Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blue-eyed boy and 1981 batch IAS DJ Pandian has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Gujarat replacing Dr Varesh Sinha, who is retiring on Friday.
Padian is largely credited for making Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation limited (GSPC), one of the biggest blue chip companies among PSUs across the country. He is the longest serving Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the State PSU and was given freehand for it’s restructuring by the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Currently, he is holding charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Industries & Mines Department. Pandian is also given the charge of upcoming biennial event and seventh edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit (VGGIS). VGGIS is the brainchild of Modi.
The retiring Chief Secretary Dr Sinha was given two extensions — one each by the previous Modi Government as well as current Anandiben Government. Pandian, who is scheduled to retire in May 2015, has been rewarded on the basis of performance and pipped several other senior IAS officials.
The most prominent among them is 1979 batch SK Nanda, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), who technically, would have walked into the top chair by the virtue of his seniority. Nanda has been transferred as Chairman & Managing of another blue chip State PSU, Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals ltd. in Vadodara.
Among other important transferred are that of Atanu Chakravarti on the key post of Principal Secretary, Industries as well as Managing Director of GSPC. This post is considered to be a key one given Gujarat’s sharp focus on attracting industrial investment to demonstrate the state to be an ideal destination. However, the State Government is yet to announce replacement of Nanda and has entrusted the department’s additional charge to another senior IAS official GR Aloria.
These postings are in keeping with PM Modi’s focus on performance by his standards instead of a typical bureaucratic way of promoting officers merely by the virtue of their age.
Apart from Nanda, several names were doing the rounds for the coveted post including that of 1981 batch Hasmukh Adhia. If sources in the state bureaucracy have to be believed, Adhia may be sent for central government deputation. He is also believed to be close to Modi.