Advisory Board
Shri Amit Paranjape is a technology entrepreneur based in Pune, with three decades of experience in software, manufacturing, consulting and other industries.
Amit has a wide variety of interests in software, science & technology, history, economics, geo-politics and public policy. He writes blogs on a regular basis and is active on social media such as X (@aparanjape). A wide range of industry and government leaders follow and interact with him on social media.
Amit completed his BTech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay and his Master’s in Manufacturing from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He worked in the United States for over a decade in the software & consulting industry.
Amit is the Co-Founder of ReliScore, a company providing online skills assessment solutions for the IT & Software industry. Amit is also active in the tech & startup community in Pune, and is involved in startup mentoring, advising and angel investing.
Amit is a member of the Regulating Council of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the COEP Technological University. He is also involved in different alumni and other outreach initiatives of IIT Bombay and IISER Pune.
Amit has until recently served as the Chairman of the Software & IT Committee of the MCCIA, and now serves on their Executive Committee. He is also an active Charter Member of the TiE (The Indus Entrepreneur), Pune, and of the Pune International Center.
Anuraag Saxena is an Indian activist, writer, and commentator and an expert in public policy, advocacy, and correction of narratives. His work and OpEds have been featured in Washington Post, BBC, Times of India, Economic Times, The Diplomat, Sunday Guardian, Organiser, Panchajanya, and more.
He serves as a nominated member of the National Tourism Advisory Council and a board member at the Centre for Insolvency and Financial Laws, and is a mentor to several startups, social initiatives, and institutions.
He is also founder of the India Pride Project, the world’s largest volunteer effort to return murtis and heritage artifacts stolen from India, and has been invited across universities, conferences, and multilateral platforms like UN agencies to share his expertise.
Anuraag is a Chartered Accountant from India, an MBA (Hons.) from USA, and advanced education in public policy from Singapore; and strongly believes that building institutions is the only solution for civilizational resurgence.
Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi, IAS Advisor to Hon’ble Chief Minister Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Mr. Awanish Kumar Awasthi is currently serving as the Advisor to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Awasthi is a former Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Confidential, Visa Passport, Jail Administration & Reform and Vigilance Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh and Chief Executive Officer, Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) & Uttar Pradesh State Highways Authority (UPSHA).
In a career spanning over 35 years Mr. Awasthi, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch, has mostly served in the Energy, Tourism, Higher Education, Irrigation, Institutional Finance, Industrial Development and Home Departments and handled important assignments including Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in the Department of Disability Affairs, Chairman & Managing Director, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., C.E.O., Noida, Principal Secretary, Tourism and ACS Information. He was also the District Magistrate & Collector of Lalitpur, Azamgarh, Badaun, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Meerut and Gorakhpur districts He is prominently known for his pioneering work done for the upliftment of disabled persons during his stint as Joint Secretary in the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. As CEO of UP Expressway Authority he ensured the completion of 02 large expressways in the state & started the construction of the 600 Km. long Ganga Expressway, the largest single infrastructure project of the State. As the Home Secretary of the State he very activitely contributed to the upgradation and moderation of the UP Police & ensured an effective law & order machinery of the State.
Mr. Awasthi hails from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He did B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Kanpur in 1985. He is married to the Indian folk singer and Padma Shri (2016) awardee Mrs. Malini Awasthi.
Shri Bhavish Aggarwal is a seasoned entrepreneur and the Founder of Ola. He established Ola Cabs in 2010, Ola Electric in 2017, and Ola Krutrim in 2023.
Ola Cabs is the most popular ride-hailing mobility platform in India, while Ola Electric, an electric two wheeler company is India’s leading pureplay EV company. Last year in April, Bhavish started his AI venture, Ola Krutrim, which recently became the first AI unicorn of India.
A graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Bhavish studied Computer Science at the esteemed institute. He then worked for Microsoft as a researcher for two years before starting Ola, in 2010.
Bhavish comes with a deep understanding of all things tech, and is passionate about how every individual can contribute to the betterment of the country. Bhavish also has keen interest in areas of geo-politics, history, and culture.
Bhavish has garnered numerous accolades throughout his career. These include Forbes India’s “30 Under 30″ in 2014, “Entrepreneur of the Year” from the Economic Times in 2017, and being named one of Time Magazine’s “Top 100 Most Influential People” in 2018. In 2023, he was featured in the TIME100 Climate List, recognising him as one of the world’s most innovative leaders.
Prof. Heeraman Tiwari is a Professor of Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and his core areas of study include Sanskrit Language, Literature, Intellectual History and Philosophy.
Shri Manoj Pochat is a technology entrepreneur based in Pune, India, with over 16 years of experience in management consulting and software business consulting. He has held significant roles at leading companies such as IBM, Tata Group, and Icertis, specializing in procurement and source-to-pay transformations. Pochat is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of SEVA Infotech Pvt Ltd, where he focuses on solving complex industry challenges through innovative solutions.
He is also the co-founder and Chairman of Sakar Robotics Pvt Ltd, a company dedicated to providing robotics and automation solutions across various industries. Pochat is actively involved in the Pune Platform for Collaborative Response (PPCR), where he serves as a director, contributing to community-driven initiatives.
Pochat’s educational background includes a BBA (Hons) from Revanath Choure Institute of Information and Technology, a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from the FORE School of Management in New Delhi, and various certifications in blockchain and procurement management.
In addition to his professional achievements, Pochat is a committed social worker. He has been an active volunteer with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), participating in numerous social projects and relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. His efforts in securing funding for vaccines and executing large-scale vaccination campaigns have earned him recognition as a COVID Warrior from both Icertis and the Pune Municipal Corporation.
Pochat’s leadership extends to various community initiatives, including his role as a trustee at the 900-bedded Balasaheb Deoras Hospital in Pune and as part of the core team for Shivsrushti, a historical theme park project. His diverse interests span technology, social work, and public policy, reflecting his dedication to making a positive impact in both industry and society.
Prof. Barrett is a leading figure in Australian and international music education. She is currently professor and Head of the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance at Monash University. Among her many achievements Professor Barrett was awarded a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship in 2018 to undertake preliminary investigations of children’s singing and song-making in the archives of the Smithsonian Institute, and the Library of Congress (Washington DC) and was elected Beaufort Visiting Research Fellow at St John’s College University of Cambridge in 2019. She has held a research residency funded by the Foundation de Maison des Sciences de l’Homme at IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics /Musique) investigating creative pedagogy and transmission practices (2019). In 2023 she was awarded the Albi Rosenthal Fellowship at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She was awarded the Fellowship of the Australian Society for Music Education in 2011and Honorary Life Membership of the International Society for Music Education in 2022. Professor Barrett has held nine ARC grants, seven as lead Chief Investigator, in addition to numerous other funded research projects. She is currently Founding Director of the Pedagogies of Creativity, Collaboration, Expertise and Enterprise (PoCCEE) research focus at Monash.
Professor Barrett has held positions as a Director of the Australian Music Centre, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and the Queensland Music Festival. She has served as President of the International Society for Music Education (2012-2014), Chair of the World Alliance for Arts Education (2013-2015), Chair of the Asia-Pacific Symposium for Music Education Research (2009-2011), board member of the International Society for Music Education (2008-2010), and National President of the Australian Society for Music Education (1999-2001).
In addition, Professor Barrett has been an advisor for arts and educational bodies nationally and internationally, including the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority, and the United Kingdom Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Her research has addressed the pedagogies of creativity, collaboration, expertise and enterprise, the ecopolitics of music education, artistic citizenship in and for music, and music early learning and development. Recent publications include: The Oxford Handbook of Early Childhood Learning and Development (2023 with G.F. Welch, OUP), and Music education, ecopolitical professionalism, and public pedagogy: Towards systems transformation (2024 with H.M. Westerlund, Springer). She has published in excess of 120 articles and book chapters in the major journals and collections of the disciplines of music and music education.
Dr. Nanditha Krishna is a historian, environmentalist and author based in Chennai. She has a PhD in Ancient Indian Culture from Bombay University. She is currently President of the CP Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and Founder of its many constituents, including CP Art Centre and CPR Institute of Indological Research (affiliated to the University of Madras) and several educational institutions. She has been a Professor and a Research Guide for the PhD degree of the University of Madras and received a D Litt (honoris causa) from Vidyasagar University, West Bengal.
In 2001, she established the Shakunthala Jagannathan Museum of Folk Art at Kanchipuram. She was responsible for the revival of the painting traditions of the Kurumba tribes and pottery traditions of Kota women. She has restored the Varahishwara Temple in Damal and a 450-year-old building in Kanchipuram. She has been documenting India’s ecological heritage traditions; revived traditional drawing and painting in Mamallapuram; and Tamil folk art forms in schools. In 1990, she was deputed to the Archaeological Survey of India’s restoration of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. She has researched the Khmer temples and reported on the restoration process.
She is the author of several books including Life Lessons from Mahavira; Life Lessons from Adi Shankara (Aleph); The Book of Avatars and Divinities, The Book of Demons, Hinduism and Nature, Sacred Plants of India, and Sacred Animals of India (Penguin); Paintings of the Varadaraja Perumal Temple (CPR Publications); Madras Then, Chennai Now (Roli); Book of Vishnu and Balaji Venkateshwara and Ganesha (Vakils); Painted Manuscripts of the Sarasvati Mahal Library (Govt. of Tamilnadu); Mahabalipuram: The Ganga Comes to Tamil Nadu and The Arts and Crafts of Tamilnadu (Mapin); and The Art and Iconography of Vishnu-Narayana (Taraporevala), among others, besides several research papers and popular articles.
She is the winner of several awards including Nari Shakti Puraskar, Stree Ratna and Outstanding Woman of Asia.
Dr. Niraj Rai is a Human population geneticist by training, specializing in the use of next-generation sequencing data to study human population history. He works closely with archaeologists and anthropologists studying South and Southeast Asia to understand present population diversity and demographic changes over the time. While genomes from modern individuals can inform about present-day population structure, ancient genomes provide unprecedented insight into the past demographic events and processes that have shaped the present-day gene pool. Population genetics has recently witnessed an explosion in studies on genetic history using ancient DNA, primarily from Europe and the Americas. India has very little representation in the ancient genomic literature despite the wealth of archaeological samples that exist in collections all over the country. In his work he generates ancient, as well as modern, sequence data, and use computational tools to identify signals of migrations, admixture, drift and natural selection in human populations. His work extends to animal genetics, and to sequencing the ancient pathogens that infected our ancestors. He has created a world class ancient DNA facility at Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow. He is an Associate Researcher at Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, USA and Scientist-D (Sr. Scientist) & Group Head, Ancient DNA at DST- Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow.
3X Grammy® Award Winner, US Billboard #1 artist, GQ Hero 2020, Shri Ricky Kej is an internationally renowned Indian Music Composer and Environmentalist. He has performed at prestigious venues in over 30 countries, including the UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. Ricky has won over 100 music awards in 20 countries. He serves as the United Nations “Goodwill Ambassador” (UNCCD) United Nations Refugee High Profile Supporter, UNESCO MGIEP “Global Ambassador for Kindness”, UNICEF “Celebrity Supporter” & Ambassador for “Earth Day Network”.
His vast repertoire of work includes 24 studio albums released internationally, over 3500 commercials and 8 feature films, including the natural history documentary ‘Wild Karnataka’ narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, originating from Nagpur, Maharashtra, served as the 47th Chief Justice of India, leaving an indelible mark during his noteworthy three-year tenure. Renowned for his pivotal role in landmark judgments ranging from AADHAR to religious and environmental matters, Justice Bobde has illuminated the legal landscape with his profound wisdom and experience spanning over four decades.
Justice Bobde’s notable judgments include the Ayodhya Title Dispute, where he was part of the bench that awarded the disputed land to Shri Ram Virajman, and the Justice K. S. Puttaswamy v Union of India case, recognizing the right to privacy as a fundamental right. His tenure also saw significant rulings on the Electoral Bonds Scheme, Rohingya refugees’ rights, and the illegality of electoral appeals based on religion, race, caste, community, or language.
Justice Bobde completed his L.L.B. from Dr. Ambedkar Law College, Nagpur University. He began his judicial career as an Additional Judge to the Bombay High Court, later serving as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and finally, as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.
We are honoured to have Former Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde as a distinguished advisory board member.
Prof. Subhash Kak is Regents Professor at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, USA. His research is on AI, quantum computing, archaeoastronomy, and history of science, and he has also written extensively on the social impacts of AI. He is currently a member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). His most recent work is a theory that physical space has a dimensionality of e (2.718..) and he has used this to propose solutions to the problems of the missing dark matter and dark energy. He is the author of thirty books of which the most recent ones are “The Idea of India”, “Eternal Bharat”, and “Whispers from the Past: Art and Wisdom of Kashmir”.
Smt Smita Prakash is the Chief Editor and Deputy CEO of Asian News International, which is South Asia’s leading multimedia news agency providing content for every information platform, including TV, internet, broadband, newspapers and cell phones.
Smita, during her three decade old media career, has travelled and reported extensively from across the globe. She began anchoring television shows in the 1990s when India had just begun opening the media for the private sector. She has since then reported important geo-political events from the Asian region.
She has anchored and reported for several programmes on TV channels in India and other countries. Smita regularly appears on several news channels during discussions on important topics and issues. She has reported from India for several channels like NHK of Japan, Channel News Asia of Singapore, NPR and Public Broadcasting Channels of the USA and MNET of South Africa. Her reports and op-ed columns have been published in leading newspapers around the world.
Smita has also got a successful podcast on audio platforms such as Spotify, Apple, Google and on YouTube – called ANI podcast with Smita Prakash.
Smita is active on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and also heads the editorial department of ANI’s micro-blogging team.
Rameesh Kailasam (aka Ramesh Kailasam) is the President and CEO of IndiaTech.org, an industry body and think-tank set up by Founders and Investors from the Indian Start-up ecosystem to enable strategic direction, ease of doing business and thought leadership through key government policies that will benefit Indian start-ups and further entrepreneurship, innovation, livelihoods and wealth creation in India.
Ramesh has over 28 years of experience in governance and policy reforms and is well respected for his inputs and insights on strategy formulation, leadership building, market entry, competitiveness, building businesses, coalitions, policy advocacy, crisis management and market creation having worked with the likes of AtosKPMG, Centre for Good Governance at Government of Andhra Pradesh, Oracle-HP e-Governance Center, Applied Materials, IBM and APCO Worldwide.
He has expansive experience in working in various first of their kind path breaking process reforms and technology projects, across sectors through critical policy changes. He has authored over 300+ papers and policy recommendations that have been implemented by various governments across the world. His expertise lies in having worked in over 30 plus sectors and reforms in areas such as Finance, Health, Education, Government and Business Administration, e-Governance, Municipal reforms to emerging technologies, consumer internet, livelihoods, and the creator economy.
He has also been advisor to various governments as well as global philanthropies, NGOsm and was also involved in building strategies, policy formulation and implementation across centre and states. He was conferred with the “Young Achiever” and “Distinguished Achiever” Awards by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI) under Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He has been acknowledged for his contributions by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in his book “Manifesto for Change”. He is a regular columnist in various newspapers and media and is a regular on policy talk shows on television and internet mediums.
Rameesh is a Fellow with the Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) and a Fellow Cost and Management Accountant. Rameesh holds multiple qualifications in Accounting, Finance, Technology, as well as policy and e-governance reforms. He also serves as an Independent Director on the board of NCC, a listed company and also serves as an advisor to the boards of many other organisations besides mentoring numerous startups. He also delivers lectures in various universities and institutions on a number of topics as a visiting faculty.
Over a career spanning 40 years, Shri TV Mohandas Pai has served in the areas of finance,
accounting, information technology, human resources, education, corporate governance,
social impact innovation, environmental conservation, policy formulation, heritage
preservation, philanthropy, and the venture and startup ecosystem.
Mohan is currently the Chairman of Aarin Capital, Member of the Boards of Havells India
and the Institute of Public Enterprises, Member of the Board of Governors of the National
Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), Chairman of the Regulatory and Financial
Technology Committee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and Member
of the High-level Advisory Committee of IFSCA on GIFT City.
He was awarded the Padma Shri award by the President of India in 2015 and the
Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 2008.
Mohan was previously a Board Member and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Infosys
over a span of 17 years, an Investment Committee Member of the SIDBI India Aspiration
Fund and the INR 10,000 Cr (USD 1.8 Billion) India Fund of Funds, a Board Member of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), a Member of the National Stock Exchange
(NSE) of India and the Ascendas Property Fund— the Trustee-Manager of Ascendas India
Trust, Trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation.
Governing Council Member of the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning
(CAFRAL) promoted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Chairman of the FICCI Skills
Committee and Higher Education Committee, President of the All India Management
Association (AIMA), and Founder-Trustee of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Mohan holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce as a University Rank Holder from St.
Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bangalore, a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) from Bangalore
University, and is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India as an
All-India Rank Holder. He is based in Bangalore, India.
