Former Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane has taken charge as chairman and managing director of Unitech Limited, assuming responsibility for the troubled property developer at a critical stage of its Supreme Court-monitored revival.
Aramane, a retired 1988-batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, has been appointed for two years from August 25th 2026. The Supreme Court approved his appointment on August 17th after the tenure of his predecessor, former IAS officer Yudhvir Singh Malik, ended on July 20th.
The appointment puts an administrator with more than three decades of experience in defence, infrastructure, finance, urban development and regulation at the head of one of India’s most unusual corporate turnarounds.
Unitech has been run by a government-nominated board under Supreme Court supervision since 2020. Its management is charged not merely with running a listed property company, but with completing delayed projects, protecting homebuyers and working through a complex web of financial and legal claims.
Who is Giridhar Aramane?
Aramane joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1988 and held a range of field and policy posts in Andhra Pradesh before moving into senior positions in the central government.
In Andhra Pradesh, he served as collector and district magistrate of Chittoor and Khammam. His later assignments included secretary in the state Finance Department, managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Finance Corporation and principal secretary in the Urban Development Department.
At the Centre, he worked in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, where he oversaw the exploration division, and served as executive director in charge of inspections at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. He later became additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat.
Aramane subsequently served as secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways during the disruption caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The role gave him responsibility for a sector central to infrastructure investment and economic activity at a time when transport networks and construction were under severe strain.
He reached one of the highest positions in India’s bureaucracy on November 1st 2022, when he became Defence Secretary. He held the post until his retirement on October 31st 2024.
His tenure came as the Defence Ministry pushed military modernisation, domestic manufacturing and the greater use of Indian-made equipment. Aramane also represented India in international defence engagements and took part in talks with strategic partners and neighbouring countries.
Why Aramane’s background may matter at Unitech
Aramane combines administrative experience with technical and financial training.
He has a BTech in civil engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, an MTech from IIT Madras and a master’s degree in economics from Kakatiya University. He has also received training in finance and banking.
That background is unusually relevant to the task at Unitech. Its problems cut across property development, project execution, finance, regulation and government co-ordination. The job therefore demands more than the conventional management of a listed company.
Aramane also gained recent experience of another large corporate resolution process. He joined the board of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services as a non-executive director in May 2025 and resigned on August 13th 2026, shortly before taking charge at Unitech.
Why is Unitech under Supreme Court supervision?
Unitech has operated under an exceptional governance arrangement since January 2020, when the Supreme Court superseded its existing board and allowed a government-nominated board to take control.
The court said an independent and professional management was needed to protect homebuyers and help complete projects that had been delayed for years. It also directed the new board to prepare a resolution framework for the company.
Malik was appointed chairman and managing director under that arrangement and led the new management until his tenure ended in July 2026.
After his departure, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs approached the Supreme Court for approval to appoint Aramane. On August 17th, the court approved the appointment. Unitech later said he would take charge from August 25th for a two-year term.
Aramane therefore inherits an organisation whose recovery remains tied closely to judicial supervision and the interests of thousands of homebuyers and other stakeholders.
What are Giridhar Aramane’s priorities at Unitech?
The immediate challenge is to carry forward Unitech’s court-monitored resolution rather than to pursue the ordinary priorities of a property developer.
Completing stalled projects and delivering homes remain central to the exercise. The company must also deal with financial liabilities, regulatory requirements, lenders, government agencies and other stakeholders while retaining the confidence of the Supreme Court.
Aramane’s career helps explain his selection. He has worked in infrastructure and urban development, dealt with financial and regulatory institutions, handled Cabinet-level co-ordination and run the administrative machinery of the Defence Ministry.
Those skills will now be tested in a different setting.
For Aramane, the move from defence administration to property development is a sharp change of subject. The underlying task, however, is familiar: managing a complicated institution, reconciling competing interests and producing results under close public scrutiny.
