[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 PAYING TRIBUTE TO MR. D.J. PANDIAN, IAS, PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, ENERGY 
          AND PETROCHEMICAL DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT OF GUJARAT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2010

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. 
D.J. Pandian, Principal Secretary of Energy and Petrochemicals of the 
Government of Gujarat.
  Mr. Pandian, who has 30 years of experience in public policy and 
administration, is leading a high-level business delegation from 
Gujarat, India to the U.S. to promote and strengthen U.S.-India trade. 
The Gujarat delegation is on a four-city visit to the U.S. to showcase 
investment opportunities.
  In cooperation with the Alliance for U.S.-India Business, AUSIB, the 
Congressional Taskforce on U.S.-India Trade and Investment Relations 
welcomed the Gujarat delegation at a meeting held in the U.S. Capitol 
on September 15, 2010.
  The taskforce and the Gujarat delegation discussed ways in which they 
could collaborate, particularly in the fields of healthcare, IT, 
renewable energy, and the oil and gas sectors. On behalf of the 
delegation, Mr. Pandian extended invitations to Members of Congress to 
attend the Vibrant Gujarat 2011 Summit to be held on January 12-13, 
2011, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
  The Gujarat delegation received an overwhelming response of support 
from Members of Congress and I want to personally thank Mr. Pandian for 
his leadership in bringing key stakeholders together and, once more, I 
commend Mr. Sanjay Puri, President of AUSIB, for highlighting the 
importance of this delegation's visit to Washington, D.C.
  Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Pandian served as the Chief 
Executive Officer of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, GSPC, and its 
group companies for 8 years. During his tenure, he converted the 
minuscule GSPC into a giant oil and gas company with presence in the 
entire Value Chain of Hydro Carbon Sector.
  He developed extensive gas grid networks for transmission and 
distribution of natural gas throughout Gujarat. Through his visionary 
policies and program implementation skills, he also developed city gas 
distribution systems in most of the districts of Gujarat with active 
public and private participation.
  He was also instrumental in setting up a modern university, Pandit 
Deendayal Petroleum University, to provide highly skilled technical 
manpower to the industries in the petroleum sector.
  Mr. Pandian's work is unmatched and it is my honor to pay tribute to 
him.

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