DPIIT Secy Dr Mohapatra passes away; PM Modi, President Kovind & other leaders pay tribute

The Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra passed away on Saturday due to post COVID complications. Several Indian officials including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Jagat Prakash Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and several other officials offered their condolences. Mohapatra took over as DPIIT secretary in August 2019 and served as the chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

PM Modi shared his experience working with the late secretary and also wrote about his excellent work. 

President Kovind describes Dr Guruprasad as 'an outstanding bureaucrat' in his Twitter message. 

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu remembered Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra's services. 

BJP President J P Nadda shared his 'deepest condolences to his family and friends'. 

Home Minister Amit Shah also offered his thoughts and prayers for the deceased's family. 

Ministry of Railways, Piyush Goyal expressed his sadness over the demise of Guruprasad Mohapatra. 

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Hardeep Singh Puri, Dr S. Jaishankar also shared their grievances. 

"He worked closely with MEA on foreign economic relationships," wrote Foreign Minister on his Twitter account. 

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also consoled over the news of Mohaptra's passing away. 

Apart from union ministers, tributes came pouring in from officials including RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Ambassador of Japan to India, Satoshi Suzuki, and various others from around the nation for Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra. 

Dr Mohapatra's illustrious career involved tenures at various prestigious organisations

• Secretary of Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
• chairmanship of the Airports Authority of India (AAI)
• Joint secretary in the Department of Commerce
• Cadre 1986 batch IAS officer
• Municipal Commissioner in Surat, Gujarat
• Transport Commissioner and Commissioner, Commercial Taxes in Gujarat
• Handled the position of Managing Director in several listed Public Sector Units in India

As a Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad, Mohapatra had developed several urban projects like the Sabarmati riverfront, BRTS, Kankaria lakefront and heritage promotion. He had also taken part in building economic relationships and improve the business environment for Japanese companies.