Renowned economist Dr Ajit Ranade was on Saturday removed from the post of Vice Chancellor of Pune’s Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE).
According to the institute, Ranade’s appointment violates the norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The prestigious institute had formed a committee to investigate the issue after questions were raised on Ranade’s appointment.
In a letter written by the institute to Ranade, it was said that the committee was of the opinion that his candidature was not in conformity with the criteria prescribed by UGC guidelines and hence, he was being removed from the post.
Reacting to the development, Ranade said in a statement that this is indeed an unfortunate and shocking decision.
The Pune-based GIPE is one of India’s oldest research and training institutes. According to a fact-finding committee set up by Chancellor Bibek Debroy, Ranade did not fulfil the criteria of having 10 continuous years of teaching experience as a professor.
In a letter to Ranade, Debroy said that therefore I have no other option but to remove you from the post immediately. Reacting to his removal, Ranade said that for the last two and a half years, I have been working with full dedication and to the best of my ability.
I am contributing to positive development in the institute. He said that it seems that these works of mine have been completely ignored.
The fact finding committee had held several meetings. After the meeting held on 13 September, the committee said that Ranade cannot legally hold his post. According to UGC rules, the Chancellor can remove the Vice Chancellor from his post if a case of violation of rules or incompetence is found.
It is noteworthy that GIPE faculty member Murali Krishna had raised questions on Ranade’s appointment by making the issue of his inadequate teaching experience. After this, former Chancellor Rajiv Kumar had issued a show cause notice to Ranade on June 27.
Prior to his appointment at GIPE, Ranade was the Group Executive President and Chief Economist at the Aditya Birla Group.
He has taught in various universities in India and America.
According to Ranade’s biodata available on the GIPE website, Ranade has also served as a member on various committees of the RBI. He has also been a part of Maharashtra’s task force on economic recovery after Covid.
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