New Delhi, June 10: Retired IAS officer Rentala Chandrasekhar has been appointed head of the National Technical Research Organisation, which is part of the intelligence apparatus.

Chandrasekhar, a 1975-batch officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, will hold the post for three years.

The appointments committee of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cleared Chandrasekhar’s name.

Chandrasekhar, who retired this year as the telecom secretary and was previously the information technology secretary, will be the first IAS officer to take charge of a technical intelligence organisation.

The agency directly reports to the Prime Minister’s Office through the national security adviser and has remained headless for several months.

The decision to appoint the former bureaucrat has disappointed IPS officers and scientists, some of who questioned if a scientific organisation or technical intelligence arm of the intelligence apparatus is meant to be a parking slot for former bureaucrats.

“Why even IPS officers? This is a specialised agency that caters to the needs of its customers, which are intelligence agencies. It should be headed by a specialist in the field,” said a former special director of the Intelligence Bureau. “This is just a sinecure for a retired officer,” he added.

The NTRO was formed in 2004 as a dedicated technical intelligence agency to forewarn Kargil-like conflicts.

However, the organisation has remained mired in corruption scandals and maladministration, which was exposed during the 2010 phone-tapping scandal involving Niira Radia.

The NTRO’s record is unenviable, failing to provide intelligence in crucial times.