It is a pleasant homecoming for Sanjay Kaul, as he took over as managing director and CEO of GIFT City last month. The 2001-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre is a native of Vadodara. His latest posting at GIFT City – India’s first and partially-operational smart city and the country’s first international financial services centre (IFSC) – provides him a great opportunity to serve his native State, Gujarat. 

Incidentally, Gujarat is not new to Mr Kaul in terms of administration either. The top officer had quite a long stint in the western State between 2011 and 2016 with numerous responsibilities across key departments, such as finance, industries, home, tourism and science and technology, among others. Besides, he was managing director of Gujarat Informatics and Tourism Corporation of Gujarat.

Mr Kaul has brilliant academic credentials. A degree in electronics and communication engineering from NIT Surat and another one in public policy from Syracuse University, New York, would certainly have come in handy during his two-decade-long, extensive public career.

His recent appointment at GIFT City was immediately preceded by his stint as joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Culture. Beginning his public career in Kerala, Mr Kaul held several key positions across the State administration as district collector of Thiruvananthapuram to secretary in multiple departments including ports, industry and commerce and home and vigilance. Mr Kaul had also served as chairman and managing director of Kerala Financial Corporation, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and many others.

Mr Kaul’s new responsibility at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or GIFT City promises to be engaging and quite challenging too. Located between Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, GIFT City is designed to serve as a global financial and IT services hub and match major global business districts.

Developed as a smart city, including a special economic zone (SEZ), 261 acres of the total 886 acres of GIFT City houses the SEZ and offers numerous benefits like favourable tax policies, low operational costs and a thriving business ecosystem. The remaining 625 acres, designated as domestic tariff area (DTA), are planned for residences, schools, hospitals, hotels and other public amenities.

A preferred destination for the financial services sector, GIFT City is today home to more than 700 companies, including banks, insurance companies, fintech companies, brokerages and financial services providers. It also houses many IT and ITeS companies, law and consulting firms and two foreign universities. India INX – a subsidiary of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) – and NSE IFSC – an arm of National Stock Exchange (NSE) – operate from GIFT City and provide trading in global equities, stock derivatives, debt securities currency and commodities derivatives.

Despite providing a thriving ecosystem for financial services, the upcoming GIFT City suffers from some unique problems.

Just a month in office and Mr Kaul seems to be well aware of GIFT City’s strengths and weaknesses. The veteran civil servant’s rich administrative experience and leadership across multiple sectors are expected to drive GIFT City’s next level of growth.