tasked with reducing the powers of the Indian Armed Forces because it was feared that the Forces might take over the country. Patel succeeded in doing so by erecting the bureaucracy as a stonewall between the Forces and the ministers. On the other hand, he succeeding in separating finances from the Forces, by pushing for the civilian government to pass a separate budget for defence in the Parliament every year. Patel continued as one of India's highest-ranking civil servants till 1958. Patel, during his tenure as secretary in the Ministry of Finance, was led to resign from the position along with Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari over the Mundhra Scandal in 1958. As politician Patel first contested the election to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, in 1967. Contesting from the Swatantra Party, Patel lost due be being largely unknown to the electorate. Following the defeat of Indira Gandhi's Congress Party in the 1977 elections that ended the Indian Emergency, Patel was appointed the Finance Minister by the new Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who was leading India's first non-Congress administration. He changed many of India's socialist economic policies, ending barriers to foreign investment and reducing tariffs while protecting home industries. He was responsible for the policy that all foreign companies must form corporations with an Indian company holding a 50 per cent stake, which caused Coca-Cola to pull out of India, but most others did not. Patel was later appointed Home Minister when Charan Singh rejoined the cabinet of Morarji Desai as Finance Minister in 1979. Patel was a fervent admirer of Vallabhbhai Patel, and a critic of Jawaharlal Nehru. Patel was the chairman of the Gujarat Electricity Board and was a trustee and supporter of the Sardar Patel University in Anand district. He joined the Swatantra Party of C. Rajagopalachari, which was committed to free market economic policies. Patel resigned as a member of the Lok Sabha over the Bofors scandal during his second term. He represented the Sabarkantha constituency in the House first between 1977 and 1980, and then between 1984 and 1989. He did not contest the 1991 general election due to advancing old age. He died on 30 November 1993 at his residence in Vallabh Vidyanagar in the Kheda (now in Anand district), of Gujarat. He was survived by five daughters; one daughter Amrita Patel then served as the managing director of