Former telecom secretary J S Deepak has joined Bharti Airtel as group director for policy and international strategy of the company, an internal note of the company said.

A 1982 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, Deepak, as joint secretary at the Department of Telecom had successfully steered the first spectrum auction in 2010 that paved the way for 3G and wireless broadband services in the country, PTI reported from New Delhi.

“Former telecom secretary and former Ambassador WTO JS Deepak have been appointed Group Director for Policy and International Strategy of the Bharti Airtel,” according to an internal note.

However, Bharti Airtel did not comment on the development.

Deepak later served as the additional secretary at the Department of Commerce before being appointed as a secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

He was given charge of Telecom Secretary in February 2016, but abruptly shifted to the post of officer on special duty in the commerce department on March 1, 2017, when he was in Spain to attend the global telecom industry event Mobile World Congress.