Rajesh Shah appointed NIFT chairperson

The Ministry of Textiles has appointed Rajesh V Shah as Chairperson on the Board of Governors as per National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) up to March 31, 2019, in place of former cricketer Chetan Chauhan who resigned from the post after being made the sports minister of Uttar Pradesh. However, the statement did not share any details about Shahs profile.

A controversy had erupted last year over the appointment of Chauhan, an ex-cricketer and former BJP MP, as the chairman of NIFT, with political parties and fashion designers questioning the move. Textiles Secretary Anant Kumar Singh says Chauhan became a minister in Uttar Pradesh so he resigned from the post. We have appointed Shah as the post fell vacant. He also confirmed that Shah was related to the textiles industry.

Set up in 1986, the institute, which has centres across the country, comes under the Union Ministry of Textiles. As per the NIFT Act 2006, the chairperson of its Board of Governors shall be an eminent academician, scientist or technologist or professional, who is to be nominated by the visitor, in this case the President of India.