![Speaker](https://icsts2023-padd.qcin.org/assets/img/speakers/photo_1697561560_Ajit_B_Chavan.jpg)
Shri Ajit B. Chavan
Shri Ajit B. Chavan is a Civil Servant from the Central Secretariat Service (1995 batch) in the rank of Joint Secretary to the Govt. of India, and is presently serving as the Additional CEO and Chief Seller Officer at the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry from 24th January 2023. In his present role, Shri Chavan is entrusted with the social and financial inclusion, engagement and participation of sellers across all sectors and industry verticals, on the GeM portal. GeM has of clocked a Gross Merchandise Value of more than 2 Lakh crore in the past financial year & boasts of one of the target supplier database. In his career, spanning 25+ years in the Government Shri Chavan has worked intensely in the fields of Textiles, Trade and Commerce, Agriculture, Health and Family Welfare, Heavy Industries’ sectors and by virtue of his work has acquired rich experience in Policy Design and Implementation. Before joining GeM, Shri. Ajit B Chavan served as the CEO of Textiles Committee, a Pan India Statutory body under the Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. Under his leadership, several qualitative changes were brought about in the quality ecosystem in the textile sector like, formulation of Technical Regulations & specifications for sectoral products, empowering customers through introduction of various Quality Marks, mainstreaming sustainability & circularity etc. Shri Chavan was also instrumental in the Policy driven growth in the agriculture and allied exports from 17 billion US$ to 43 billion US$ during his stint in the Department of Commerce during 2009 to 2016. Shri. Chavan has been on the Boards of several organizations as part of his assignments in the last decade and a half. Shri Chavan possesses a Post Graduate degree in Economics (with specialization in International and Monetary Economics) from Mumbai University and has also acquired 3 professional qualifications while in service Viz. Executive Masters in International Business (an Executive MBA) from IIFT, Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism & Mass Communication (PGDJMC), Post Graduate Diploma in Disaster Preparedness and Rehabilitation.