Mr. Amitabh Kant (I.A.S)

Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Government of India

Has extensive experience in infrastructure creation, International Marketing, Travel & Tourism and Hospitality industry. He has conceptualized and executed the positioning and branding of Kerala as "God's Own Country" and later the "Incredible !ndia" campaign. Both these campaigns has won several International awards and embraced a host of activities � Infrastructure development, product enhancement, changes in organizational culture and promotional partnerships based on intensive market research. He has structured large infrastructure projects for diversification of India�s tourism product and sourced international funding through the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and UNDP.

During his tenure as Chairman and Managing Director, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) he radically restructured the organization and turned it around into a highly profitable commercial enterprise. He also has wide ranging experience in innovative technical and financial structuring of Private � Public � Partnership in infrastructure projects and implemented the Calicut Airport project based on User�s fee, the BSES Kerala Power project and the Mattanchary Bridge project.

In his capacity as Managing Director, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, Commissioner Rural Development and District Collector Calicut, he has led large multi-disciplinary teams cutting across government, private sector, NGOs and civil society to ensure successful project execution and delivery.