New Delhi, Sep 20 : Retired Gujarat cadre officer Bharat Lal has been appointed as the Director General, National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG). "In pursuance of approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), communicated by DoP&T vide Office Memorandum No. 31/1/2022-EO (SM. II) dated 15.9.2022, ACC has accorded its approval for the appointment of Bharat Lal, IFoS (GJ : 1988) (Retd.) to the post of Director General, National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), New Delhi, on a contract basis, initially for a period of one year or until further orders, whichever is earlier," said the order issued by the Ministry of Personnel on Monday. Bharat Lal, a 1988-batch Indian Forest officer of Gujarat cadre, had served as Gujarat government's resident commissioner in Delhi and has been known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of the state. Earlier, during December 2021, Lal was appointed as the Secretary to the Lokpal. The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) is an autonomous institute under the aegis of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India. Its head office is at New Delhi and the branch office at Mussoorie. The NCGG has been set up to assist in bringing about governance reforms through studies, training, knowledge sharing and promotion of good ideas. It seeks to carry out policy relevant research and prepare case studies; curate training courses for civil servants from India and other developing countries; provide a platform for sharing of existing knowledge and pro-actively seek out and develop ideas for their implementation in the government, both at the National and International Level. /IANS