Ajay Shankar has had rich and varied experience in public service for many years, primarily in the fields of energy, and industry. He joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1973. After retirement, he has been Distinguished Fellow in TERI since 2016.
He was Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary, and Special Secretary in the Ministry of Power. He played a key role in the enactment of the Electricity Act, 2003, and Rules and policies under it. This created a new liberal framework for the development of the power sector and was one of the major pieces of reform legislation at that time. He was also instrumental in promoting private sector participation in the Power Sector including the Ultra Mega Power Projects. He played a crucial role in the conceptualization and the launch of the national program for completing rural electrification which was launched in 2005. This programme laid the basis for the completion of village and household electrification in the country.
He headed a Committee set up by the MNRE for the design of the implementation programme of the National Solar Mission when it was launched in 2010. The approach of inviting bids for setting up of solar power projects and the creation of a competitive industry structure were key recommendations which contributed to the success of the Solar Mission.
He was Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in the Government of India. He played a crucial role in putting together the stimulus packages at the time of the global economic crisis of 2008 which enabled the Indian economy to recover in a short time and again grow at over 8%. The plan for the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project was developed under his stewardship. The FDI policy was further liberalized and rationalized. He was the Chairman of the National Productivity Council and of the Quality Council of India and gave greater momentum to their activities. He initiated the setting up of Invest India.
He was later Member Secretary of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC), an advisory body comprising leading Captains of Industry, key Secretaries of Government and eminent Academics. Some of the major recommendations of NMCC were taken up for implementation by the Government including the National Skill Mission, Facilitating Start-ups, Reform of Labour Laws and reducing the Regulatory burden on enterprises. Sector specific recommendations for breakthroughs in manufacturing in Electronics and IT Hardware, Defence Manufacturing, Civilian Aircraft, Shipbuilding, Electric Vehicles, Steel and Textiles were evolved.
He also served as Principal Adviser in the Planning Commission looking after Environment and Forests, Water and Sanitation as well as provision of Rural Infrastructure and contributed to the preparation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan in these areas.
He has been a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington D.C. USA. He has served on the Boards of major public sector companies such as IDBI, EXIM Bank, NTPC, NHPC, PFC and REC and has also served as an Independent Director on the Boards of HAL, Tata Global Beverages, L&T, and Tata Delhi Power Distribution Company.
He has been a member of the Committee on Reform of Public Sector Undertakings, Electricity Distribution and Resources for the Power Sector for the 10th Plan and Restructuring of HAL.
He has served as the Chairman of (a) PPP Review Committee of the Railways and (b) Expert Committee set up by Government for Replacing Multiple Prior Permissions with a Regulatory Mechanism for improving Ease of Doing Business.
He is the President of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for MSME Clusters (FMC). He is a member of the Board of Management of JK Lakshmipat University.
He has a Masters in Political Science from Allahabad University and a Masters in Economics from Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
His articles on energy and economic policy issues have been appearing in the national papers.
Email: Ajay.Shankar@teri.res.in