Jawed Usmani

Other Important Assignments

• Managing Director of the UP State Cement Corporation (November 1991 to December 1993), a state government owned enterprise with annual production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of cement.

• Registrar of Aligarh Muslim University from December 1986 to June 1989. This is a premier University fully funded by the federal government.

• District Magistrate in two districts for around four years. Was the principal government functionary in the districts, responsible for maintenance of law and order and implementation of government programs and schemes for socio-economic development. Conducted the Parliamentary and Assembly elections in the year 1985.

• Chief Development Officer of a district from August 1982 to May 1984, responsible for implementation of all rural development programs.

(February 2004 to June 2004)

(December 1993 to October 1995)

Served two Chief Ministers (Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ms. Mayawati) during the above periods. Provided policy advice and assisted the Chief Minister in all aspects of governance and administration.

Key Achievements

• Formulated the Ambedkar Village Development Scheme which is the primary welfare program for the uplift of the poor and socially backward people in the rural areas of the state.

• Drafted the Act for the creation of a Special Police Force for combating communal violence in the state.

• Negotiated the State Support Agreement to be signed between the state government and a prominent IPP for setting up a mega-power project in the state.

  (July 2004 to October 2007)

  (July 1996 to June 2001)

Served four Prime Ministers (Mr. HD Deve Gowda, Mr. IK Gujral, Mr. AB Vajpayee and Mr. Manmohan Singh) during the above periods. Was responsible for advising and assisting the Prime Minister of India in considering and taking decisions on crucial social and economic issues, particularly those related to the Planning Commission and the Ministries of Finance, Industry, Commerce, Railways, Road Transport & Highways, Civil Aviation, Shipping, Power, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Coal, Communications, Health & Family Welfare, Environment, Minority Affairs etc.  Also serviced the Task Force on Infrastructure and the Group on Telecommunications set up by the Prime Minister to formulate the National Highways Development Program and the National Telecom Policy respectively.  Also serviced the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry as well the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. This provided valuable experience in formulation of public policy at the highest level of the federal government and monitoring and evaluation of development programs at the national level.

Key Achievements:

• Played an important role in the formulation of the National Highways Development Program and conceived the Annuity based BOT model for highway construction as a viable alternative to the Toll based BOT model. The NHDP continues to be one of the most important PPP based initiatives of the GoI for upgrading and building much needed infrastructure, a key constraint to India’s economic growth.

• While servicing the Group on Telecommunications set up by the Prime Minister under the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, participated in the formulation of the National Telecom Policy 1999, which facilitated the opening up of India’s telecom sector to private investment.

• Drafted the policy for the development of Petroleum, Chemicals & Petro-Chemicals Investment Regions (PCPIRs).  Assisted in steering the draft policy till approval by the Cabinet and notification.  This would be the basis of development of the petroleum, chemicals & petro-chemicals industry in the country in future.  Policies relating to investment regions for other sectors are being prepared, using the PCPIR Policy as a template.

• Assisted in steering certain policy initiatives in the Coal Sector which would go a long way in the opening up of the sector, increasing coal production and enhancing energy security.  These include de-reservation of a substantial number of coal blocks to make them available for captive mining by power producers, and introduction of the competitive bidding mechanism for allocation of coal blocks for captive mining.

• Played a key role in formulation and approval of the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata railway freight corridor project and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project. These mega projects are now under implementation.

• Drafted the Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities, which was approved by Cabinet in June, 2006.  Was also instrumental in the appointment of the Sachar Committee and the conceptualization of its terms of reference.  The Committee presented its report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community to the Prime Minister in November, 2006.  These two initiatives resulted in shifting the discourse on the issue of backwardness of the Muslim Community from emotional, symbolic measures to rational, data based, developmental interventions.

• Was a member of the supporting delegation accompanying the Prime Minister on his visit to the USA in July 2005 when the Indo-US Nuclear Agreement was signed.

Responsible for assisting the Executive Director in his functions as member of the Board of the Bank as well as representative of the constituency countries (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan), which has provided an invaluable opportunity to learn about the functioning of this premier multilateral development institution at its highest level. Functioned as the focal point for all issues relating to climate change and its impact on development prospects of poorer countries.

Key achievements:

• As the focal point for climate change issues, played an important role in ensuring incorporation of developing countries’ concerns in the World Bank’s Strategic Framework on Development and Climate Change governing the engagement of the Bank with development in the context of climate change.

• Played a prominent role in the stakeholder consultation in Potsdam, Germany, leading to finalization of the framework document for the Bank administered Climate Investment Funds (the Clean Technology Fund aimed at mitigation and the Strategic Climate Fund aimed at adaptation to climate change). After the establishment of these funds with a corpus of US$ 6 billion, ensured election of India as one of the members of the Trust Fund Committee set up in the year 2008 to manage the CTF, and thereafter represented India on this Committee.

• Led the discussion on the draft Access to Information Policy for the World Bank and provided key interventions resulting in extensive consultation of the Bank team with the Central Information Commission of India. The Bank thus learnt about India’s Right to Information Act and issues relating to its implementation. The Bank’s Access to Information Policy as finalized, was thus substantially influenced and shaped by the provisions of India’s RTI Act.

Was responsible for formulating and implementing developmental projects in Nepal to be funded by Indian aid.  This provided invaluable experience in the intricate field of diplomacy and bilateral assistance.

Key Achievements:

• Implemented the East-West Highway Optical Fibre Cable Project which created the 1100 kms. long OFC backbone infrastructure of Nepal, critical for the future development of the telecom sector of the country.

• Implemented the Bir Hospital Expansion Project which resulted in the establishment of a much needed trauma and critical injury treatment centre in Kathmandu, the only such facility in Nepal.

• Drafted and facilitated the signing of the Small Projects Assistance Agreement between India and Nepal which laid the basis for all future Indian assistance for implementation of small projects through local bodies such as municipalities and DDCs in Nepal. This has resulted in creation of goodwill for India on a much larger and wider scale as many more small projects could be identified on the basis of felt needs of local communities and executed with Indian assistance.