Centre extends till October tenure of Nidhi Mani Tripathi as CEO of PSFT

The Central government has extended the additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Price Stabilization Fund Trust (PSFT) given to IAS officer Nidhi Mani Tripathi till October 30 this year or until further orders.

She was given additional charge (Joint Secretary Level) of the post of the CEO, PSFT in July 2020, for a period of six months beyond June 21. The PSFT operates under the aegis of the Department of Commerce.

Tripathi is a 2001-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Manipur-Tripura cadre. She is currently working as Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

"Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of Department of Commerce for extension of entrustment of the additional charge of the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Price Stabilization Fund Trust (PSFT), Department of Commerce to Nidhi Mani Tripathi with effect from December 22, 2020 to October 30, 2021, or till revocation of the registration of PSFT or until further orders whichever is the earliest," said Ministry of Personnel order issued on Tuesday.

Tripathi has worked in Nainital as District Magistrate and District Collectorate. Prior to this, she held the post of Additional Secretary and Project Director (ADB), Urban Development Department.

The IAS officer held the role of District Magistrate of Almora and she was Chief Development Officer of Nainital District for about two years.

She also worked in the Manipur Government as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate/Additional District Magistrate (SDM/ADM) looking at the law and administration of different districts.

Tripathi is especially interested in the development of the poor through self-help groups and NGOs, adopting the participatory development model. She is also interested in the holistic development of women and children in terms of their education, health, and economic needs.

She holds a Master's degree in Political Science and History from Gorakhpur University and also holds an M.Phil in International Politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. The IAS officer is a fellow of the second wave class under the Aspen India's Leadership Initiative.

The PSFT was registered in September 2003, initially for a period of ten years. The registration has been further extended for a period of 10 years with effect from September 11, 2013. The PSFT had been implementing the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) Scheme and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme for the plantation sector.

The PSF scheme was launched by the government in April 2003 against the backdrop of a decline in international and domestic prices of tea, coffee, rubber, and tobacco causing distress to primary growers.

The growers of these commodities were particularly affected due to a substantial reduction in unit value realization for these crops, at times falling below their cost of production.The objective of the scheme was to safeguard the interests of the growers of these commodities and provide financial relief when prices fall below a specified level.

( With inputs from ANI )