Anand Khare Appointed Director General of Telecom, Effective March 2026
Anand Khare, an ITS officer, has been appointed as the new Director General of Telecom by the DoT, effective March 1, 2026.
The Department of Telecommunications has announced the appointment of Anand Khare as the new Director General of Telecom, with his promotion into the role taking effect from March 1, 2026. Khare is an officer of the Indian Telecommunication Service.
The Director General of Telecom position sits within DoT's senior technical and administrative leadership, overseeing coordination on telecom licensing, spectrum-related technical matters, and policy implementation support for the department, a role distinct from the Telecom Secretary's broader policy-setting mandate but closely coordinated with it given the overlap between technical standards work and licensing policy.
Indian Telecommunication Service officers reaching Director General-level postings typically bring extensive experience across DoT's technical wings, including spectrum management, network licensing compliance, and telecom infrastructure standards, areas that have grown in complexity as India's telecom sector has expanded through 5G rollout, satellite communication licensing, and an increasingly dense regulatory environment covering both traditional telecom operators and newer digital communication service providers.
DoT has been navigating a particularly active policy period in telecommunications regulation, including spectrum allocation for emerging technologies, satellite broadband licensing frameworks, and continued 5G network expansion oversight, all areas where the Director General's technical coordination role interfaces directly with policy decisions made at the ministry and Secretary level.
The effective date set for March 1, 2026, rather than immediate implementation, is consistent with DoT's practice of aligning senior promotion effective dates with vacancy timelines created by the retirement or transfer of the outgoing officeholder.
The appointment was processed through the Department of Telecommunications' internal promotion board in coordination with the Department of Personnel and Training's cadre management rules for the Indian Telecommunication Service.
