Aruna Sundararajan
IAS
293days after leaving Telecom Secretary (earlier IT Secretary and Steel Secretary). Then L&T Infotech.
The cooling-off rule
Retirement 2019-07-31 to first listed directorship 2020-05-19
The rule: DoPT Office Memorandum of 5 Dec 2006 (as described by The Indian Express): a one-year cooling-off period after retirement before joining private company boards, which can be shortened with separate government approval. For All India Services, rule 26 of the AIS (DCRB) Rules, 1958 (see research/deals/moves.json for the DoPT FAQ source).
Before and after
Documented
Telecom Secretary (earlier IT Secretary and Steel Secretary)
293 days after leaving.
Documented
L&T Infotech
Director
Aruna Sundararajan: Retired as Telecom Secretary on July 31, 2019; was earlier IT Secretary and Steel Secretary. Within 10 months, joined L&T Infotech (May 19, 2020).
What the office had to do with the company
The Indian Express (2021) reported the timing against the cooling-off rule; it did not report a specific decision involving the company. Not yet checked for in-office dealings.
What was said
- Response: Aruna Sundararajan
- “I had sought formal approval for joining L&T Infotech. The clearance took over eight months and I joined only after receiving the approval.” indianexpress.com
Sources
Dates and filings placed side by side; being listed is not a finding of wrongdoing. Sources were opened on Oct 2026. Most of this page rests on a single report and is being checked against filings.
Photo: ITU Pictures / R. Farrell (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0