Shri Arun S Bhatnagar is a Senior Govt. of India bureaucrat of 1983 batch with overall experience of 49 years in academia, corporate, and as a bureaucrat . Started his career in 1975 as an Assistant Professor in Economics. After appearing in the All India Civil Services Exam in 1982, joined IRS in 1983. Worked in different parts of the country and handled highly sensitive, complicated cases of IT. Also worked as Addl. Director General of National Academy of Direct Taxes (apex training institute for imparting training to IRS trainees as well as senior bureaucrats). Headed and coordinated international engagements with Foreign Universities & Governments as well as managed faculty and infrastructure of the Institute. Spearheaded Regional Training Institute (RTI), Bangalore as Commissioner of Income Tax. Superseded the batch when promoted from Deputy Commissioner to Joint Commissioner of IT due to his outstanding performance.
Shri Bhatnagar superannuated in 2015 from the post of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax from Delhi. Joined the corporate sector as an advisor for business development & marketing strategy from 2015 to 2017.
Shri Bhatnagar completed the executive general management program from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore as well as certified courses from Duke University and University of Maryland, USA. Was awarded for best practices instituted by the Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India. Shri Bhatnagar was appointed as Director General of the group of Indore Educational Institutes i.e. Indore Institute of Science and Technology, Indore Institute of Pharmacy and Indore Institute of Management and Research, in December 2017.
Under the transformative leadership of Arun S. Bhatnagar, the IIST Group has witnessed exceptional growth in both scale and quality. IIST achieved the prestigious NAAC A+ grade accreditation, while IIP and IIMR secured NAAC A grade accreditation in their very first cycle, setting a historic milestone. He pioneered the groundbreaking "Samagra Samutkarsh Yojana (SSY)." a visionary initiative aimed at ensuring the holistic development of the students by addressing challenges in both their inner and outer worlds.
Shri Bhatnagar's hobbies are poetry, meditation, reading and sports. He is also a passionate poet, and his book "शिव से संवाद" and "संचेतना के क्षण" have been highly appreciated by literary enthusiasts. He has also been invited as guest speaker on the topics like "spiritual management of life and work" , "In pursuit of excellence", "Theory and practice of meditation", "digital pedagogy" , "How to achieve success in career", "Challenges before Indian economy" etc. Additionally, he is deeply dedicated to environmental sustainability and founded the "Green Wave Club" at the Institute with the purpose of conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable living.
Shri Bhatnagar is differentiated by an uncommon expertise in Economics combined with strong industry acumen, allowing him to view opportunities with a wide lens to identify business drivers, understand complex issues, take action and drive results. In recognition of his exceptional contributions to the education sector, he is honored with the "Captains of Industry Award" by the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, the "India's Greatest Leaders Award" by Asia One, and received prestigious accolades from The Economic Times, etc.
Although Shri Bhatnagar has received numerous accolades for his work and achievements over years, he says his greatest reward is the love, affection and respect he has gained from the students across all disciplines. He is a true visionary who is currently leading IIST Group of Institutions with completely different ideologies with the objective of transforming the youth of today to be better professionals, better entrepreneurs and above all better human beings. Feel free to reach out to Shri Bhatnagar on his.Linkedin profile.
