Hasmukh Adhia appointed Chairman, GIFT City

Hasmukh Adhia, a senior retired bureaucrat and former Union Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary, has been named as the Chairman of GIFT City Ltd. This organization is responsible for the development of Gujarat International Finance-Tec City, India’s first smart city located in Gandhinagar. Hasmukh Adhia takes over the role of Chairman from Sudhir Mankad, the former chief secretary of Gujarat.

In addition to his role as Chairman of GIFT City, Hasmukh Adhia has been appointed as Director and Chairman of the boards of Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd (GACL) and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (GMDC), both state public sector undertakings. These appointments, effective immediately, are non-executive chairman positions according to regulatory filings.

About the Hasmukh Adhia

Adhia, a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1981 batch, currently serves as an advisor to the Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. He was part of the panel appointed by the Gujarat government to recommend measures for the post-Covid economic revival of the State. The panel had recommended divestment of state PSUs, except the ones in the strategic sectors.

At present Adhia is a non-executive Chairman of Bank of Baroda, and also the Chancellor of Central University of Gujarat. He serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He also serves as Vice-President in Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) and Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar.

About the GIFT City

GIFT City, or Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, is a central business district under construction in Gandhinagar district in Gujarat, India. It is India’s first operational greenfield smart city and international financial services center, which the Government of Gujarat promoted as a greenfield project.
The name “GIFT” is an acronym that stands for “Gujarat International Finance Tec-City”. The word “Gujarat” refers to the state where the city is located, which is located in western India. “International” signifies that the city is intended to be a global hub for financial and business services, attracting businesses and investors from around the world. “Finance” highlights the primary focus of the development, which is to create a world-class financial center. “Tec-City” stands for “Technology-based SEZ” (Special Economic Zone).
GIFT City is located on the banks of the Sabarmati River, between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. The city is spread over an area of 15.5 square kilometers and is divided into two zones: the International Financial Services Center (IFSC) and the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA).

Here are some of the key features of GIFT City

It is a greenfield smart city, built on the foundation of sustainability.
It offers a number of tax and regulatory incentives to financial institutions.
It is well-connected to the rest of India.
It is expected to become a major financial hub in India and a global player in the financial services industry.

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