serious concerns.
More than 50 officers from government, semi-government, and defence backgrounds applied for the post, but only two candidates were called for interviews: one IAS officer and one from the Indian Ordnance Factory Services.
The petition further claims that although the IAS officer was initially declared ineligible, senior officials intervened to reinstate their candidature, overturning a prior disqualification made by a subordinate departmental officer. The interviews of the two candidates were conducted on July 30 by a three-member committee chaired by Pharmaceutical Secretary Amit Agarwal.
The status of other applicants remains unclear, and no information was provided on whether additional candidates would be called for interviews. The interview schedule was also not uploaded to the official website.
Amit Agarwal, a 1993-batch IAS officer from the Chhattisgarh cadre and currently serving as the Pharmaceuticals Secretary, has a notable background in central deputation. From 2004 to 2013, he served continuously for nine years in the Prime Minister’s Office during the UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments, holding positions such as Director and Joint Secretary.
Before the UPA government exited in 2014, he returned to his parent cadre and later rejoined central deputation in 2016 under the Modi government. Since then, he has held several influential positions, including Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the Department of Financial Services.
This means he served nine years at the Centre during the 10-year UPA tenure, and another nine years during the ongoing 11-year Modi administration. The Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) is a flagship government welfare scheme aimed at providing affordable, high-quality generic medicines across the country.
Over 15,000 Janaushadhi Kendras are currently operating nationwide. The CEO position was held by 2014-batch IAS officer Ravi Dadheech for nearly three and a half years until June 12, 2025. Since his transfer, the position has remained vacant, impacting the scheme’s overall functioning.
With the cancellation of the appointment process, the entire case has now taken a new turn.
