Board of Directors

Shri M K Das, IAS

Shri M.K. Das, IAS, (Gujarat Cadre, 1990 Batch), assumed charge as the 33rd Chief Secretary to the Government of Gujarat on 31st October 2025 (A.N.). An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, where he earned a B.Tech. in Computer Science, Shri Das brings with him over three decades of distinguished service in public administration covering diverse experience spans Industrial Development, Revenue Administration, Urban Management, Law & Order, and Disaster Management. Shri Das is widely recognized for his strategic vision, administrative acumen, and commitment to inclusive and sustainable development in Gujarat.

Throughout his distinguished career, he has made significant contributions to policy formulation, governance, and institutional development at both the State and Central levels. He has served in key positions including District Collector of Porbandar, Banaskantha and Surat. Municipal Commissioner of Surat and Vadodara and Director (J&K Affairs) in Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

He has also held senior roles such as Principal Secretary, Industries and Mines department; Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue, Ports & Transport, Panchayat & Rural Development and Home Departments, and served as Additional Chief Secretary to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat during two tenures (2017-2021 and 2024-2025).

In addition, he has played a key role in Gujarat’s corporate and infrastructure sectors, serving as Joint Managing Director, GSPC, and Director on the Boards of GSPL, GSPC LNG and Gujarat State Police Housing Corp. Ltd.

As a Chief Secretary, he leads the State’s administrative machinery and chairs major PSUs including GSPC Group Companies, GSFC, GNFC, and GSPL where he also holds additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director.

Under Shri M.K. Das’s leadership, the State administration continues to emphasize good governance, transparency, and citizen-centric service delivery. He has played a pivotal role in promoting industrial growth, sustainable development, and technology-driven governance across key sectors. Known for his strategic foresight and collaborative approach, Shri Das has consistently worked to strengthen the State’s institutional capacity and accelerate inclusive socio-economic progress.

His career exemplifies administrative excellence, visionary leadership, and an unwavering commitment to public service, driving Gujarat’s continued progress in economic, industrial, infrastructural, and social development.

Dr. T Natarajan, IAS

Dr. T Natarajan, IAS has completed his graduation in Mining Engineering from college of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University in Tamil Nadu and M.B.A. in Finance from Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tamil Nadu, India. Later, he acquired additional education qualifications including Masters in International Development at Duke University in USA.

Dr. T. Natarajan, IAS is a 1996 batch Indian Administrative Officer from Gujarat Cadre. He held a range of responsibilities in Gujarat Government including District Collector and District Development Officer. He has served in the departments of Finance, Revenue, Industry & Mining and Technical Education and held leadership positions in Public Sector Undertakings.

Dr. T. Natarajan, IAS was entrusted with the responsibility of Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of India in the International Monetary Fund at Washington DC by the Government of India. He also served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in Government of India. Before the current assignment as Principal Secretary, Finance Department, Government of Gujarat, he served as Additional Secretary (Defence Production), Ministry of Defence in Government of India.

Shri Balwant Singh, IAS (Retd.)

Shri Balwant Singh, IAS (Retd.) has more than 40 years of rich and diversified experience of having led various Government departments and State Public Sector Undertakings. He has held various important positions in Government of Gujarat such as Principal Secretary (Energy and Petrochemicals Department), Principal Secretary (Ports and Fisheries), Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and Additional Chief Secretary (General Administration Department).

He has also served as Managing Director of Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (GSFC), Managing Director of Gujarat State Narmada Valley Fertilizer Company (GNFC), Chairman of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited, Chairman of Gujarat State Petronet Limited (GSPL) and Chairman of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB).

Post his retirement Shri Singh also served as State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), Gujarat State and Chairman of Gujarat State Police Complaints Authority (GSPCA).

Prof. Yogesh Singh

Prof. Yogesh Singh is the Vice Chancellor of University of Delhi. He has been the Director of Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Delhi and Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat. He received his M.Tech. (Electronics & Communication Engineering) and Ph.D. (Computer Engineering) degrees from National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana. Prof. Singh has an iconic track record of quality teaching, innovation and research with 'h' index of 31 and citation index of 3248, reported by Google scholar as on 11th November, 2019. A great mentor who has supervised 23 Ph.Ds in the area of Software Engineering. His areas of research include Software Testing, Software Quality & Metrics and Empirical Software Engineering. He is listed as the third best amongst the most productive Indian authors for participating in Software Engineering Research as reported by "Indian Computer Science Research Output during 1999 - 2008, Qualitative Analysis" published in Journal of Library & Information Technology, November 2010. He has more than 250 publications in International and National Journals/Conferences. He wrote a book on "Software Testing" published by Cambridge University Press, England (2011). He has also co-authored books on Software Engineering published by New Age International Delhi and Object Oriented Software Engineering published by PHI Learning, Delhi. He is the Chairman, Governing Board, Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre, Gandhinagar with effect from 31st January, 2018. He is a member of the Executive Committee of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with effect from 3rd October, 2019. He is also a Member of Board of Governors of the Academic of Science and Innovative Research (ACSIR) India from 16th January, 2020. Prof. Singh was the Chairman, Central Regional Committee, All India Council for Technical Education, Bhopal (covering States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Gujarat). He was member of the General Council of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and was also the member of the Governing Council of Association of Indian Universities. He has served as Dean, University School of Information Technology, Controller of Examinations and Director Students Welfare of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. He has been a part of the prestigious 'Yale-India Leadership Programme' at Yale University, USA. Visited Columbia University, New York State University, Stony Brook University and Cooper Union College under the aegis of this Programme.

Shri Bhadresh Mehta

Shri Bhadresh Mehta is Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary and Cost Accountant by qualification. He holds professionally qualified senior managerial experience with a proven success of over 25 years in steering finance, audit and infotech functions of reputed business groups. His areas of specialization are strategic planning, financial management, auditing, information technology and risk management.

Dr. Rekha Jain

Dr. Rekha Jain is a post-graduate in Physics from University of Delhi. She completed her Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. She has served as Professor in the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad from June 1985 to December 2019 (i.e. till superannuation). She has over 37 years of diverse experience and special knowledge in Information Technology, Payment & Settlement Systems, Business Management and Risk Management.

She has served as an Independent Director on the Board of Telecommunication Consultants of India Ltd. (TCIL) from 2015-2019 and also chaired the Audit Committee of the Board of TCIL.

She is presently a freelance Strategic IT/ Telecom Policy Consultant.

Smt. Avantika Singh Aulakh, IAS

Smt. Avantika Singh Aulakh, IAS, is a senior officer of the 2003 batch. Prior to her appointment as Managing Director, she was Additional Principal Secretary to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat.

She has done B.E. (Instrumentation & Control Engg.) from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology Delhi and Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Throughout her two-decade long career in Civil Services, she has held various crucial administrative positions in the Government of Gujarat. She has served as District Collector in multiple districts including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bharuch, and Anand. She has been accorded the Best District Collector award for Vadodara district (2015-16) and Bharuch district (2012-13) by the State Government. She has also served as District Development Officer in Anand, Gandhinagar districts and as Deputy Secretary, Energy and Petrochemicals Dept. and Director of Petroleum in the State Government.

She received the National Award for Best Electoral Practices in 2012 and 2017 from the Election Commission of India. As Collector Ahmedabad, she also received the National Level Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme award from Government of India in 2018.

Her diverse experience includes serving as Vice Chairman & CEO of Gujarat Maritime Board, CEO of Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board, MD of Gujarat Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited and Director of Technical Education, reflecting her versatility in handling both infrastructure development and educational initiatives. She has enhanced her expertise through numerous specialized training programs in fiscal policy, public-private partnerships and project management.

She has held directorial positions on the boards of several prominent companies, including Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited, GSPC LNG Limited and Dholera International Airport Company Limited.

Presently, she is also serving as Managing Director of Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited.