Kolkata : Amid a big shuffle on Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee Appointed three-time West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra as the principal chief advisor to the chief minister and the finance department. He has been given a Cabinet-Minister-Rank. The appointment was made after Banerjee took over the finance portfolio from Mitra.
Notably, the former secretary general of FICCI did not contest the state assembly polls earlier this year owing to poor health conditions. As per the norms, one can serve as a minister for a maximum period of six months after the assembly polls if he/she is not elected to the state assembly.
Meanwhile, senior TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya was made the Minister of State (MoS) for Finance.
Born to a family of freedom fighters who were related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Amit Mitra has an impeccable track record since his formative years. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the Presidency College when it was affiliated to the University of Calcutta. Mitra received a Masters from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi and a PhD from the Duke University in the USA in 1978.
Before his tenure as West Bengal finance minister, Mitra had made a name for himself as a successful economist. He joined the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and rose to be its secretary-general. During his tenure, he is credited to have transformed the FICCI into a professional organisation to research and formulate India’s policy during its economic liberalisation.
He also served as an additional director of the Steel Authority of India Ltd from March 25, 2003 to March 24, 2006. Amit Mitra also received the Padma Shri award in 2008.
At the request of the then railway minister Mamata Banerjee, Mitra headed a panel to draw up business plans for the public-private partnership projects of the railways. He has also been on the government’s advisory committee on the World Trade Organization and the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council. He was associated with the Planning Commission as a member of the expert group on equitable development.
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