From SECI CMD to #OpenToWork: Gujarat cadre ex-IAS RP Gupta’s curious LinkedIn journey

Recently, I wrote a blog on retired Gujarat cadre IAS bureaucrat RP Gupta, with whom I used to interact during my Gandhinagar Sachivalaya days as the Times of India man. Written in the backdrop of the Government of India controversially easing him out of his position as CMD of the PSU Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a special purpose vehicle to promote solar energy, the title of the blog — "RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?" — is self-explanatory about the blog’s contents.

After I wrote the blog, I searched the net to find out more about him out of sheer curiosity. And perhaps the most interesting thing I found was on LinkedIn — his profile declared he is #OpenToWork, giving details of his "job preferences", offering a few "job titles", which include "advisor, independent director."

In the "Location Types", the profile says, "on-site hybrid", and under "Locations (on-site)", he includes "India, European Economic Area, United States, United Kingdom, Mumbai Metropolitan Region". I didn’t understand why he says India when Mumbai Metropolitan Region is already mentioned, and why European Economic Area when the UK is separately listed. Further on, under the "Start date" section, he says, "Flexible, I am casually looking" (sic!), and under the "Employment types", he says, "Full-time-part-time contract."

Then I decided to further look at his profile. In its "About" section, he says: "I provide consulting and advisory services in the field of environment, pollution control, circular economy (waste processing, recycling resources), forestry laws and carbon neutrality, environment planning, different clearances, compliances, legal advice and strategising, policy advocacy services, services in areas of forest & wildlife issues", adding: "Advisory and consulting services (including legal) in the areas of all forms of energy resources, mining, including coal and carbon neutrality and trading."

A further look into the profile suggested he has still not updated it after being removed from the post of SECI CMD. Thus, he mentions: "Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Government of India Official Full-time", pointing out he worked in that position from June 2020 to December 2021 — one year and seven months — as his main contribution.

In his note on the posting, he says — and I reproduce it verbatim here:

"I headed the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change. dealt with regulations in Environment, pollution Control, Coastal regulation zones, waste management regulations, Extended Producer responsibility and all facets of environment including amendment of Act, rules and regulations and their enforcement.

On Forest side, I guided all forest policies, streamlining of enforcement of forest laws, schemes to encouragement of plantations and forestry, biodiversity, and all allied issues.

I was also looking after Climate change policies of Government of India. I headed the Indian delegation at CoP26 at Glassgow (sic!) on behalf of Government of India and guided & directed the negotiations on behalf of the country. before CoP 26, prepared the framework for negotiations. Prepared the policy papers which formed the basis of announcement of India's goal (panchamrit) by Hon'ble prime Minister of India. The area included Climate goals in mitigation (net zero, emission intensity, renewable power capacity), carbon trading goals and policies and all related matters, adaptation policies and loss & damage issues.

My work in the ministry included dealing with all policy, administrative, legal and enforcement issues. various statutory bodies (Central Pollution Control Boards, environmental bodies like CRZ committees, SEIAAs, EACs etc) were formed and supervised by ministry under my control. Legal issues which arise in plenty in this field were also dealt and guided (sic!). During my tenure, number of initiatives in smoother enforcement of regulations, amendments of almost all environment and forest laws was started and draft finalized for presentation to Parliament.

the approach was to balance the requirement of economy and environment.

in nutcel (sic!) I was almost like CEO of environment field for Government."

I showed this to a senior IAS officer, who, while praising RP Gupta for his "impeccable reputation", expressed surprise at the poorly written note (which I have reproduced without any edits), as well as his #OpenToWork offer. A senior Gujarati journalist, commenting on his note, said, "An IIT graduate using such poorly written language is bewildering. Couldn't he use an AI tool to make a correction?"

Note: One can see screenshots from the site on clicking hyperlinks...

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

Search This Blog