Hasmukh Adhia, former union revenue and finance secretary and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chosen officer to drive the Goods and Services Tax regime and demonetization, has been picked to head the prestigious Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU) in Gandhinagar.
Adhia, at present Non-Executive Chairman of Bank of Baroda and Chancellor of Central University of Gujarat since 2019, has been appointed as Chairman of Standing Committee of PDEU and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Gujarat Energy Research Institute.
Promoted initiated by the Reliance Industries, state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Company and its group companies are the largest sponsor of both the institutes. The university was previously called Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University before its scope was recently expanded to cover the larger canvas of the energy sector. The university was set up in 2007 on the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then the chief minister of Gujarat.
Hasmukh Adhia, a low profile retired IAS officer of 1981 Gujarat cadre, has also been recently appointed as the head of a high-level taskforce appointed by the State Government to enhance Gujarat’s contribution in meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aim of catapulting India to a $5 trillion economy by 2024.
The mandate of the taskforce is to evolve a blueprint to achieve GSDP (gross state domestic product) of Rs 27.5 lakh crore by 2024. Currently, Gujarat’s GSDP is Rs 16.5 lakh crore.
A State Finance Department states, “The matter of formation of a taskforce under the chairmanship of Hasmukh Adhia for working out a strategy of Government of Gujarat for making India a five trillion dollar economy as per the vision of the PM was under consideration. The taskforce formed by the GR will give recommendations in the next three months about the possible action for maximizing Gujarat’s contribution for the $5 trillion GDP size by 2024.”
