Guruprasad Mohapatra

Guruprasad Mohapatra was an officer of the Indian Administrative Service from the 1986 batch, Gujarat cadre, known for his grasp of administration and his zeal for new ideas. He was named for the Padma Shri posthumously in 2022 in the field of civil service, from Delhi ^[1].

Education

Mohapatra was born on 22 April 1962 ^[2]. He took an MA in political science and an MPhil in international relations at JNU, a PhD from M. S. University, Baroda, and an MBA from a university in Slovenia ^[2].

Gujarat

In a 35-year career he held many posts in Gujarat and in the central government ^[2]. At the Gujarat Electricity Board he led reforms that split it into separate companies ^[2]. As municipal commissioner of Surat he made the city a model of urban governance, with a focus on solid waste management ^[2]. As municipal commissioner of Ahmedabad he oversaw projects such as the Sabarmati Riverfront, the BRTS bus system and the Kankaria lakefront, and his heritage work helped Ahmedabad become India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City ^[2].

In Delhi

As chairman of the Airports Authority of India he put into practice the UDAN regional air connectivity scheme ^[2]. As secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, he introduced the production-linked incentive scheme, a portal that cut about 25,000 compliance requirements, a national single-window system, and the Startup India work under which about 25,000 start-ups were recognised ^[2]. He also chaired an empowered group during the Covid-19 pandemic that coordinated supplies of protective kits, ventilators and medical oxygen, and kept working on oxygen supplies while ill ^[2].

He died of Covid-related complications on 19 June 2021, while still secretary ^[2].