Dr. S. K. Nanda, IAS, last served as Chairman & Managing Director of Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (GSFC), Vadodara is a seasoned civil servant of Gujarat. A Post Graduate in political Science, Dr. Nanda holds a Doctorate in Philosophy in Rural Economics in addition to being a post graduate in Law. Dr. Nanda was a lecturer in the University of Delhi when he joined the coveted Indian Administrative Service in 1978 and was inducted in the Gujarat cadre. In over three and a half decades, Dr. Nanda has served with distinction presiding over a cross section of departments before being elevated as Principal Secretary to the Home Department before he was appointed to head the GSFC. Soft-spoken and unassuming, Dr. Nanda has proven himself as an effective administrator discharging the myriad of duties and responsibilities that were entrusted to him with panache. Always striving for excellence, he focused on his vision and execution. No task, however big deterred him from delivering results as he served the community with great diligence. Accolades and Awards followed wherever Dr. Nanda was posted. He is the winner of the Subhash Chandra Bose National Award for Excellence, an award that is recognized by the UNESCO. He has received the Communal Harmony Award and recently was awarded the Corporate Leadership Award for Corporate Social Responsibility activities. In November 2014, Dr. Nanda won the ‘Mahadhan Award’ for Excellence in Crop Improvement and Productivity, from Fertilizer Association of India–Western Region (FAI-WR). Dr. Nanda’s sustained focus on technology up-gradation; farm-friendly initiatives through soil, water and seed testing; tissue culture and yield improvement activities brought him the prestigious award. The ‘Environment Protection Award’ from Fertilizers Association of India, New Delhi, for ‘protecting & improving the Environment in the Coastal Region of Gujarat’; the CEO Award 2015, for ‘outstanding professional achievement in the corporate India’, conferred by CEO, Steering Committee, All India CEO Network, India Chapter; the prestigious ‘National Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility’, from the Institute of Directors, for ‘outstanding contribution to the Society, especially to the farmers, by providing end to end solutions, from soil, water and seed testing to drip irrigation are some of the other awards bagged by Dr. Nanda. His stints as Collector in districts of Dangs, Vadodara, Panchmahals, Banaskantha and Junagadh are notable because his achievements have left an indelible imprint in all these places. As Guardian Secretary of Dangs district, a remote and very backward tribal area, Dr. Nanda tirelessly worked for maintenance of harmony and initiated development that would ensure peace and prosperity. Under his stewardship the district transformed to become the horticulture and vegetable belt for the urban markets enabling the tribal’s to drastically improve their standard of living. Dr. Nanda authored a Coffee Table Book entitled “Dang the Little Known Paradise of India.” The book was released by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandi ben Patel. Apart from his administrative prowess, Dr. Nanda proved himself time and again to be a man of remarkable skill, be it technical or conceptual. This attribute has shaped Dr. Nanda as the man who can successfully handle crisis. His responsiveness to crisis situations coupled with his ability to perform specialized tasks through seamless networking has resulted in many positive outcomes. His power to motivate people to achieve superior performance, by keeping the big picture in view and visualizing holistic solutions to problems has been invaluable to Gujarat. In the aftermath of the calamitous earthquake that struck the state in 2001, the World Health Organization (WHO) requisitioned the services of Dr. Nanda as consultant who successfully monitored the entire work of relief, rehabilitation and restoration of the health infrastructures. Dr. Nanda was again the crisis manager when a devastating avalanche swept Amarnath in the late nineties in which many pilgrims from Gujarat lost their lives. He was also at the helm steering relief work when a super cyclone ravaged Odisha his home state in 1999. In both these crisis Dr. Nanda was instrumental in using Hand Amateur Radio in re-establishing snapped connectivity so that relief operations could commence. These experiences have led to initiatives to establishment of Gujarat Institute of Amateur Radio, to train volunteers in HAM Radio with technical assistance of the National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad. These HAM Radios were fielded successfully in the recent earthquake in Nepal. In all the work he has done Dr. Nanda has repeatedly and aptly demonstrated that public services require a radically different approach to overcome crisis situations. Dr. Nanda’s longest tenure was when he headed the Forest and Environment Department of Gujarat as its Principal Secretary. During this stint, Dr. Nanda actively propagated forestation activities, pollution control, environment and coastal zone regulation related activities. His unique contribution has been in improving the mangrove coverage, along the coastal lines of Gujarat, leading to greater green coverage. He initiated the implementation of green building, eco-industrial parks and evolved a policy for investment in environmental infrastructure and also working towards bio-fuel policy and alternate energy options from an investment angle. Needless to say these have earned rich dividends with awareness about environment protection having spread across Gujarat. Yet another signal contribution of Dr. Nanda has been in realm of Food Nutrition. In his capacity as Principal Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies he launched fortification and enrichment food like wheat flour with iron/ folic acid and edible oil with Vitamins A and D. This initiative was widely implemented to counter the declining nutritional profile of Gujarat and tackle the phenomenon of hidden hunger that could have stunted the human resource growth of the state. For this unique contribution, he was awarded Global Leadership Award for Food Fortification. This was followed by the issuance of Roaming Ration Cards a concept which was made applicable through the web based solution for migrating labourers. As Programme Coordinator he supervised the Universal Immunization Programme. Tourism, finance, youth services and culture have been the other portfolios where Dr. Nanda made his mark. He earned a two-year deputation to serve his home state where he was Secretary, Information and Broadcasting. Clear vision, detailed planning, and neat execution of plans are the unmistakable hallmarks of Dr. Nanda’s career. In the wake of riots in Gujarat in 2002, it was Dr. Nanda who planned the entire management of health camps and surveillance of camps which offered a complete package of physical, mental and positive health inputs. The result was complete health care and total absence of any epidemic. A trauma care centre was established to take care of injured by installation of best rehabilitation equipment and operative camps to treat those cases of mal- union and non-union of bones. Blood transfusion was given a priority with many blood donation drives organized to ensure constant supply. His work in the Health Department of Gujarat enabled him to evolve the concept of Medical Tourism in Gujarat. This was a first for the state that offered the promise of easy, quick and affordable health care. The whole concept was effectively marketed through NRI associations as well as through the internet including a campaign for alternate medicine which has now found universal acceptance for providing satisfactory services in the last few years. As CEO of the Gujarat State Financial Corporation, Dr. Nanda played a pivotal role in introducing reforms in financial packages and services for SME funding. These measures fuelled the growth of small and medium enterprises in the state. As a result, micro, small and medium size enterprises have grown exponentially in the last decade. As Principal Secretary, Home, Dr. Nanda, introduced a scheme known as Suraksha Setu, and unique programme to connect the masses with the local police force. From simply policing the public, the police force became the Suraksha Kavach, by establishing cordial rapport with the people. Suraksha Setu Societies were established in District and Tehsil levels, with Jan Raksha Kendras on the line of Jan Seva Kendra of Revenue department, where all services related with Police Department would be available on single window. Suraksha guidelines were specially designed for Women, Students, Children and Senior Citizens. Police Mitras were designated, to create public awareness on this unique initiative. There has been a sea change in the perception about the police force and this initiative has helped build the confidence among the masses. Blood is a critical element of medical treatment. Every day a large number of blood units are transfused for a variety of illnesses to include life saving medical emergencies. Under the leadership of Dr. SK Nanda, a concerted effort was made to increase voluntary blood donation. He appealed to several individuals and institutions to join hands for this noble cause. Dr. Nanda is one of the best donor motivator in the Gujarat. He has motivated thousands of officers, and employees in different Govt. departments like, Health, Home, Forest to donate blood. His pioneering efforts resulted in district and tehsil level blood donation camps, every year. Around 5000 to 10000 units of blood is collected by blood banks of Gujarat in a single day, due to motivation and efforts by Dr. SK Nanda. His slogan “Pitru tarpan, Rakt nu Arpan, Samaj ne Samarpan” is very effective, especially during “Shraddh” days when people organize blood donation camps. Due to his untiring efforts, Gujarat emerged first in the Country, in blood donation. As against the national average of less than 1% of blood donation, Gujarat’s per capita blood donation is more than 1.32% of the population size, since 2008.