Former Finance Secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, credited with the effective implementation of demonetization two years ago, was on Friday appointed as the Non-Executive chairman of the Bank of Baroda for a period of three years.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for the appointment of Hasmukh Adhia as part-time Non-Official Director as well as Non-Executive Chairman on the board of Bank of Baroda for a period of three years from the date of notification, or until further orders,” the bank said.
Unlike an executive chairman, a non-executive chairman does not get involved in the daily operations of the bank, which is handled by the management headed by a CEO.
Adhia, a 1981-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, superannuated on November 30 last year. Apart from holding the portfolio of Finance Secretary, Adhia has also served as secretary of the Department of Revenue and was earlier the principal secretary to the Gujarat Chief Minister.
He has been credited for the vital role he played during the implementation of the Goods and the Services Tax (GST), especially for the secrecy with which the sensitive maneuver was carried out.
He was, at one time, rumored to be in the running for the post of RBI Governor, following the resignation of Urjit Patel.
Adhia has a doctoral degree in Yoga, and is an MBA gold medalist from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bengaluru.
Adhia joins Bank of Baroda at a time when the bank is close to completing a merger with two other public sector lenders – Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank. The merger is expected to make Bank of Baroda the third largest bank in the country, with the loan book of over Rs 6.4 lakh crore and a deposit base of more than Rs 8.4 lakh crore.
The bank has been left without of chairman since August 2018 following the retirement of Ravi Venkatesan.