Gajendra Haldea
Adviser to the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
India

Gajendra Haldea graduated in Economics and Law at the University of Rajasthan and joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1973. He later went for a Fellowship at the London School of Economics. Among a wide array of assignments, he has spent 10 years with the Union Finance Ministry where he was last posted as Joint Secretary (Infrastructure) until November 1998. From 2000 to 2003, he was Chief Adviser and Head of the Centre for Infrastructure and Regulation at the National Council for Applied Economic Research, New Delhi. From 2004 onwards, he is Adviser to Deputy Chairman and Principal Adviser (Infrastructure) at Planning Commission. The combination of law, economics and finance coupled with his extensive experience in several sectors of the economy have placed him in a unique position for contributing to the evolution of the framework and policies for privatisation of infrastructure services. His work in the power sector, particularly in the evaluation and approval of Power Purchase Agreements in India and the drafting of the Electricity Act 2003 are widely recognised. He has also advised several state governments on power sector reforms. The concession framework contained his book “Indian Highways: A framework for commercialization” has formed the basis of several BOT projects in India. He has also authored Model Concession Agreements for PPPs in Highways, Metro Rail Projects, Airports, Ports and Railways He also led the effort to streamline and standardise the bidding processes and documents. His current responsibilities in the Planning Commission include reform of the infrastructure sectors. He also heads the Secretariat for Infrastructure in the Planning Commission, which aims at initiating policies that would ensure time-bound creation of world class infrastructure.