AK Sharma is a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Gujarat cadre who, after voluntarily retiring in January 2021, became a politician and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh.
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Wiki/Biography
Arvind Kumar Sharma was born on Wednesday 11 July 1962 (age 60; as of 2022) in Kajha Khurd, District Mau, Uttar Pradesh. Born in a village, he grew up doing chores like cleaning the front of the house, cleaning the semi-puka drainage system, feeding the cattle and tending the seasonal plantations. He spent his childhood witnessing his father’s contribution to the development of their village. Father arranged the first tube well and was instrumental in establishing a high school in the village named after Pundit Alagu Rai Shashtri. He studied in local schools, one in his own village and another in a neighboring village called Khurhat. He completed his secondary schooling in Rasra, Ballia district. After that, he pursued intermediate studies in science stream at DAV Inter College, Mau, passing 10th and 12th UP Board in this school. Later, he attended the University of Allahabad, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, philosophy and economics, and a master’s degree in political science. Throughout his academic career he was a topper and passed first division classes. During his college days, he wrote and recited poetry and ghazals and participated in stage dramas, skits and short plays. Thereafter, he joined the UGC as a Research Fellow (D.Phil) while pursuing his career as a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science.
Physical appearance
Hair color: black
Eye Color: Black
family
parents and siblings
His father, Shri Shivmurthy Sharma, retired as Senior Superintendent of Mau Bus Station. Earlier, Sharma’s father was a traffic inspector in UP Roadways, while his mother, Shrimati Shanti Sharma, was a homemaker. Speaking about his father’s work, he said in an interview:
My father was with UP Road Transport, I spent most of my childhood living at two bus stations (Rasra and Mau)…so I owe a lot to the ecosystem of chaiwals, hawaiis, drivers, conductors, porters and staff who were an integral part of my daily life. This phase of my life lasted from sixth to twelfth grade.
His father died in December 1999. Ak Sharma is the eldest of three brothers
wife and children
In March 1987, he married Kiran Sharma. His son, Abhinav Sharma, was born on the same day his UPSC results were declared. Later, the couple had a daughter named Chitra Sharma, who married into a family in Kashi, Varanasi.
Religion/Religious Beliefs
Ak Sharma was born into a religious Hindu family that followed various deities like Brahma Baba, Syed Baba, Banjaari Mai, Dee Baba, Kali Maa, Deya Mai and Shiva. His father chanted the Rudrashtakam, a Sanskrit composition in devotion to Rudra composed by the Hindu bhakti poet Tulsidas. His mother prayed to Lord Surya every morning in the ceremony of offering water to the sun. He grew up listening to the sacred narratives of the Hindu deity Satya Narayan and Ram Charit Manas, another religious narrative of Tulsidas.
Caste
Ak Sharma was born into an agrarian family of Bhumihar (also Babhani) Brahmin.
Career
After completing his formal education, he began his career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Allahabad.
Indian Administrative Service
In his third attempt, Sharma became a civil servant in 1988 and began his career as an IAS officer in the Gujarat cadre. He was appointed as Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) at Palitana in Bhavnagar District in 1989.
Positions held
- Assistant Collector (from August 1, 1989 to August 1, 1992)
- Additional Registrar – Cooperatives / Agriculture and Cooperative (from 1 August 1989 to 1 February 1993)
- District Development Officer, Vadodara (1 February 1993 – 1 April 1995)
- Commissioner, Mehsana (April 1, 1995 – May 1, 1997)
- Joint MD – Mines / Mines & Minerals (from May 1, 1997 to July 1, 1997)
- District Collector, Kheda (from July 1, 1997 to June 1, 1998)
- Deputy Secretary, Gandhinagar (1 June 1998 to 1 April 1999)
- Joint Commissioner, Vadodara – Rehabilitation / Home (April 1, 1999 to June 1, 2001)
- Additional Commissioner – Industries (1 June 2001 to 1 October 2001)
- Secretary of the Chief Minister of the General Administration (from October 1, 2001 to February 13, 2004)
- Secretary to the Chief Minister, Personnel Management, (14 February 2004 to 2 January 2006)
- Joint Secretary of the Parliament (from January 4, 2006 to November 13, 2006)
- Secretary to the Prime Minister (from November 14, 2006 to April 17, 2013)
- Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister (April 17, 2013 to May 30, 2014)
- Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (from June 3, 2014 to July 22, 2017)
- Additional Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office (from July 22, 2017 to April 30, 2020)
- Secretary – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, New Delhi (30 April 2020 – 11 November 2021)
When Narendra Modi took over as the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001, Sharma was among the officers posted to the CM’s office. Sharma first served as Secretary to the Chief Minister and in 2013 he was promoted as Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister.
Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ak Sharma
He earned a reputation as an infrastructure expert during his years in Gujarat, when Sharma held the post of CEO of the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB). Other positions that Sharma has held in the Gujarat government include Deputy Secretary of the Finance Department, Head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and MD of iNDEXTb. In 2001 and 2006, he was also in charge of Investment Promotion and Investor Promotion in Gujarat. A trusted Modi bureaucrat, Sharma was also instrumental in shifting the Tata Nano factory from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat in 2008. During Modi’s tenure as CM, Sharma regularly interacted with various foreign dignitaries.
AK Sharma shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
He was also instrumental in bringing then Ambassador Nancy Powell to Gandhinagar in 2014. Before the meeting, the US government had given Modi the cold shoulder for more than 10 years. After that, he joined the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as Joint Secretary after Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014.
AK Sharma in the Prime Minister’s Office
In 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Sharma was appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. He was instrumental in organizing the Vibrant Gujarat Summits, a biennial event conceptualized in 2003 under the visionary leadership of Narendra Modi, which was instrumental in attracting foreign investment.
training
- From June 4, 2018 to June 22, 2018, he attended the 12th round of the Mid-Career Training Program for IAS Officers Phase V 2018.
- During 1995-1996, he studied for three weeks at the Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati.
- In 1999-2000, he underwent a one-week training in Information Technology Management at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
- He completed the Master of Public Policy (MPP) with honors from the Australian National University (ANU) Canberra, Australia in 2006.
politics
Since January 2021, 18 months before his retirement, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC).
Arvind Kumar Sharma joins BJP in presence of Swatantra Dev Singh and Dinesh Sharma at BJP office in Lucknow on January 14, 2021
In April 2021, when Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, was struggling with a second Covid surge, Sharma was dubbed the “Covid Prabhar” for the district. As Covid Prabhari, Sharma held meetings with district and police officials, oversaw the development of the DRDO hospital and tele-consultation app and ensured the functioning of the command and control centre. Appreciating Sharma’s Covid-19 relief work, the Prime Minister urged states to follow the Varanasi model of Covid management. In June 2021, he was appointed as the UP BJP Vice President.
Confrontation
In September 2018, Indian politician and Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused AK Sharma of weakening surveillance of Vijay Mallya in 2015, allowing the fugitive tycoon to be arrested in India. A wanted criminal in India on charges of fraud and money laundering of about Rs. 9,000 crore, Vijay Mallya fled the country on March 2, 2016. Rahul tweeted,
CBI Jt. Principal AK Sharma weakened Mallya’s ‘Look Out’ notice and allowed Mallya to escape.
Mr. Sharma, a Gujarat cadre officer, is the blue-eyed boy of the Prime Minister in the CBI.
The same officer led the escape plans of Nirav Modi and Mehul Chokshi. Whoa…Investigation!
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 15, 2018
Rahul Gandhi was apparently taking a dig at Sharma, who was then heading the CBI probe into the Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case involving businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Chokshi.
Awards, honors, achievements
- Awarded the title of BEST DDO in 1993-94 by the Government of Gujarat
AK Sharma Certificate for BEST DDO 1993-94 Awarded by Government of Gujarat
- He was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India for his work on resettlement and rehabilitation related to the Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Water Resources Project.
Certificate of Merit to AK Sharma for his contribution to resettlement and rehabilitation of people with Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Water Resources Project.
the chosen ones
Facts/Trivia
- After becoming an IAS officer, AK Sharma collaborated with local officers to provide basic connectivity with road networks in his village, which was non-existent earlier.
- Sharma’s appointment as UP BJP vice-president comes amid speculation that he may be appointed deputy chief minister in the state government in case of a cabinet reshuffle ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections. Rumors of Sharma’s induction into the cabinet as deputy chief minister have sparked a cold war between Yogi Adityanath, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- AK Sharma received two public health facilities of his native district. He also provided the necessary medicines, oxygen concentrators and other equipment to both medical facilities. In one of his initiatives, called ‘Mau ki Muskaan’, two female disease experts and one pediatric expert were appointed at Mau District Women’s Hospital in response to Sharma’s request to the Health Minister and Health Secretary.
Picture of AK Sharma visiting district hospitals in Mau
- After entering politics, he developed an app called ‘TEJ’, an interactive web portal to solve problems of common people.
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Source: dienchau2.edu.vn
