The Mait executive council appointed Hemant Bharat Ram of DCM Data Systems as its new head. ``He will continue Agarwal's task of executing the functions of the post and guide the secretariat to successfully implement its charter of activities and plans, including working with the government for an early implementation of the second report of national IT task force pertaining to hardware,'' Mait said in a press statement.

However, there is more to the abrupt resignation than meets the eye. Agarwal had severely criticised the Government and was particularly harsh in his criticism against finance minister Yashwant Sinha after the budget.Hardware industry had widely expected Sinha to include duty sops for the industry and incorporate some of the provisions of the hardware report in the budget.

After bitterly criticising the finance minister,Mait had to apologise to Sinha for Agarwal's remarks which is believed to have caused differences among its members, leading to Agarwal's resignation, sources said.

Mait director and spokesperson Vinnie Mehta and Agarwal were not available for comment.