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Soumik Dey
Soumik Dey

GST

Hasmukh Adhia is the force behind a new GST regime

PTI5_16_2017_000154A Hasmukh Adhia (left) will remain a person to watch out for in Modi administration | PTI

When Gujarat's economy was in turmoil following the fire of communal riots that spread in the state for over three years, the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, was desperate to hold on to the financial reins of the state. It was at that stage, a Gujarat cadre bureaucrat who was also an accountant and Modi's close aide, came to his rescue.

Hasmukh Adhia, was among the few Gujaratis (from Lohana caste, respected in Gujarat for their business acumen) who were big names in the state bureaucracy, on a list mostly adorned by north and south Indian names. Adhia was instrumental in rolling out the speedy expansions of the Sardar Sarovar dam as executive director of the state owned power PSU Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. and caught Modi's eye.

He was then given the role of Executive Director to turn around the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation that ran industrial parks in different parts of the state. Administration and services under the GIDC to industries in those days was abysmal.

Adhia was instrumental in selling GIDC land to two central PSUs, ONGC and GAIL, for setting up their new bases and project expansions in various places of the state. He also brushed up the industrial safety rules prevalent in the state and cleared the move to have fire stations in every GIDC.

A provision that was existing in the rulebook, but could be bypassed by the GIDC administration, if the industrial park could be serviced by a taluka or city municipality fire service. 

After two years at the helm of GIDC, from 2003, Adhia shifted base to Gandhinagar, the state capital, and began his stint there as principal secretary to Narendra Modi. In those days, Adhia would meet every guest of Modi first personally and then allow them to meet Modi.

"Adhiaji decides everything. Where the CM visits, whom he meets and where he visits," secretarit staff at the Chief Minister's Office would say to journalists seeking to interview Modi. Adhia would literally measure out the distance to be kept by Modi from the media.

It was also at this time that Narendra Modi was suffering from a few niggling ailments and was also putting on some weight. Adhia, a PhD in Yoga from Bengaluru, started holding personl yoga sessions with Modi. 

Subsequent to these sessions and the apparent health benefits from them, Modi announced a 'Karmayogi' programme in Gujarat, that aimed at holding yoga sessions for state government employees at all government offices, including at all police stations.

Modi continued his yoga programmes in Delhi and held special yoga day celebrations in the national capital. Prior to a state assembly election in 2007, Adhia became the mastermind for Modi's public policy and campaigning. 

Another state government programme 'kanya kelavani' aimed at sending the girl child to school (Gujarat had one of the lowest rate of female literacy according to NSSO, 2007), was masterminded by Adhia and promoted by the Modi administration before his re-election for a second term as Gujarat chief minister. 

A number of special pre-election schemes for the tribal population, always viewed as a 'swing factor' affecting poll results in Gujarat, were also masterminded by Adhia. 

To give the Gujarat and the Modi administration – battered by criticisms of communal riot – an image makeover, he conceived Vibrant Gujarat fest to attract industrialists and to attract tourists to the state, extended the traditional one week Rannotsav Mela in Kutch, to a month-long state sponsored tourism event 'Kutch festival'.

At one point, after a stint at IIM-Ahmedababad and US management schools, Adhia sought to introduce Kaizen, the management technique to improve work place, at the state secretariat in Gandhinagar. Needless to say, the Japanese business management principle yielded little result when applied for Gujarat government.

After taking on as chief secretary (finance) Adhia increased VAT rates in Gujarat, but made no other landmark policy. Post Modi's exit out of Gujarat, Adhia remained the chief secretary (finance and indsutries) and is known to have caused differences between Modi and his revenue minister industrialist Sourabh Patel, who was a close confidante o Modi and is Dhirubhai Ambani's son-in-law.

Like Modi, Adhia too was oblivous of the media as long as he held state government positions. In Delhi, after taking over as financial  services secretary in September 2014, Adhia kept a close door and shunned a media interaction that is usually the norm with any new secretary to government.

"I will speak, you listen carefully," is his most repeated line to journalists. However, despite his hostility for media, after donning the role of revenue secretary, Adhia had held media conferences on issues concerning demonetisation, tax penalties, black money and a number of them on GST developments.

With non-media visitors, the revenue secretary is known to take interest in discussing spirituality matters as well, other than just hard finance. 

Prior to the November 8 demonetisation move by the Narendra Modi government, it was Hasmukh Adhia and two of the prime minister's data analytics researchers, who were making a blueprint for the move. Adhia was the first on twitter after the Prime Minister's address that evening to call the move 'historic' and 'game changing'. 

With GST on the anvil, Adhia's enagagement with the proposed tax regime would now extend almost 10 years. In 2007, as principal finance secretary in Gujarat, Adhia had highlighted his objections on the new tax regime and suggested that Gujarat gets a preferential  treatment.

Now, on the other side of the table as union revenue secretary, Adhia is instrumental in getting states' consent on most of the GST structuring done by him and his department.

Adhia's contribution to finance minister Arun Jaitley's budget this year were a proposal to levy 1 per cent additional excise duty on gold jewellery sale and the other a move allowing government to tax EPF contributions and provide pension to members. 

While some of his proposals do get shelved at the face of reactions from the polity and public, Hasmukh Adhia, will continue to remain a person to watch out for in Modi administration. 

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Topics : #GST | #Narendra Modi

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