Indian activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan's post brings focus on ‘conflict of interest’ appointments of ex-govt officials at Reliance, Adani groups

Indian activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan has turned the nation’s focus on how former bureaucrats join plum posts including as board directors in major conglomorates like Reliance Industries and Adani group, raising questions about the principles of safe distance between industry and government, as also the ethics of such ‘revolving doors’ in their careers. Some of these former officials had served in regulatory roles in agencies like Central Vigilance Commission and Comptroller and Auditor General of India, while others were with Public Sector Units, Bhushan pointed out.

In an X post that sparked major online debate, Bhushan wrote:“Former, CVC chief, CAG chief, Bank chiefs, PSU chiefs, even Supreme Court judge joined Reliance, the company that they should have dealt with in some capacity as Regulators, after retirement. Shouldn’t there be a ban on such post retirement jobs which create conflicts of interest while in position?”

Along with the post, Bushan shared some of the alleged names. But a larger examination revealed that his list is not exhaustive. The following are some of the top ex-offficials and regularory body chiefs who joined these industry majors, mostly post-retirement. While this is collected from publicly available information, it may not be the full picture of the ‘revolving doors’.

Former officials and regulatory body chiefs who joined Reliance and Adani groups

The below list is a compilation from Prashant Bhushan’s post as well as other publicly available information:

Reliance group

1. Arundhati Bhattacharya, the chairman of the State Bank of India until 2017, was appointed an independent director on the Reliance Industries board in October 2018.
2. K. V. Chowdary, a former chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes who went on to serve as Central Vigilance Commissioner until June 2019, joined the Reliance Industries board as an independent director four months after retiring as CVC.
3. Sarthak Behuria, who chaired state-run Bharat Petroleum Coroporation Limited and later Indian Oil Corporation before retiring in 2010, joined Reliance as a senior adviser in February 2020.
4. Sanjiv Singh, chairman of Indian Oil Corporation until June 2020, joined Reliance Industries as group president, two months after retirement.
5. Prabhat Singh, managing director and chief executive of Petronet LNG and earlier director of marketing at GAIL, superannuated in September 2020 and joined the business leadership team of India Gas Solutions, the Reliance BP joint venture.
6. D. Sengupta, a former chairman of the General Insurance Corporation of India, joined the board of Reliance General Insurance in 2005.
7. A. K. Purwar, chairman and managing director of the State Bank of India until 2006, was appointed an additional director of Reliance Communications in July 2007.
8. Justice Krishna Murari, who retired as a judge of the Supreme Court of India in July 2023, was appointed to Reliance-linked Vantara's independent governing council in September 2026.
9. Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978 batch IAS officer who served as Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) until 2020, was appointed a director on the Jio Financial Services board in July 2023.
10. M. K. Jain, who stepped down as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India in June 2023, joined Reliance Industries as an adviser in March 2025.
11. K. V. Kamath, the former chief of ICICI Bank and a veteran banker who has served on regulatory committees, is chairman of Jio Financial Services.

Adani group

1. V. Subramanian, a 1971 batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre who served as secretary for new and renewable energy before leaving government around 2008, became an independent director of Adani Enterprises in 2016 and stepped down in August 2026.
2. Vijaylaxmi Joshi, a 1980 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre who served as secretary for panchayati raj, became an independent director of Adani Enterprises in 2016.
3. Narendra Mairpady, chairman and managing director of Indian Overseas Bank from 2010 to 2014 and earlier an executive director at Bank of India, left that post in 2014 and served as an independent director of Adani Enterprises until November 2023.
4. M. V. Bhanumathi, a 1987 batch IRS officer who was director general of income tax investigation in Mumbai until May 2022, became an independent director of Adani Ports in February 2024.
5. Niraj Bansal, an IRS officer who served as commissioner of income tax and earlier as chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, took voluntary retirement in 2021, joined the Adani group in 2022 and became chief executive of the ports business at APSEZ in June 2026.
6. P. K. Pujari, a 1981 batch IAS officer who was power secretary and later chairman of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission until 2017, became an independent director of Adani Ports in August 2024.
7. Rajkumar Beniwal, a 2004 batch IAS officer and vice chairman and chief executive of the state-run Gujarat Maritime Board, was that board's nominee director on Adani Ports from 2023 until he resigned in January 2026.
8. G. K. Pillai, a former Union home secretary, earlier served as an independent director of Adani Ports.
9. Meera Shankar, an Indian Foreign Service officer and former ambassador to the United States and Germany, was an independent director of Adani Energy Solutions from 2015 until June 2025.
10. K. Jairaj, a 1976 batch IAS officer who held senior energy and urban administration roles in Karnataka, was an independent director of Adani Energy Solutions from 2015 until June 2025.
11. Chandra Iyengar, a 1973 batch IAS officer who was additional chief secretary for home in Maharashtra and chaired the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, served as an independent director of Adani Total Gas from 2018 to 2023, of Adani Power from 2022 to 2025 and of Adani Energy Solutions in 2025.
12. Dr Amiya Chandra, a 1989 batch Indian Trade Service officer who worked in the commerce and textiles ministries and the Prime Minister's Office and served as additional director general of foreign trade, became an independent director of Adani Energy Solutions in 2025 and resigned in July 2025.
13. Deepak Amitabh, a 1984 batch IRS officer of the income tax cadre who was chairman and managing director of PTC India until November 2021, became chief executive of energy sales at Adani Power and later an adviser for business development in 2023.
14. ICP Keshri, a 1988 batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, is an adviser on infrastructure and energy to the Adani group.
15. Shashi Shanker, a former chairman and managing director of ONGC, became an independent director of Adani Total Gas in May 2022.
16. Sushil Kumar Roongta, a former chairman of SAIL who also chaired International Coal Ventures Limited, served as an independent director of Adani Power and retired in November 2025.
17. Upendra Kumar Sinha, an IAS officer who chaired the Securities and Exchange Board of India from 2011 to 2017, was appointed independent director and chairman of Adani-owned NDTV in a non-executive capacity in March 2023.
18. Dinesh Kumar Mittal, a 1977 batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre who served as secretary for financial services and as India's chief negotiator at the World Trade Organization, became a non-executive independent director of NDTV in June 2023.
19. Sunil Kumar, a 1979 batch IAS officer who was chief secretary of Chhattisgarh from 2012 to 2014, was appointed an additional non-executive independent director of NDTV in December 2022 and resigned in March 2023.
20. Aman Kumar Singh, a former IRS officer who served as principal secretary to Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh until November 2022, became a non-executive director of NDTV in December 2022, resigned in April 2023 and faces a Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing probe.
21. Raminder Singh Gujral is a 1976 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre who was Union finance secretary and earlier secretary for revenue, expenditure and road transport as well as chairman of NHAI and director general of foreign trade. After leaving government, he served as an independent director of Adani Power from 2015 to 2022, independent director of Adani Green Energy since 2020 and is reported to have been associated with Reliance's board as well.