Hydrogenation of imines by palladium based catalyst

A process for hydrogenation of tert-butyl (Z)-2-(4-(pyridin-2-yl)benzylidene) hydrazine-1-carboxylate of Formula IA to tert-butyl 2-(4-(pyridin-2-yl)benzyl) hydrazine-1-carboxylate of Formula IIA, comprising reacting 0.1-2% Pd catalyst on basic support comprising BaF2 or calcium phosphates with Ca/P ratio in a range of 0.76 to 1.8 for the period in the range of 5-18 hours in a solvent at atmospheric pressure up to 20 bar and at a temperature in the range of 25° C. to 100° C. with 1 to 10 wt % catalyst loading with respect to Formula IA to obtain more than 95% conversion of Formula IA and more than 95% of Formula IIA;