The Ayodhya Ram Temple Trust in Uttar Pradesh has found its first CEO. Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra has been announced as the CEO of the Ram Temple Trust. The decision was made at a meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. 5,585 applications were received for the Ram Temple CEO position. These applications were evaluated at a multi-level level by teams of experts in Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Sambalpur, Odisha. On Tuesday, Search Committee Secretary Sameer Pandya submitted the panel to the Ram Temple Trust. Following this, the panel was considered and a final decision was made on Wednesday. However, until the last minute, there was discussion about appointing encounter specialist, retired IPS officer Rajesh Pandey, as the CEO of the Ram Temple. However, a different decision was reached at the Trust meeting.
Retired Justice Pramod Kohli, Chairman of the Search Committee formed by the Ram Temple Trust, pledged to keep the entire process completely transparent and impartial. He stated that the panel members were selected based on merit. Regarding the selection committee, he said that all the members are visionary, trustworthy, and dedicated. They have a willingness to work. Justice Kohli said, “We have been given the opportunity to contribute here. We are grateful to Ram Lalla and the Ram Mandir Trust for this.”
Justice Kohli explained that the panel of three names submitted to the Trust is based on merit. Efforts have been made to keep the selection process completely fair and transparent. Now, the Ram Mandir Trust has to decide on one name from the panel. After submitting the panel to the Trust, Sameer Pandya thanked the members of the selection committee.
The Ram Mandir Trust announced the formation of the search committee on July 6.
The three members received their appointment letters on July 8.
The first meeting of the selection committee was held on July 11. The deadline for applications was set for July 18. Criteria for eligible candidates were also established.
On July 14, Sameer Pandya was nominated as the Secretary of the Committee.
By July 18, the committee received a total of 5,585 applications. A Google form containing 600 marks was created for shortlisting. It was sent to all applicants. Of these, 3,570 candidates completed the form formalities.
Only candidates who scored above 60 percent were considered for further selection.
This resulted in 108 candidates, who were divided into grades A, B, and C.
Online interviews were conducted between August 3 and 6.
Following the online interviews, 17 candidates were selected and invited to Ayodhya for face-to-face interviews on August 11 and 12. Of these, 16 participants participated in the interviews.
Meeting held at the Chairman’s residence
A meeting was held at the residence of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Chairman of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Maniramdas Cantonment. The appointment of the Trust’s first CEO was discussed. The meeting reached a consensus on the name of Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra. The search committee formed by the Trust submitted a panel of three names, one of which was approved.