By all appearances, a quiet storm is brewing at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali — and it deserves immediate public scrutiny. Nearly two dozen faculty appointments, long overdue in a premier institution battling talent gaps, have now raised eyebrows not for their merit, but for how they were pushed through. The process appears to be riddled with procedural irregularities, institutional overreach, and what may amount to a textbook case of conflict of interest.
To understand the gravity of the situation, one must step back to a not-so-distant past.
When Excellence Was Denied Support
During my tenure as Director of NIPER Mohali, the institute stood at the pinnacle of academic achievement — it held the Number 1 position in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). And yet, despite a pressing need and several vacancies, I was not allowed to recruit a single faculty member. Why? Because both the then-Chairman of the Board of Governors (BoG), Dr. V.M. Katoch, and the Joint Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Rajneesh Tingal, opposed all faculty appointments.
Their opposition was adamant, even though the faculty shortage was glaring and the quality of the institute depended on resolving it. Ironically, they held this stance when the BoG was in full force and functioning.
By October 2019, the term of the BoG expired. What followed was a baffling vacuum.
The New Appointments — Who Approved Them?
Fast forward to the present. A wave of appointments — long-awaited, yes — has suddenly taken place. The list is long and includes Fellows, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, and Professors. Many names are unfamiliar to me and are recruits:
Fellows Appointed
- Dr. Raj Kumar Misra
- Dr. Srimanta Manna
- Dr. Sandeep
Assistant Professors
- Dr. Uma Ranjan Lal
- Dr. Ashutosh Kumar
- Dr. Sukhendu Nandi
- Dr. Anamika Bose
- Dr. Jaideep Saha
- Dr. Ajay Kumar
- Dr. Dipankar Das
- Dr. Ravi Kumar
- Dr. Rajesh P. Ringe
- Dr. Saurabh Mishra
Associate Professors
- Dr. Deepak B. Salunke
- Dr. Bhuwan Bhushan Mishra
- Dr. Sundeep Chaurasia
- Dr. Rajendra Kumar
- Dr. Deepika Singh
- Dr. Sanjay Kumar Singh
- Dr. Mahajan Ujwal Mukund
Professors
- Prof. Tarun Sharma (name appears twice)
- Prof. Anupama Mittal
- Prof. Manoj Kumar
- Prof. Pravin Keshaorao Shende
- Prof. Krishan Gopal
Additionally, several existing faculty members were promoted across ranks — a process that, too, requires BoG approval under the Act.
So here is the most pressing question: Who approved these appointments?
A Conflict of Interest at the Core?
The current BoG was constituted in November 2022 with Dr. Girish Sahni, former Director General of CSIR, appointed as Chairman. Unfortunately, Dr. Sahni passed away on August 19, 2024. Since then, there has been no new Chairman appointed. In the vacuum that followed, the Director, Dr. Dulal Panda, assumed the role of Chairman himself — an action that is highly questionable under the NIPER statutes.
Clause 3.1.3 (g) of the NIPER Statutes is unambiguous:
“The Director shall preside over the meetings in the absence of the Chairman.”
But there is a difference — a legal and administrative difference — between “absence” and “vacancy.” Absence implies a temporary unavailability. A vacant post implies a power vacuum that must be filled by the appointing authority — in this case, the Department of Pharmaceuticals. The fact that the Department has failed to act since August 2024 is an abdication of responsibility.
In the meantime, Dr. Dulal Panda has assumed multiple roles:
- He is the Director of NIPER.
- He is the de facto (self-appointed) Chairman of the BoG.
- He is part of the Selection Committee, which, by law, must be approved by the BoG before selections.
- He is now also approving the very appointments that he was involved in selecting.
This is not merely a governance issue — this is the definition of a conflict of interest.
Where Are the Watchdogs?
Two representatives from the Department of Pharmaceuticals are members of the BoG. Are they unaware of this administrative sleight of hand? Or are they turning a blind eye? Either way, their silence is complicit. The sanctity of one of India’s premier research institutes is being compromised while those meant to ensure transparency are watching from the sidelines.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals must answer:
- Why has no new Chairman been appointed since August 2024?
- Who authorized the recent faculty recruitment drive?
- Was the Selection Committee constituted legally?
- Who signed off on the promotions and appointments without a valid BoG?
Is This a Recruitment Scam in the Making?
When appointments are made outside the framework of law, even well-meaning actions can cross into dangerous territory. The flood of new appointments — nearly two dozen — without a valid BoG, without due statutory process, and with the Director himself occupying every decision-making chair, raises the spectre of what could turn out to be a full-blown recruitment scam.
This cannot be dismissed as bureaucratic oversight. This is a failure of institutional checks and balances. And unless investigated thoroughly and urgently, it will set a precedent that threatens every autonomous institution in India.
Who Will Investigate?
The time for whispers and internal memos is over. This situation calls for a formal inquiry — either by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, the Ministry of Education, or the Central Vigilance Commission. An external, independent investigation must be launched to examine how these appointments were made, who authorized them, and whether any financial or administrative misconduct occurred.
India deserves world-class institutions — and world-class institutions deserve transparent, lawful, and ethical leadership.
Until then, one question remains unanswered: Who appointed NIPER’s new faculty?
