Pune: Economist Ajit Ranade Removed as VC of Gokhale Institute

Noted economist Dr Ajit Ranade was on Saturday removed as vice chancellor of the city-based Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) after the institute found that his appointment violated the UGC norms.

The prestigious institute, a deemed university, had set up a fact-finding committee to examine the issue after Ranade's appointment was called into question.

A letter by the institute to Ranade stated that the committee was of the opinion that his candidature "does not conform to the established norms set forth by the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines," and hence he was being removed.

Reacting to the development, Ranade said in a statement that it was a "truly unfortunate and shocking decision." "For the past two-and-half years, I have been working diligently and to the best of my ability, contributing to positive developments in the institute. These results seem to have been completely ignored," he added.