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Spring 2020
Fall 2019
Mr. Anil Bhatia
Mr. Gopi Chandra Chhawaniya
Ms. Seema Sharma
Mr. Onkar Singh
Mr. Amar Singh Meena
Spring 2019
Mr. Satya Prakash Negi
Mr. Raghunandan Rao Manikonda
Mrs. Nishtha Upadhyay
Mr. Sandeep Arya
Mr. Abhay Kumar
Fall 2018
Mr. Mukesh Mangal
Mr. Devang Desai
Ms. Bindu Sharma
Mr. Neeraj Mehrotra
Mr. Dharmendra Arvindbhai Shah
Spring 2018
Mr. Sunil Kumar Chaudhary
Mr. Amitesh Kumar Sinha
Mr. Shiv Pal Singh
Mr. Ajithkumar Sreedharan
Mr. Pravinkumar Palsana
Fall 2017
Mr. Pravin Agrawal
Mr. Prallhad Shrikrishna Paranjape
Ms. Sukhgeet Kaur
Mr. Venkata Rama Raju Chelle
Ms. Nita Kejrewal
Spring 2017
Mr. Vivek Khare
Mr. Mukesh Kumar
Mr. Vivek Narayan
Mr. Harminder Palsingh Sran
Mrs. Rolley Mahendra Varma
Fall 2016
Ms. Bharati
Mr. Rajeev Kumar
Mr. Deepu Nediyara Salim
Spring 2016
Ms. Mugdha Sinha
Mr. Sai Baba Darbamulla
Mr. Govind Singh
Fall 2015
Ms. Gayatri Mishra
Ms. Prakriti Srivastava
Mr. Ramesh Kumar Suman
Fall 2014
Mr. Piush Kumar Gupta
Mr. Vijay Mohan Jain
Mr. Ramesh Kumar Suman
Spring 2014
Ms. Bhawna Garg
Mr. Deepak Kumar Kedia
Mr. Hari Har Mishra
Mr. Ajoy Sharma
Mr. Hareet Shukla
Fall 2013
Mr. Aditya Kumar Joshi
Ms. Amrit Raj
Mr. Goutam Roy
Mr. Samir Kumar Biswas
Dr. S. Murali Krishna
Spring 2020
Mr. Ajay Kumar Gupta was appointed to the Government of India Civil Service in 1992 and has more than 26 years of experience in public service. Presently, he is the Secretary Power of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Port Blair. Formerly, he was the Special Secretary in the Food and Civil Supplies Department ensuring food security to 7.3 million people, as well as the Secretary to the Minister of Industry, Labour and Election, working on policy formulation and implementation at the state level. He has extensive experience in district administration having conducted more than 8 elections for the legislative assembly and the Parliament of India. He also worked in the indirect taxation department in Delhi, and as Deputy Commissioner in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Urban Local Body. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from Delhi University. He also completed a Bachelor of Science in biology, a Master of Philosophy in English, and a Master of Laws, all from Kurukshetra University.
Mr. Bhaskar Choradia, an Indian Railway Accounts Service officer, has worked as the Director for Government eMarketplace, Government of India (GOI) since September 2017. Presently, he looks after the marketing, capacity-building and customer relationships for this marquee initiative of GOI. Instrumental in setting up the human resource and finance verticals, he handled different finance verticals of the newly formed entity, such as the goods and services tax and other issues relating to taxation. He has a wide range of experience working in the Ministry of Railways as a Financial Adviser for different units, such as Divisions, the Railway Workshop, the Zonal Headquarter, and the Railway Board. His assignment involved handling multilateral/unilateral agency funded contracts. He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India in 1996 and joined the Government of India in 2000.
Mr. Dhiraj Singh is a member of the Indian Information Service and has 23 years of experience in the field of government communication. Currently, he is a Director in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, with his latest assignment being to coordinate a nationwide campaign on phasing out single-use plastic. Prior to this role, he was the Director of Media and Communications in the Prime Minister’s Office, where he handled sensitive government communication-related assignments in wide-ranging sectors. Immediately before this, Mr. Singh was head of the personal staff of the Minister of Information and Broadcasting & Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. He has both a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy in international relations from Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Delhi and a postgraduate degree in public policy and management from the Indian Institute of Bangalore and Syracuse University. Mr. Singh also writes on cultural issues and dabbles in Hindi poetry.
Dr. Sanjay Belsare, presently working as a Chief Engineer and Joint Secretary for the Water Resources Department in the Government of Maharashtra. He has rich experiences in Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM), having been part of the core team involved in reforming the water sector in Maharashtra. He is the two-time recipient of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) WATSAVE Award. He is also the recipient of the Maharashtra State Best Engineers Award and the Hon. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Award for efficient management. Formerly, he was the Vice-Chairman of the ICID working group on Young Professional Forum. Presently, he is a member of the ICID working group on the Modernization of Irrigation Projects. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in civil engineering, a postgraduate degree in construction and management, and a doctorate degree in subject communication, economics.
Mr. Niraj Kumar, an Indian Railway Accounts Service officer belonging to the Civil Services batch of 2000, has been working as a Director in the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs for the Government of India since April 2018. As Director (NULM), he assists in the implementation and monitoring of the flagship mission named DAY-NULM. This mission provides a comprehensive approach to alleviate urban poverty to make our urbanization narrative inclusive and is implemented in collaboration with the state governments. In addition, he also coordinates administrative activities, including inter-ministerial and inter-departmental consultations for the formulation of government policies. He has a wide range of experience working in the Ministry of Railways as a Financial Adviser for different units; an implementer of various ICT initiatives and vigilance administration. He holds a Master of Statistics from the University of Allahabad and joined the Government of India in 1998.
Mr. Piyush Chetiya is the Assistant Director-General at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). He has over 24 years of experience as an Indian Telecom Service Officer, posted in various capacities with the Department of Telecommunications and then with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, a public sector unit for telecoms services. Currently, his work at UIDAI involves the issuing of a unique identification number, the “Aadhaar”, which enables the residents of India to prove their identity anytime, anywhere. The Aadhaar has also promoted a multitude of transformative e-Governance initiatives in India, proving to be a pivotal tool of good governance and public empowerment. As Assistant Director-General, he is responsible for the full scope of Aadhaar-related activities in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in electronics engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut and an M.B.A from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.
Mr. Shyam Lal Meena passed the Indian Civil Services Examination in 1998 and was inducted into the Indian Post & Telecom Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TA FS). Spanning approximately 21 years, he has a wide range of experience as a government officer in the communications and non-telecom sectors. He is currently deployed as the Director (Finance), an independent charge in the attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti (Central Water Commission/Central Ground Water Board/National Water Information Centre). He handles integrated financial matters such as budgeting, internal financial advice, preparation of SBE and RE and supplementary demand, expenditure review and reply of ATN to budget-related standing committees. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University (MDSU) in the year 1993. He also completed a Master of Arts in History from Rajasthan University in the year 1996.
Mr. Rahul Gosain is currently posted as the Director of the Internet Governance & Digital Payments Divisions at the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) of the Government of India. His duties include dealing with matters relating to internet governance & the promotion of digital payments, where he spearheads the formulation of communication strategies for the Government of India as well as coordinates the communication and media strategies of a wide variety of stakeholders. He is also extensively involved with overall communications, publicity, advertising, and other outreach capacities. He is currently serving on the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) and was nominated as the host country representative on the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) on behalf of the Government of India. He earned a Master of Arts in public policy and sustainable development from Teri University, New Delhi.
Fall 2019 Fellows
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Mr. Anil Bhatia, an Indian Telecom Service officer, is the Assistant Director-General at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in the Regional Office of Chandigarh. Working under the Ministry of Information and Technology, he enrolls and issues Aadhaar (biometric-enabled identity) to the various residents of India. Aadhaar is the world’s largest biometric database, with over 10 million resident users. As Assistant Director-General, he oversees Aadhaar operations in the North India States of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. He also heads the Finance, IEC and Grievance divisions for the four following states: Haryana, Punjab, Himachal, and Jammu and Kashmir.
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Mr. Gopi Chandra Chhawaniya, of the India Telecom Service, is the Director of Internal Security at the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, in the Government of India. Currently, his work relates to the Intelligence Bureau (administration and financial issues) and the Arms Section. He joined the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India under Indian Telecom Services during 1992 and worked in the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). His previous responsibilities included: Telecom installations, planning, operations, sales and the marketing of Telecom Services in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Goa. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Telecommunications from the Madhav Institute of Technology & Sciences.
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Ms. Seema Sharma, an Indian Civil Service officer, is currently working as the Chief Vigilance Officer for the Bureau of Indian Standards and the National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India, both under the Department of Consumer Affairs. In this position, she advises the CEO in all matters vigilance-related and maintains transparency and compliance with the Central Bureau of Investigation and Central Vigilance Commission. Other responsibilities include examining all systems for elimination, conducting independent technical examination and investigations, formulating systems and ensuring that executives practice preventative vigilance. She holds a doctorate in the French language and French literature as well as a Ph.D. from Rajasthan University in Jaipur.
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Mr. Onkar Singh, of the Indian Railway Service, is a joint secretary in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Government of India. The UPSC is a prestigious constitutional body of the Government of India, entrusted with the responsibility of providing advice to the Government in all matters relating to recruitment, civil services and posts of the Union. Prior to joining UPSC, he was a Sr. Divisional Mechanical Engineer at the Delhi Division of Indian Railways, where he was responsible for the maintenance of 900 passenger trains and 250 good-filled trains on a daily basis. He is an alumnus of the Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (IRIMEE).
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Mr. Amar Singh Meena, a member of the Indian Telecom Service, is currently working as the Director of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi in the Government of India. His duties include administrative work relating to all establishment, personnel and financial matters requiring the approval of the Central Government and the following quasi-judicial bodies: the National Company Law Tribunal and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from MBM Engineering College in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. During his service, he completed his Bachelor of Law (LLB) from Delhi University, as well as a dual Post Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management and Journalism and Mass Communication, from the Management Development Institute of Gurgaon.
Mr. Satya Prakash Negi, an Indian Forest Service officer, is currently working as Conservator of Forests & Head of the Extension Division at Himalayan Forest Research Institute (HFRI), Shimla—the premier regional research Institute of Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. The Institute caters to the various forestry research needs of the two western Himalayan States of India viz. Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Extension Division of the Institute is responsible for wider dissemination of institutional research findings to the various end users/stakeholders through training programs, seminars, workshops, exhibitions, and talks etc. Mr. Negi is shouldering the additional responsibility of Head of Office for the administration and co-ordination of various research divisions of the Institute to achieve the research mandate. Over the last 20 years, Mr. Negi has served in the federal as well as state government. In the Government of India, he has served as Deputy Director in Forest Survey of India's northern zonal office at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. In the Government of Jharkhand, he has served as Divisional Forest Officer - both in the Territorial and Social Forestry wings, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Planning) in the Development wing, and Deputy Conservator of Forests in the Project Coordination Unit of Jharkhand Participatory Forest Management Project. He has also served as Director (Mines) & Special Secretary to the Government in the Department of Industries, Mines & Geology, Government of Jharkhand. Mr. Negi obtained B.Sc. Forestry from Dr.Y.S.Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan (1993) and Masters in Psychology from Punjab University, Chandigarh (1996). During the service, he earned Post Graduate Diploma in Wildlife Management from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (2001) and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law from National Law School of India University, Bangalore (2005). Most recently, European Union’s fellowship provided an opportunity to earn him M.Sc. in Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (Specialization in Natural Resources) from the Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Netherlands (2011). Mr. Negi has published many journal articles mainly on the issues related to Himalayan/mountain forestry.
Mr. Raghunandan Rao Manikonda is a member of the Indian Administrative Service (2002) and for over the last three years, he has been working as the Collector and District Magistrate of Rangareddy District in the state of Telangana, India. He functions as the Chief Executive of the district with a population of over 2.5 million. His responsibilities include the planning and implementation of programs designed for the welfare and development of poor and marginalized communities in sectors such as education, health and sanitation, nutrition, agriculture, urban infrastructure and rural development. He is also responsible for the updating and maintenance of the land records. He has previously worked in the World Bank-assisted Rural Poverty Reduction Project that organized and empowered the poor to occupy larger space on their socio-economic value chains; as Special Officer for the Rehabilitation of Project displaced families of a large Irrigation Project and in the skill development space. As Collector, Krishna district, he conducted simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the AP Legislative Assembly in 2014. Over the last two and half decades, he has lead and been a part of multi-disciplinary teams drawn from diverse Government departments, NGOs and the corporate sector. He believes that sound interpersonal relations, innovation and flexibility in decision making are the sine qua non of effective leadership. He received his MA (General Studies) from BITS, Pilani, Rajasthan and Master of International Development Policy from Duke University, USA.
Mrs. Nishtha Upadhyay qualified Indian Civil Services Examination in 1999 and was inducted into Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS). She is currently serving as Financial Advisor in Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) under Ministry of Home Affairs. She also holds charge of Financial Advisor to CBICFSL, DFSS and Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS) in addition to NDRF and Civil Defence. In past she has served as Additional Integrated Financial Advisor to Integrated Headquarters of Navy, Ministry of Defence and worked closely with Vice Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS). Different tenures with all arms of services namely Army, Air force and Navy, has provided her with a unique insight into their functioning. In all these tenures, she has been able to earn exemplary respect and acclamation for performance. Her work in current tenure has been recognized with five commendations and two DG Insignia and Gold Disc from DG ITBP. She has been an IT enthusiast. Her most challenging assignment has been with Controller of Defence Accounts (Officers), Pune responsible for salaries and allowances for all officers of Indian Army. Being in charge of IT Centre, she facilitated a dynamic website for Army Officers, first of its kind in government initiatives, which made possible online submission of requests for changes in GPF subscriptions. By leveraging IT initiatives in other sectors like banking she made possible one point disbursement to banks directly and much faster payments. She has exemplary academic credentials, been a top rank holder throughout esp. university topper at post-graduation from Delhi University. Her academic background in psychology is of direct relevance in her day to day work, which she enjoys putting to practice. Before joining Civil Services she taught at I.P. College, New Delhi during 1996-98 and later at Jesus and Mary College, New Delhi from 1998-1999.
Mr. Sandeep Arya is the Director, Department of Official language, Ministry of Home Affairs at Delhi. As Director Official Language, he is looking after the work related to development of Technical tools for Official Language (Hindi) & Implementation of Official language among all Government Ministries/offices as per the Government of India Policy. Mr Sandeep Arya belongs to Indian Telecom Service, 1996 batch. He joined Department of Telecommunications, Govt. of India under Indian Telecommunication Service during 1998 and worked in Department of Telecommunications & Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited in various capacities. He handled Telecom installations, planning, operations, sales and marketing of telecom services in states of J&K, Punjab & Himachal Pradesh. Mr. Sandeep Arya received his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Regional Engineering College Jalandhar, Punjab in 1995.
Mr. Abhay Kumar is currently the Joint Commissioner of Central Excise, Service Tax & Customs at the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He has: 11 years of administrative experience in the Customs, Service Tax, and Central Excise Branches of Indirect Taxation; 6 years of working experience at major Indian ports (I.e. the Jawaharial Nehru Port and the Mumbai Port); and 6 years of experience working with various stake-holders within the Port sector, specifically including shipping lines, shipping and freight agents, and freight forwarders. Mr. Kumar has received his Bachelor of Arts from B.R. Ambedkar Bihar University, Musaffarpur, Bihar, and his LL.B. from the University of Delhi, Faculty of Law, Campus law Centre.
Mr. Mukesh Mangal is a Director at the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, in the Government of India. He has over 25 year of experience working at the government level, and is particularly skilled in the field of telecommunications, with a specialization and focus in Internal Security, Cyber Security and Quality Assurance. Currently, Mr. Mangal's responsibilities include: examination of investment proposals, including foreign direct investment in sensitive sectors like aviation, telecom, defense, explosive, arms, currency, broadcasting, etc., from a national security point of view; framing of investment policy; and cyber security policy of Government of India. He is also associated with policy matters concerning the lawful interception of communication. He received a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering from Rajasthan University.
Mr. Devang Desai is a Government Officer belonging to Indian Administrative Services, popularly known as IAS, in the State of Gujarat. He joined Gujarat Administrative Services, Provincial Civil Services, in 1993 as Deputy Collector, having received his Bachelor of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry degree from Gujarat Agricultural University in 1988. His experience include: working as Sub Divisional Magistrate looking after law and order and land revenue administration; working in tribal development, motor vehicle department as a licensing authority and urban development as City Manager; and working in tax and revenue matters. Presently, he works as District Development Officer in Valsad District of Gujarat, India, where he undertakes and supervises all village development activities within the district and helps to provide a variety of government services to rural people. These services include health, education, education scholarship to weaker section of the society, agricultural inputs and IEC, veterinary and animal husbandry services, birth & death registration, women and child care and nourishment, water harvesting, etc.
Ms. Bindu Sharma has served in various positions in the Government of Madhya Pradesh for nearly ten years. While she has mainly served in Forest Department, where she gained good experience in Social Forestry, Community Forest Management and Clean Development Mechanism by facilitating carbon sequestration projects, she also has worked in the Housing and Urban Development Department. She has also served in the Government of Andhra Pradesh in Forest, Rural Development and Infrastructure departments for 4 years on inter- state deputation. In Rural Development Department, she worked at District Watershed Agency Mahbubnagar, Additional Commissioner, AP Academy of Rural Development and for NREGS (Now MNREGA), the Government’s biggest employment guarantee program. Since December 2013, she has worked in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Government of India in Finance and Reproductive and Child Health Divisions.
Mr. Neeraj Mehrotra, an Indian Defense Service of Engineers (IDSE) Officer, is currently working as Director (Policy) in the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. At his current position, he is responsible for formulating developmental policies aimed at accelerating growth of the telecommunication services in the country. Mr. Mehrotra has over 26 years of experience in providing professional engineering support to the armed forces of the country while working at different levels in Military Engineer Services (MES), an important inter-services organization under Ministry of Defense. An expert structural designer, Mr. Mehrotra, has a great passion for sudoku solving and is amongst the top solvers in the country. He graduated in Civil Engineering from NIT Allahabad (erstwhile MNREC Allahabad) and did his Masters in Structural Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon.
Mr. Dharmendra Arvindbhai Shah is a government officer in the cadre of Provincial Civil Services in the State of Gujarat, Republic Of India. He has a background in Veterinary Science and is also a Management graduate. He received his Masters of Veterinary Science in Surgery from Anand Veterinary College, Gujarat in 1991, while his Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management was from M S University, Gujarat in 1996. He also got a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IGNOU, India in 1998. He is currently posted as the Deputy Municipal Commissioner at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in the city of Ahmedabad. He started his career in 1991 as a Veterinary Officer and in 1993 as a Deputy Collector and has served the Gujarat Government in various administrative and magisterial capacities ever since. Through his diverse postings, his job profile has spanned the areas of law and order, land and estate administration, Stamp Duty, entertainment and luxury taxes, land revenue, protocol, implementation of governmental rural developmental schemes, rehabilitation of project affected people, land acquisition work, maintenance of supply and demand of essential commodities, disaster management, management of all civic amenities in local municipalities and large municipal corporations, Conducting elections for the Parliament, State legislative assembly and for urban civic bodies as well as rural bodies. His positive, dedicated and efficient approach has fetched him countless appreciation letters for unparalleled administration over the years.
Mr. Sunil Kumar Chaudhary is a government officer in a cadre of Provincial Civil Services in the State of Uttar Pradesh, Republic Of India. He is a science and law graduate and is presently posted as the Deputy Commissioner, Land Reforms, Board of Revenue, and in Uttar Pradesh Lucknow. He joined the service in 1999 as Deputy Collector and has served the Government in his various administrative and magisterial capacities. His work experience includes taking forward strategic development and policies for the renewable energy sector in the State by serving as Secretary and Chief Project Officer at UPNEDA. His keen interest in the fields of international relations, revenue laws, land reforms and legal writings aided his work as a member-secretary of drafting committee for codifying and drafting the revenue and land laws for the State. He is the author of Commentary on Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code. He received his Bachelor of Science from University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1991, and his Bachelor of Laws from St. Andrews College in 1994.
Mr. Amitesh Kumar Sinha, an Indian Railway Accounts Service Officer, has worked as a Director in Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India since October, 2016. He assists in coordinating major administrative activities and policies of the government. He organizes meetings of Committees of Secretaries to sort out differences amongst Ministries/Departments and to evolve consensus on various policy issues. He keeps watch on the progress of important administrative measures of the government, which affects more than one Ministry/Department and responsible for submitting to Cabinet Secretary, GoI such matters as require his attention or direction. He has a wide experience of working in Ministry of Railways as Financial Adviser in different units, such as Railway Workshop, Divisions, Zonal Headquarter and Railway Board. He graduated in Civil Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India in 1994 and joined Government of India in 1997 after clearing the Civil Services Examination.
Mr. Shiv Pal Singh is currently the Director of a flagship Mission of Government of India in the urban sector, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation. The Mission aims at strengthening the basic infrastructure in 500 Mission cities that are home to 60 percent of urban population of the country. His responsibilities include helping and coordinating with the provincial governments preparing to implement the Mission and working with them to achieve the Mission's objectives. Prior to his current work, Mr. Singh worked in the field of forest and wildlife, both at the federal and field level. He has worked in the coordinating the management of Protected Areas in the countr, and, at the field level, has been actively involved in the scientific management of the forests and wildlife as well as the enforcement of the relevant laws. He has extensive work experience with local communities living in and around the forests. Mr Shiv Pal Singh enjoys hiking and nature photography. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Mr. Ajithkumar Sreedharan is the Protector of Emigrants at Ministry of External Affairs, at Chennai, in the Government of India. He has over 25 year of experience working at the government level, and is particularly skilled in the field of telecommunications, with a specialization and focus in computer networking. Currently, Mr. Sreedharan's responsibilities include the protection and aid of emigrants and prospective emigrants leaving India, as envisaged in the Indian Emigration Act of 1983. He inquires into the treatment received by emigrants during their emigration out of India, during their stay in the country they emigrated to, and during their return to India. His findings are reported to the Protector General of Emigrants, Ministry of External Affairs. As Protector of Emigrants, Chennai, Mr. Sreedharan looks after the Indian states of Tamilnadu, Karnataka, and Pondicherry. He received his Bachelor of Technology Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Kerala University.
Mr. Pravinkumar Palsana is the Secretary, Gujarat Subordinate Services Selection Board in, Gandhinagar, Gujarat State, where he is performing his duty of recruiting class-3 employees for the State Government Departments since 2013. In the past he has worked in the Civil Supply Department, General Administration Department, Revenue Department and Education Department. Mr.Palsana has as well attended the training programme on “Leadership Development programme for Public Utility Managers” in Asia at AIT Bangkok in 2013. He received his Masters in Agriculture from Agriculture University, Sardar Krushinagar, Dantiwada, Gujarat in 1991. He also earned his Diploma in Yoga Education from Bhavnagar University in 2002.He gained certification in Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) from Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 USA in 2013.
Mr. Pravin Agrawal, an ‘Indian Forest Service’ Officer, is presently working as a Director at the Department of Heavy Industry where he deals with policy issues concerning Auto and Auto Component Sector. Additionally, he is responsible for the implementation of recently launched scheme on Electric Mobility. Mr. Agrawal is a Commonwealth scholar, who also attended US Department of State sponsored International Visitors Leadership program in 2015. Mr. Agrawal has a wide experience of working in various Departments like Forest, Rural Development, Higher Education, Information technology and Industries and commerce department in the State as well as in Government of India. He graduated in Civil Engineering and post Graduate Diploma in Management from Management Development Institute Gurgaon in Public Policy.
Mr. Prallhad Shrikrishna Paranjape is the Joint Commissioner of Sales Tax (Internal Audit) Maharashtra State in The Maharashtra Sales Tax Department (MSTD) of The Government of Maharashtra at Mumbai, where he supervises the administration and implementation of tax laws in the state of Maharashtra. Since 1991, he has served in the MSTD in administration and implementation of taxation laws in Maharashtra state in executive and supervisory role. He received his Master’s in Economics from Fergusson College, Pune with a Bachelor’s in commerce from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce Pune under Pune University.
Ms. Sukhgeet Kaur is the Director of Project Appraisal and Management at the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog)—a premier Government of India think tank. In addition to designing strategic and long-term policies for the Government, NITI Aayog also acts as the quintessential platform in bringing Indian States together in a spirit of cooperative federalism. At NITI Aayog, Sukhgeet deals with independent and professional techno-economic appraisals of Government Departments and Ministries projects/programmes so as to best guide investment decisions made by the Government. In the past she has handled Indian relations with countries in South and South East Asia as a part of the Ministry of External Affairs. She earned a B.A. (Hons.) in Geography and a Masters in Economics from Panjab University, later winning a scholarship to complete an M.Phil degree in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, UK. Most recently she has earned an LLB degree during her service in the Government.
Mr. Venkata Rama Raju Chelle is a Director at the Ministry of Defense for the Government of India, where he is currently involved in the adminstration, establishment, and policy framing of Military Engineer Services (MES), an important interservice oranization of Defense. His past work includes management and developement of IT services for the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Defence, and field-level experience as a Director in the Department fo Telecommunications. Venkata earned a B.Tech in Electronics and Communications from Acharya Nagarjuna University in 1998, Vijayawada and a Master’s in Business Administration, Finance, from Indira Gandhi National Open University, Delhi in 2010.
Ms. Nita Kejrewal manages a team of over 70 personnel working on the implementation of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission—a flagship Government program that aims to alleviate poverty by establishing institutional platforms intended to increase the rural poor’s household incomes through both livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial and public services. The program helps to empower women specifically by bringing one woman member from each poor rural household into Self Help Groups and further federating these SHGs at higher levels. In the past, Nita has handled national-level programs, such as the National Tuberculosis Control Programme and the National Leprosy Elimination Programme, and has worked closely with the World Bank and other international organizations like the UNDP and UNICEF. She graduated from Patna University with a B.A. (Hons.) in English.
Mr. Vivek Khare began his career as an Engineering Executive in National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (A Govt. of India Undertaking). He worked as Control & Instrumentation Maintenance Engineer at Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station. He later joined Department of Telecommunications, Govt. of India under Indian Telecommunication Service and worked in Department of Telecommunications & Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited in various capacities. At present, he is Director of the Election Commission of India responsible for conducting training programs for national and international participants at India International Institute of Democracy & Election Management, an institute set up by Election Commission of India. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Telecommunications from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal.
Mr. Mukesh Kumar is Director of the Central Vigilance Commission, which is an apex vigilance institution, monitoring all vigilance activities and advising organizations of the Government of India in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work. Previously, he served as Deputy General Manager with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, a Government of India enterprise, supervising the legal, personnel, and material management departments. He received his Bachelor’s in Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering, MBA in Human Resource Management and degree in Law.
Mr. Vivek Narayan is the Director of Sports for the Government of India. Since 1991, he has served in the Government of India and worked on Satellite, Optical Fiber, Microwave, data and mobile communications, policy formulation and monitoring of Telecom Licenses. As Director of Sports, he is responsible for the promotion of excellence in Sports, International cooperation, sports awards and welfare of athletes. He received his Master’s in Business Administration (Financial Management) and a Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering from Malaviya Regional Engineering College, Jaipur, Rajasthan University.
Mr. Harminder Palsingh Sran was appointed to the Government of India Civil Service in 1989 and has more than 26 years of experience in Public Service. Presently, he is Chief Vigilance Officer in Delhi Jal Board, an organization responsible for providing drinking water and sewerage facilities to more than 17 million people. Formerly, he was the Special Secretary for Land & Building, and Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Education, Urban Development, working on policy formulation and implementation at the state level. He has extensive experience in District Administration having worked as SDM, ADM and District Magistrate, conducted more than 15 elections for the legislative assembly and Parliament of India, and worked as Deputy Commissioner in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, as Director of Vigilance.
Mrs. Rolley Mahendra Varma is Director of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in the Government of India, where she is responsible for administrative and policy matters of media units working for dissemination of information on Government programs. Since 1994, she has worked in the Ministry of Defense. She has extensive experience in administrative, disciplinary, financial and budgetary matters related to Government including policy formulation, creation of infrastructure, and organizing national level seminars/exhibitions. She received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts in Journalism.
Fall 2016 Fellows
Ms. Bharati is a Director at Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the Government of India since 2014. She is currently involved in the “National Mission for a Green India” which is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. She is also the Science and Technology Correspondent for United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for India. With over 24 years of professional experience in the field of conservation and management of forest biodiversity, she has worked with Central and State Governments in India both at field level as well as policy level. She obtained Master of Science (Physics) from Indian Institute of Technology in 1987, Kanpur, and Master of Technology (Energy Studies) from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1989.
Mr. Rajeev Kumar is a Director at Non Communicable Diseases Division in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the Government of India. His duties include to oversee program implementation, monitoring and policy formulation for National Programs on Non Communicable diseases; Inter and Intra ministerial coordination. He also heads the Social Media Division of the Ministry. He won many awards such as Director General level award in 2013, Prestigious National award in 2008 for development and implementation of the concept of Weighted System Availability of Infrastructural assets, etc. He received Bachelor of Science (Physics, Chemistry, and Maths) in 1986 and Bachelor of Technology Electronics and Communication in 1989, both from University of Allahabad. He is pursuing Master of Business Law from National Law School at University of Bangalore.
Mr. Deepu Nediyara Salim is the Assistant Director General at Unique Identification Authority of India, in the Government of India. He has over 25 year experiences at the government, and in particular in the field of telecommunications, with specialization in project management. Currently, his work involved "Aadhaar", which is a strategic policy tool for social and financial inclusion, public sector delivery reforms, for managing fiscal budgets, increase convenience and promote hassle-free people-centric governance. The Aadhaar identity platform is one of the key pillars of the ‘Digital India’, where it will provide unique identity to every resident of the country. As Assistant Director General, he is responsible for the full scope of activities related to the program in the states of Odisha, Telangana. He holds B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from REC/ NIT Warangal, and MBA from Sikkim Maniple University.
Spring 2016 Fellows
Ms. Mugdha Sinha is the Director of Foreign Trade for NAFTA and Latin America Regions as well as Director of Export Promotion for Commodity Divisions of Textiles and Marine Products. Previously she held the position as Lead Negotiator and Coordinator for India-Canada CEPA Negotiations and Collector and District Magistrate for several provinces in India, including the provinces of Sri Ganganagar, Jhunjhunu. Hanumangarh and Bundi. Ms. Sinha has received various awards including a Letter of Commendation from the Election Commission for her work as DEO of Hanumangarh and Jhunjhunu (2012), the State Award for Best District in the Prashashan Gaon ke Sang Revenue Campaign (2010), the Director’s Gold Medal for the Best Judicial Assignment in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (2001), the Manorama Desai Prize for the Best Student in History from Lady Shri Ram College (1994-95) and the Principal’s Prize for Promoting Academic Ethos of the College from Lady Shri Ram College (1992-95), among others. Ms. Sinha has also been published 7 times, having written works that range from poetry to a series of monographs and a coffee table book titled, Baories of Bundi (2007). She received her Master’s Degree in Philosophy (International Diplomacy) from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and holds diplomas in Smart Policy Design from Harvard University (2014), Public Policy from Sciences Po University in Paris (2014) and Public Policy from Duke Centre for International Development from Duke University (2010).
Mr. Sai Baba Darbamulla is the Director of the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) and Director (Vigilance) at the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in New Delhi. As Director, Mr. Darbamulla manages Cadre of ISS officers and monitors all units of the Ministry to ensure fair and transparent vigilance administration and anti-corruption measures. He has held a variety of positions in the Indian Railways system over the span of the last 15 year and specializes in Project Planning and implementation, Information Management Systems and is a certified Lead Assessor of Quality Systems ISO 9001. Mr. Darbamulla was also a team member as Deputy Director (Rolling Stock) in World Bank aided Railway Rehabilitation Project at Mozambique. He has received several awards, including the Railway Staff College’s Gold Medal in 2004 and the GM South Central Railway’s Award in 1998. Mr. Darbamulla holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Jamalpur, Bihar, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Management Development Institute in Gurgaon and is an Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers, Kolkata, India.
Mr. Govind Singh is the Additional Director General of Police (Operations) heading Greyhounds and OCTOPUS organizations which undertake high risk, anti-extremist and anti-terrorist operations respectively in the State of Telangana. Over the last 26 years, Mr. Singh has held a variety of positions, including Civil Police Monitor and Regional Operations Officer in Banja Luka during his appointment in a UN mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has also worked at Engineers India Limited, providing consultancy services to Petro-Chemical Complexes and Refineries and served as Special Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh, Home Department. Mr. Singh has received several awards including the Internal Security Medal for meritorious services and the President Police Medal for distinguished services by the Government of India. He also received two medals from the UN for his work during his UN mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr. Singh earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the Delhi College of Engineering in 1985, after which he joined the Indian Police Service and worked in various parts of Andhra Pradesh State as an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Additional Superintendent of Police, Superintendent of Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police and Inspector General of Police, supervising and directing the civil police responsible for prevention and detection of crime, investigation of crime, maintenance of Law and order and security of local population and vital installations.
Fall 2015 Fellows
Ms. Gayatri Mishra serves as Director, Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India where she is responsible for making service allocations to candidates recommended or selected through civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. She is responsible for more than 1000 posts involving 24 Services including the prestigious Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Police Service. She has previously served as Director (Hospitals) in the Ministry of Health and Welfare, GOI. Prior to that, she served as Under Secretary in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. Ms. Mishra holds a BA in Political Science from at Utkal University; an MA in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad; an MPhil in South Asian Studies at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and a MBA from the Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
Ms. Prakriti Srivastava currently serves as Director (Administration), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. She is currently on deputation from Ministry of Forests and Environment, Kerela. Ms. Srivastava’s core competence is in policy relating to forests, wildlife and biodiversity conservation in India. Other areas of expertise include Forest Management, Protected Area Management, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Plants and Animals (CITES) and Wildlife Conservation Policy and Law. She has played a key role in strengthening the policy framework for wildlife conservation in India, and has enhanced regional cooperation in controlling trans-border protection for wildlife and natural resources. Ms. Srivastava is a 1990 batch officer in the Indian Forest Service. She holds both MA and a BA degrees in Zoology and was ranked 10th in India in the prestigious Indian Forest Service examination.
Mr. Ramesh Kumar Suman currently serves as Director, Internal Security, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. There, he coordinates with various Ministries and Law Enforcement Agencies across India – at the State and National level – on various dimensions of security and policy matters including counter terrorism, intelligence and security clearances. Previously, Mr. Suman held various positions in the Forests Department including Conservator of Forests (Audits & Accounts), Hyderabad, where he managed the allocation of budget and monitored expenditures in various units to ensure enforcement of financial discipline in the Forest department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Suman holds a B. Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur; an M. Tech in Nuclear Engineering and Technology from IIT Kanpur; an AIGNFA DIPLOMA – equivalent to an MSC in Forestry from Indria Gandhai National Forest Academy; and an MBA in Human Resources from Sikkim Manipal University.
Fall 2014 Fellows
Mr. Piush Kumar Gupta is a Director at the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India dealing with Ministry level matters related to the Indian Air Force’s Operation, Manpower Planning, Personnel Management and Work Services. Prior to this he was also a Director overseeing vigilance cases at the Ministry of Defence. His career also spanned several years with the Indian Ministry of Railways holding positions such as Director dealing with Signal Engineering, Safety in train Operations and Deputy Chief Vigilance Officer. In 2005, he received a “National Award for Outstanding Service” from the Ministry of Railways. Mr. Gupta completed with distinction a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Delhi Technological University and a one-year National Security and Strategic Studies course at the National Defence College. He participated in several international programs in the United States, Japan, Italy, Vietnam, South Africa, Russia and France.
Mr. Vijay Mohan Jain is a Director at the Department of Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance, New Delhi. He is responsible for overseeing Central Assistance to State Plans and monitoring the financial position of all States, including the availability of funds for debt sustainability. He provides advice to implementing Ministries and Planning Commissions on policies involving state finances. Previously, he handled policy-making for the Central Excise wing of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, covering the interpretation and framing of rules/regulations, as well as budget proposal. He also supervised import and export –related activities in JN Port, Nhava Sheva and the Mumbai Port. Mr. Jain holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kurukshetra University at Kurukshetra, India. He has completed field visits in Canada and Malaysia. His interests include writing and reading poetry in Hindi and Urdu.
Mr. Sumnesh Joshi is the Assistant Director General in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Planning Commission of the Government of India at Regional Office Mumbai. UIDAI is a prestigious transformation project undertaken to provide a unique identification for all residents in India. Mr. Joshi handled the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the various States, onboarding of ecosystem partners such as states, banks and enrollment agencies, and the launch of the first Aadhaar (brand name of identification number) by the H