From the time he was inducted into the Gujarat Cabinet as finance minister under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s first tenure in September 2021, Kanubhai Desai presented his fourth budget on Wednesday.
The soft-spoken Desai has represented the Pardi seat in Valsad district since 2012 as a BJP MLA and has worked as an executive in UPL Limited (formerly United Phosphorus Ltd), an agrochemical manufacturer. Desai started out as a general manager in the Vapi office of the firm, rising to the post of vice president. He handled administration, liaisoning, legal and corporate social responsibility, till he resigned after becoming a minister.
From the first Budget he presented – of over Rs 2.43 lakh crore four years ago – Desai’s latest budget has grown to Rs 4.08 lakh crore.
Valsad district president of the BJP Hemant Kansara says Desai “draws from his work experience in the industry” in his current job. “His budgets have ensured that the growth trajectory of the state is consistent, finding ways to move the state ahead economically. This is a historic Budget reflecting the work experience of the finance minister”, said Kansara.
Belonging to an Anhavil Brahmin family in south Gujarat, Desai, 75, a commerce and law graduate, hails from Umarsadi village in Pardi taluka of Valsad district.
Desai has held the post of BJP general secretary of Valsad district till he contested his first election in 2012 from Pardi seat. He won from the seat again in 2017 and 2022.
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In 2021, Desai was inducted into the state Cabinet as Minister of Finance and Minister of Energy and Petrochemicals. He continues as Gujarat State Finance Minister to date. He is also a Committee member of the Gujarat State Board for Wildlife.
He is also associated with several organisations, including the Vapi Industrial Association, and served as the former chairman of the Vapi Notified Area Authority for two terms, from 2009 to 2012. He is also a trustee of Sandra Shroff Rofel Nursing College, Vapi.
Under his leadership, an auditorium in the name of former PM Morarji Desai was built in Pardi at an investment of Rs 4.46 crore. He also brought several development projects in Valsad district at Vapi and Pardi talukas, aimed at giving better facilities to citizens. – With inputs from Ritu Sharma, Ahmedabad
Kamal Saiyed is a senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, providing extensive, on-the-ground coverage from Surat and the broader South Gujarat region and the Union territories of Daman, Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli. With a reporting career at the publication spanning back to 2007, he has established himself as a high-authority voice on the industrial, social, and political pulse of one of India’s fastest-growing urban hubs.
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