Shri Pankaj Joshi, IAS
Chairman
Shri Pankaj Joshi, IAS has assumed as the 32nd Chief Secretary to Government of Gujarat on 31st January, 2025.
He is the senior most IAS Officer of the Government of Gujarat with distinguished academic background of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Technology (M.Tech.) Water Resource Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He has also pursued an M.Phil. in Defense and Strategic Studies, further strengthening his academic foundation.
After joining the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1989, he has held several key leadership positions in public administration, contributing significantly to policy formulation and governance. Over the years, he has played a pivotal role in shaping policies across diverse sectors, including Land Revenue, Personnel and General Administration, Education, Finance, Energy, Ports & Transport, Social Welfare, Tribal Affairs, and Urban Development, serving both at the State and Central Government levels. His extensive experience in governance culminated in his tenure as Additional Chief Secretary to Honorable Chief Minister of Gujarat from September 2021 to January 2025.
In addition to his administrative expertise, he has been actively engaged with the corporate sector in various capacities. As a Government-nominated Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors in multiple Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), he has provided strategic leadership in crucial sectors such as Electricity Generation & Distribution, Logistics, and Gas Transmission & Distribution, among others.
Currently, he holds the esteemed position of Chief Secretary of the State, where he is responsible for steering the State's administrative machinery. Alongside this role, he serves as the Chairman of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited Group Companies, Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd., and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. Additionally, he holds the dual responsibility of Chairman and Managing Director of Gujarat State Petronet Limited, overseeing key operations in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
His distinguished career is marked by a strong commitment to public service, policy innovation, and corporate governance, making him a leader with a profound impact on both the administrative and economic landscape.
Shri Sanjeev Kumar, IAS
Managing Director
Shri Sanjeev Kumar, IAS, (DIN: 03600655) has completed his B. Tech. (Hons.) from I.I.T., Kharagpur, and M.P.A., Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minne-sota, USA. He is a 1998 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Gujarat Ca-dre. He currently serves as the Principal Secretary to the Government of Gujarat, Forests & Environment Department.
With over 27 years of extensive experience in public administration, he has been instrumen-tal in driving sustainable development across various sectors including finance, energy, pet-rochemicals, and environmental governance.
He has rich knowledge and wide experience of working in various Government Departments and Public Sector Undertaking.
He has served in various capacities in Panchayats, Rural Development, Finance, General Administration (Planning), Commercial Taxes, Energy & Petrochemicals, Forest & Environ-ment, Climate change , Urban Development and Urban Housing Department and other de-partments, and listed state PSUs has given him the exposure and in-depth understanding of various sectors and grassroots issues. The journey of nearly a quarter of a century as an IAS officer has ingrained in a growth-oriented people-centric approach which he strives to put to good use in strategic planning and governance.
He has served in leadership roles at GSPC Group, Gujarat Gas Limited, Gujarat State Petronet Limited (GSPL), Sabarmati Gas Limited, and GSPC LNG Limited. He has also served as Director on the Boards of several prominent national and state PSUs, including GSFS Ltd, GIDC, GSEC, GMDC, GUDC, GSIL, GSRTC, GIDB, DREAM City Ltd, URDC Ltd, SWAN LNG Pvt Ltd, and Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd.
Shri S J Haider, IAS
Director
A member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with over 32 years of experience in administration and governance, Shri S. J. Haider is presently serving as the Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Gujarat in Energy and Petrochemicals Department. He has completed his M.Sc. in Physics with specialization in Electronics.
Shri Haider has earlier served in various capacities such as District Development Officer, Municipal Commissioner and Collector & District Magistrate in various Districts of Gujarat and worked in various Departments like Finance, Transport, Science and Technology, Tourism & Civil Aviation, Rural Development, Education (Higher and Technical Education) and Industries and Mines Department. He also held the additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Climate Change Department.
He holds Directorship in following Companies:
- Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Gujarat Gas Limited
- Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited
- Gujarat Power Corporation Limited
- Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited
- Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited
- Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited
Dr. T.Natarajan, IAS
Director
Dr. T Natarajan, IAS has completed his graduation in Mining Engineering from college of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University in Tamil Nadu and M.B.A. in Finance from Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tamil Nadu, India. Later, he acquired additional education qualifications including Masters in International Development at Duke University in USA.
Dr. T. Natarajan is a member of Indian Administrative Service, 1996 batch Officer from Gujarat Cadre. He has held a range of responsibilities in Gujarat Government including District Collector and District Development Officer. He has served in the departments of Finance, Revenue, Industry & Mining and Technical Education and has held leadership positions in Public Sector Undertakings.
Dr. T. Natarajan, IAS was entrusted with the responsibility of Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of India in the International Monetary Fund at Washington DC by the Government of India. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in the Government of India. Before the current assignment as Principal Secretary, Finance Department, Government of Gujarat, he has served as Additional Secretary (Defence Production), Ministry of Defence in Government of India.
He holds Directorship in following Companies:
- Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Gujarat State Investment Limited
- Gujarat State Financial Services Limited
- Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited
- Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Limited
- Gujarat International Finance – Tech City Limited (GIFTCL)
- Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited
- Gujarat Gas Limited
- Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited
Prof. Sundaravalli Narayanaswami
Director
Dr. Sundaravalli Narayanaswami is an interdisciplinary scholar and academic leader with over two decades of experience in operations research, artificial intelligence, transportation systems, public policy, and infrastructure governance. She holds a Doctorate degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. A tenured Associate Professor at IIM Ahmedabad, she currently chairs the India Gold Policy Centre, where she leads pioneering research on commodity policy, financial markets, and economic strategy. Her academic contributions include over 40 peer-reviewed publications, several books, and numerous case studies, many of which have shaped national-level discussions on infrastructure, governance, and logistics. Recognized internationally for her teaching and scholarly research, she is a Senior Member of INFORMS and recipient of multiple awards for academic excellence and policy impact. She is a skilled institutional leader, with a strong track record of funded research, policy making, stakeholder engagement, and corporate training in cutting edge topics.
Dr Rama Shanker Dubey
Director
He possesses an excellent academic record with M.Sc. degree in Biochemistry from Banaras Hindu University in 1976 standing 1st in order of merit and Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from Banaras Hindu University in 1980.
Prof. Rama Shanker Dubey is the Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar. Prior to this, he served as Vice Chancellor at Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur, Bihar (2014-2017) and also as Vice-Chancellor at Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh (2008-2009).
He has over 47 years of experience in research and 38 years’ experience of in teaching. He has served as Head of the Department of Biochemistry at Banaras Hindu University for four terms, for more than 9 years.
Prof. Dubey is a renowned expert in Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, with extensive international research experience in countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Japan, and Germany. He has delivered numerous invited talks and chaired sessions at both national and international scientific conferences. Throughout his career, he has received several prestigious awards, including the Banaras Hindu University Medal, ISCA Young Scientist Award, Swedish Institute and JSPS Fellowships, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Society of Agricultural Biochemists. He was recognized as a Top-10 Most Cited Author by Elsevier (2003–2008) and has been ranked among the world’s top 2% scientists from 2020 to 2023, according to a Stanford University study.
In addition to his academic achievements, Prof. Dubey has held several significant administrative roles. Nominated by the Government of India, he has served on the Board of Governors at IISER, Mohali and as Visitor’s Nominee for faculty selections at various IITs and central universities. He has played a key role in quality assurance in higher education through his long-term involvement with NAAC as Chairman and Member of peer review teams. In 2014, he was part of a World Bank-sponsored delegation of Vice Chancellors for academic leadership training at Penn State University. He currently serves on governing and executive bodies of several national institutions, including ICMR, NAAC, Pondicherry University, INFLIBNET, IUCTE-BHU, IUC-YS, and IUAC. Moreover, he actively contributes to UGC committees working on NEP 2020 implementation, policy development, curriculum frameworks, and the promotion of the Indian Knowledge System.
Smt. Gauri Kumar, IAS (Retd.)
Director
Gauri Kumar is a retired member of the 1979 batch of Indian Administrative Services (IAS). She retired as Secretary (Coordination and Public Grievances), Cabinet Secretariat in 2015 and served as Member/Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board from 2015-18 post her retirement. In the course of her distinguished career, she has been a former Secretary in the union Ministry of Labour and Employment as well as in the Ministry of Home Affairs (Border Management) (2013-15). She has served as Special/Additional Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of Environment and Forests (2010-13). She has also been Principal Secretary, Urban Development (2009-10); Principal Secretary, Industries & Mines (2008-09), Industries Commissioner (2007-08) and Secretary, Education Department (2000-02) in Government of Gujarat. She also held the position of Director General, National Institute of Fashion and Technology, Ministry of Textiles (2002-07).
Gauri Kumar holds a degree of BSc in Physics, Mathematics and Statistics from Allahabad University. She completed her MSc in Mathematics from Lucknow University and was awarded seven gold medals in the course of her studies for exceptional academic distinction. She also has a Master in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. As a fellow of the Edward G. Mason Program in Public Policy and Management, she was awarded the Littauer Fellowship by Harvard for commitment to excellence, academic achievement and public service.
She holds Directorship in following Companies:
- Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited
- GCAP World Softech Private Limited
- TVS Supply Chain Solutions Limited
Dr. Sudhir Kumar Jain
Director
Dr. Sudhir Jain is an active academic in the field of earthquake engineering and a passionate academic administrator. He is presently the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University. He was a faculty of IIT Kanpur (IITK) in the Department of Civil Engineering from 1985 to 2019. He was the director of IIT Gandhinagar between June 2009 - June 2019 and September 2019 - January 2022.
Dr. Jain holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Roorkee, and Masters and Doctoral degrees from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
He has served as President of the International Association for Earthquake Engineering during 2014 to 2018. He was elected Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 2003, and was conferred Padma Shri by the President of India in 2020.
He holds Directorship in following Companies:
- Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Gujarat State Petronet Limited
- GSPL India Gasnet Limited
- GSPL India Transco Limited
- GIFT SEZ Limited
- Sathi Foundation-BHU
- AIC Mahamana Foundation for Innovation and Entrepreneurship-IM-BHU
