Dr. Rajath Bhargava served in various positions for both the government of India and the government of Andhra Pradesh, like as Assistant collector, Nellore, Sub Collector, Vijayawada, CEO, Zilla Parishad, Ranga Reddy District (TS), Municipal Commissioner, Vijayawada, Collector and District Magistrate, Ananthapuramu, Executive Director, APIIC, Resident Commissioner, AP Bhavan, New Delhi, Joint Secretary, Minister of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs (GOI) New Delhi, Spl. Commissioner, AP, Bhavan, New Delhi, Prl.Secy to Govt, Industries Infrastructure & Investment, Chairman & MD, AP Industrial Development Corporation, CEO, AP Invest, Chairman, AP Gas Distribution Company, Chairman, AP Industrial Development Corporation Special Chief Secretary to Government Industries & Commerce, Spl.CS to Govt. Revenue (CT, Excise, Registration & Stamps) Dept., Spl.Chief Secretary to Govt, Youth, Advancement, Tourism and Culture Dept, Commissioner, Prohibition & Excise, Prl.Secy to Government, Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture, and Special Chief Secretary to Government, Revenue (Excise, Registration & Stamps) Dept.
As the Municipal Commissioner of Vijayawada, Dr Bhargava had the opportunity to set up the first waste-to-energy plant in 1996 at Vijayawada. He has received an accolade from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, which placed him on a committee to conceptualize guidelines for the waste-to-energy sector in India. In furtherance of Human Waste to Energy plants, Anaerobic Composting units and Digesters, as well as a Pellet unit with Ucal technologies, at different locations in India.
As the District Collector Anantapur District in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Bhargava took up the challenge of turning the Desert Prone District into a wetland. With a massive water crisis, Anantapur was known as the desert-prone district in the Rayalaseema Region of Andhra Pradesh. He had an opportunity to introduce Water Sheds aimed at the sustainable distribution of water resources that affect the plant, animal, and human communities within the boundary. Subsequently, the introduction of maximum watersheds to revive the water table and arid horticulture farming has led to the Anantapur district becoming a significant fruit producer in the last 20 years.
He was appointed as the Chairman to initiate a new policy from the Petroleum, Chemicals, and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) by the Government of India in 2019. PCPIR is a region with an area of around 250 sq. km planned to establish manufacturing facilities for domestic and export-led production in petroleum, chemicals, and petrochemicals in India to make the industry self-reliant and sustainable. A new policy was submitted in 2021, which aims to create a special provision to be made under National Infrastructure Projects (NIP) to prioritize PCPIR projects and necessary reserve funding for implementing PCPIR projects.
Information Technology:
During the 90s, Information Technology emerged as one of India’s rapidly growing sectors, and the Government of India triggered massive reforms. “VOICE”, the patent-registered, first-of-its-kind, citizen-centric online service, introduced in 1996 under the aegis of the Department of Electronics, was a huge success. The success of VOICE had reached beyond the borders of the Indian subcontinent, and VOICE was set up in London and Australia by TCS.
Introduced effective IT-enabled services and data tools to strengthen the IT sector and generate maximum revenue. It was an honor for him to prepare a blueprint for India’s first-ever Hardware park in 1998 for the Department of Electronics, Government of India.
Financial Sector:
A man with diversified experience in Financial Management. Dr Bhargava has also been appointed as the Joint Secretary (Budget). His contribution to the Indian Financial Sector has been a census. He was overwhelmed by the occasion, which was closely associated with veteran Shri Arun Jaitley Ji, the then Finance Minister of the Government of India. He had an opportunity to work on and present two state budgets each for Jharkhand and Delhi, respectively.
Dr Bhargava was applauded for contributing to reducing the Fiscal Deficit from 6.3% to 3.5% with proper Fiscal Management.
An innovative scheme to strengthen the welfare of a girl child was effectively designed and implemented. The “Sukanya Samrudhi Yojana” was launched on January 22nd, 2015, by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modiji, as a part of the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” Campaign. The objective was not only to create awareness and encourage families to invest in their children’s education but also to save for their marriage expenses by creating an account in any post office or nationalized bank starting with a minimum of Rs.250/-.
Industries:
As Secretary of Industries in the AP Industries Department, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has ensured the creation of a “Plug and Play” Infrastructure. It was a fabulous one-stop-solution business model with attractive ready-made available facilities, including industry clearance to start an industry. He has worked on creating a network of laboratories and their modernization, ensuring that the commercialization of indigenous technology is taken up.
On the side of Vocal for Local, he has contributed his experience to create a logistic policy.
In 1994, when the Metro Corporation was not conceived, he established the first Light Multi-Modal Transport Corporation (LMMTC) in Andhra Pradesh.
Channelized Tourism in Andhra Pradesh
Under the visionary leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has committed towards the socio-economic development of the State. After being appointed as Special Chief Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh (Tourism, Culture, Archaeology & Museum), he has progressively channelized tourism in the State. He has penned the “New Tourism Policy”. The “New Tourism Policy 2020-25” was launched, which aims to boost the tourism sector and enhance tourism investments, which has led to the Oberoi Group announcing plans to set up 7-star Resorts in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The State Tourism Policy has received accolades as the Best Tourism Policy in the country.
Revival initiatives Post COVID:
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously affected the global travel, tourism, and hospitality industries since 2020. To revive the industry in the State, progressively contributed to several schemes like the RESTART program for industries and the tourism sector in Andhra Pradesh. Dr Bhargava was also Chairman of the Committee to ensure supplies during COVID times.
