Ajay Shankar is the Member Secretary, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council. He retired as Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion in the Commerce and Industry Ministry in December, 2009. As the Joint Secretary/Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power, he was one of the authors of the Electricity Act, 2003. He also conceived the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana for rural electrification.