GANDHINAGAR:
Hardik Shah, a 2010-batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, has been elevated to the post of
private secretary
to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah was appointed as deputy secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in August 2019.
Shah is probably the youngest IAS officer and the first promotee IAS officer to be appointed on this key post. Prior to Shah, another Gujarat cadre IAS officer, Rajeev Topno served as private secretary to the PM.
Shah, who started his career as a junior engineer in the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), was also the youngest member secretary of the GPCB, and he is credited with making GPCB’s operations modern and transparent.
“It is a big surprise for me. I am obliged to the PM for putting trust in my abilities. I will give my best,’’ said Shah when contacted for his comment.
Shah was a university topper in BTech, MTech and law and was selected for IAS in 2010. He was hand-picked by PM Modi as private secretary to the Union minister of environment, forest and climate change and information and broadcasting in 2017. In August 2019, Shah was appointed as deputy secretary in the PMO. He contributed to the PM’s national plan to control the plastic menace and environment conservation. He has played a vital role in bringing key policy changes nationally in controlling pollution and promoting environment protection in states.
Shah completed his PhD in environment engineering from the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School. He has worked with Nobel laureates Abhijt Banerjee, Esther Duflo and professor Michael Greenstone and expert of green best practices, professor
John Briscoe
.
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