Chevening Science & Innovation Leadership Programme 2011 at the University of Oxford
Selected Scholars
1. T.J James
He is an Anthropologist by training and active in the field of indigenous knowledge, grassroots technological innovation and farmers’ innovation for the past 14 years. He has been involved in various aspects of innovation , such as scouting &documentation of grassroots innovation, value chain development, diffusion through various channels (commercial and non commercial) and establishing knowledge based enterprises etc.In this regard He has associated with various national and international agencies such as National Innovation Foundation (NIF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ITPGRFA-FAO (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization) and other reputed community based organizations etc.
Presently with National Innovation Foundation as consultant and also with Peermade Development Society (reputed NGO based in Idukki Kerala) as Advisor, for its grassroots innovation, farmer innovation and rural technology promotion activities.
2.Prerna Sonthalia Goradia
Prerna is the founder director of a consulting company researching and proposing new cost-effective and environmentally friendly process chemistry solutions for industries such as aerospace, automotive, electronics and semiconductor. In a past position with a US company she spearheaded new product development in process chemistry for memory and logic device production for large semiconductor companies. She has also worked at at a start-up nanotechnology company developing carbon nanotube based sensor technology for water quality monitoring. Prerna has been a research associate of the National Academy of Sciences at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, USA. She graduated from the Michigan State University in 2004 with a doctoral degree in analytical chemistry (emphasis: materials chemistry, electrochemistry and environmental toxicology). The group adapted the technological findings of her dissertation research for applications aboard the International Space Station. She is the author/ co-author of several US and European patents as well as peer reviewed journal articles.
In the future Prerna is looking to provide structured leadership to new scientific endeavors in the field of chemistry. Specifically, promote private- sector enterprise in specific areas incorporating material science and nanotechnology.
3.Shailesh Pathak
He has, over a 25 year career, been active in infrastructure private equity and project development, as well as investment banking (9 years) and the Indian government infrastructure sector (16 years). His special interest - innovations in public policy relating to governance, urban issues and defence offsets.He completed his MBA, majoring in Finance, in 1986 from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. Apart from his undergraduate degree in 1984 in Commerce and Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi, he also completed a LLB in 2005. He has a Diploma in Business Finance from ICFAI, and a Diploma in Ornithology from Bombay Natural History Society. From 1986 to 1990, he was an investment banker with the merchant banking division of ICICI, Bombay. He then moved to the merchant banking division of Hongkong Bank (now HSBC) in Delhi. He subsequently joined public service with the ‘Indian Administrative Service’ where he rose to very senior levels in infrastructure policy and implementation. In 2006, he returned to the private sector, with IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Company), and joined ICICI Venture in 2007 to lead infrastructure investments. Shailesh has interacted with almost all large and medium Indian infrastructure companies, as well as most entities in the government. He has been invited to serve on various national infrastructure committees including CII, and the Competition Commission of India.
He has climbed a 6831 m peak in the Garhwal Himalayas, apart from several high altitude treks including the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, and the Nanda Devi parikrama. He is a committed enviromentalist and wildlifer. He looks forward to cricket in Oxford, apart from adventure sports. His golf handicap, though, is stuck in the high twenties.
4.Sunil Chaudhary
Sunil has an M.Phil. Degree in Physics and is working as Chief Geophysicist (Wells) with ONGC, Mumbai. He has played a major role in adding value to high technology petrophysical services deployed for efficient extraction of hydrocarbons. He has 27 years of experience in the exploration and development of hydrocarbons and has worked in almost all producing basins of the country. From 1996-2005, he was on deputation to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, New Delhi. In this capacity, he participated in opening up of the upstream hydrocarbon sector of India, which led to formulation of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Significant investments in the upstream hydrocarbon sector and discoveries in both off-shore and on-land basins of India by players in the private sector were an outcome of this policy.He was awarded a scholarship and Diploma in "Petroleum Development and Operations" offered by PETRAD, Stavanger, Norway, in 2005. He was adjudged the “Professional of the Year- 2009” by ONGC for his contributions towards preparation of seismic to simulation model of Mumbai High, the highest producing asset of ONGC. On several occasions, he has represented his company as a delegate to other countries to present his technical work and get a comprehensive update regarding various developments in the rapidly changing hydrocarbon sector.
5.Mukesh Bopalkar
Mukesh is a Post Graduate in ‘Product Design’ from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has also successfully completed the ‘Executive Management Program’ at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai.
Mukesh has been working in the ‘Product & Technology Development Centre’ for the Defence Business of Larsen & Toubro for last ten years. He has been involved in the Design & Development of Special Products and has played a pivotal role in realizing some of the products for the first time in the country.
His hobbies include photography, traveling and sketching.
6.Poonam Jayant Singh,
Poonam belongs to the Agricultural Research Services of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR-ARS,1996 Batch) specialising in Biochemistry. She has around 13 years of research experience. Her current research area focuses on Molecular Genomics, De novo development of microsatellites for Genetic characterisation, AFLP Fingerprinting, Bioinformatic analysis of GnRh protein for identifying variants and molecular modelling and Using antigenotoxicants for amleriotation of DNA Damage. She has developed a protocol for non- invasive isolation of DNA from fish scales. She has an ardent desire for challenging established protocols, and tries to come out with a different approach.
Her desire to protect innovations arising out of research led her to pursue her second Masters in Law (LLM) in Intellectual Property Rights. She was the only candidate from India to be awarded WIPO fellowship in 2008-2009 for pursuing LLM (IPR) offered by WIPO, Geneva and University of Turin, Italy. Her brief stint at Michigan State University (MSU) for internship on Intellectual Property Rights provided a chance to understand Technology transfer processes of innovations arising out of research from public funded centres like Wayne State University, Wisconsin State University, USDA-ARS and MSU. Visit to USPTO and US Plant Variety Protection Office further honed her skills. She gained expertise in Patinformatics and uses Patent mining for Prior art Search and Technology Search for added advantage for researchers. She has an in depth understanding of International Agreements like WTO, TRIPS, CBD. She has worked on legal aspects related to Animal Genetic resources and Traditional Knowledge with emphasis on Access and benefits sharing issues and has been invited to various International Forums for the same. She has also worked on legal aspects of Copyright laws on Open Access and its fair use.
She endeavours to strategically enhance core competence for rights of innovators including Traditional Knowledge holders, Biodiversity conservers, Farmers and researchers by inculcating in them entrepreneurship for economic gain .
Hobbies to name a few include travelling, photography, gardening, cycling, rangoli making and wall texturising by painting.
7.Nidhi Nagabhatla
Nidhi Nagabhatla is currently working on her initiative “ Green Gaia” : a knowledge initiative on clean energy, green trade and climate change goals. With this initiative she aspires to promote the connection between the sustainability principles and the goals of development.Prior to that she was with International Union of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): India on a water management project. In her scientific pursuit, she has taken up the complex challenge to bridge the science-policy interface by intensifying the innovation nexus.
Nidhi holds a Master of Science (Environmental Science) from an Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) University, India and a Ph.D. (Environmental Science) jointly with Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) and University of Pune, India. Aligned with her interest to explore “rights based approach” for equitable development, she did a PG-Diploma in International Humanitarian Law from National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad, India. Advocating policy message supported by concrete science and technical analysis, she has published over sixty papers, research reports, and book chapters with significant number of them being published at international level. Integrated with the technical training in the application of Spatial Technology for natural resource management, she has also explored the public-private-partnership as a development mechanism to ensure that societal well being is holistically embedded in models of economic growth.
With twelve years of experience in action-research projects in more than 10 developing countries of Asia and Africa, she has worked across governance issues in multiple ecosystems viz., forests, small islands, wetlands, fisheries and their fundamental link to climate change. Before IUCN, she was a scientist with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) associating with two research organizations: The World Fish Centre (Malaysia) and International Water Management Institute (Sri Lanka). Prior to working with CGIAR, she was with Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Department of Space (Government of India) as a core-team lead of national-scale project on Natural Resource Assessment and Decision Support in closely liaise with the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF), India.
8.Jai Ganesh
Jai obtained his PhD in Information Systems from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, during March 2003 and also and also holds an MBA degree in marketing. Jai heads the Future Web Research Lab in Infosys Technologies Ltd. and is involved in research, innovation, IP creation, thought leadership and new product development in the areas of Web 2.0, Web Accessibility, Usability, Standards, Social Network Analysis, Augmented Reality and Future Interaction Technologies. Jai conceptualized and led the development of iProwe (http://www.infosys.com/offerings/products-and-platforms/iprowe/Pages/index.aspx) which is India’s first patent pending product for Web Accessibility & Usability Assessment and Remediation. Jai has published in journals such as Information and Management, AIS Transactions on HCI, JIST, Journal of Global Information Management, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management etc. and conferences such as ICWS, AMCIS, ICEC, ICEB, ECOWS etc. Jai serves as a reviewer for a number of peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and has consulted for many software firms. Jai is a strong proponent of information and communication technology driven inclusive and sustainable economic growth involving participation from enterprises, communities, intermediaries, universities, research labs and governments.
9.Sumitesh Das
Sumitesh’s ambition is to develop economically viable and environmentally friendly technologies through integrated research. Born on 1st Sept 1972 in West Bengal, he spent his childhood looking at the powerful MIGs manufactured at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Koraput, Orissa, With a post graduate degree in Manufacturing Science, he joined Tata Steel in the summer of 1995. In 1999, he was selected as a Tata Steel Fellow for his doctoral studies at the University of Sheffield, UK. Sumitesh presently heads the Global Research Programmes at Tata Steel.What is so unique about working with the Tatas? Sumitesh says – it is the freedom to experiment for a cause without the fear of failure. This ambience has enabled many, including Sumitesh, to dream of solutions that could benefit the larger society while creating business opportunities. He is actively engaged in the development of low cost sustainable living solutions for the “Bottom of the Pyramid” segment in the society. He is also involved in developing alternate energy sources like solar, water and waste management systems using nanotechnology. He also leads some of the major collaborations with prominent universities in India and abroad.
He led a team of innovators who used nanotechnology to extract heat from process plants, thereby cooling things faster. This work was awarded the Tata Group level Innovation Prize “Innovista” in 2009 .He is also the recipient of the Young Engineers Award from the Indian National Academy of Engineering and The Brunton Medal from the University of Sheffield. In his spare time, he loves to paint and do his bit for the under privileged.
10.Santanu Basu
He has an experience of more than 13 years in the oil and gas sector and has worked in various cross functional disciplines like Projects, Business Development and Marketing. From 1997-till date, he has worked with GAIL (India) Ltd a flagship company in India engaged in the hydrocarbon sector and slowly integrating into a global energy major. He has been active in fructifying the company’s interests in terms of entering into strategic alliances with various domestic and international suppliers for gas sourcing. He has also played an active role in the development of various policies in the natural gas sector and has worked closely with the Govt level energy planners. He has been instrumental in market development and has spearheaded several new initiatives in his field of work. His dream: AN ENERGY SECURED AND SELF RELIANT INDIA!!!. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata and completed his MBA, majoring in Marketing from Indian Institute of Management, Indore. He stays with his family in Noida and wife works as a teacher and child goes to primary school. He is engaged with various institutes in the social development sector. He is very fond of sporting activities and has special interests in travel and creative writing. He is looking forward to Oxford for the intellectually stimulating environment and opportunity to interact with brilliant minds. He believes in the fact that nothings impossible under the sun and you can always work together to achieve the impossible. Besides I have some alcoholic ambitions to be fulfilled while on our stay in the Oxford and sojourns in the highlands of Scotland.
11. Nirav Khambati
Nirav has been with the Tata Group since 1997 and is currently on deputation to Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A, an Italian manufacturer of business aircraft and aero-engine parts. He started his career with TAS (Tata Administrative Service) and worked with Tata Teleservices, TCS and Tata Communications in product management, sales, and customer service functions prior to joining Tata Sons in 2005. Launch of Virgin Mobile India and Indian Rotorcraft Limited are amongst the many exciting projects that Nirav has been associated with at Tata Sons.
He enjoys playing and coaching table tennis, reading non-fiction, watching classic movies and plays and travelling. Work has taken him to more than 25 countries across 5 continents. Learning Italian is his most recent passion.Nirav is married to Neha and is very proud of his two sons, Nachiket and Nakul. It is not a coincidence that all the names start with “N”.
He holds Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics and Communications) and Master in Business Administration degrees and is delighted to be part of the first batch of CRISP, an acronym that he can take some credit for :)
12. Anuradha Sahu
In her most recent role at Bureau of Energy Efficiency the under the World Bank-BEE-GEF project, she is responsible for developing and supporting implementation of marketing, strategic communication and media plans to effectively enhance engagement with various international, national and industry stakeholders and facilitate knowledge sharing between govt. ministries and other development partner agencies. Prior to working at BEE, she worked with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, a United Nation’s recognized membership organization of cities, as Manager at the South Asia Secretariat. She was the project lead for British High Commission funded project – the Climate Roadmap project, specifically developing partnerships with regional, national and international level Local Government Associations, institutions and other stakeholders in South Asia .
She has also worked at the Planning Commission for the Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme in India and at the Forum Support Organization at Cambridge , UK . She loves spending time with her daughter Srishti - the most.
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2010-11 Chevening Scholars
Ian Correa heads HOPE foundation, India. He was born on April 18th, 1964. With the support of a passionate and professional team, as well as individuals in various government departments and the corporate world, Ian has been able to impact and influence leprosy patients, as well as children and disadvantaged youth, across the country. He is equally at home in a, humble hut or in places frequented by the high and mighty. Ian remains eager to be part of a potentially powerful process that continues to draw the two world's closer.
M R Madhavan co-founded PRS Legislative Research (PRS) and heads the research function. PRS seeks to make the legislative process better informed, more transparent and participatory. Towards this mission, PRS provides research support to Members of Parliament, disseminates information about the activity of Parliament and MPs, and facilitates public engagement with the legislative process. Prior to PRS, Madhavan worked with Bank of America (Mumbai and Singapore) as senior currency strategist for the Asia region, and with ICICI Securities in Mumbai as head of interest rates research. Madhavan holds a B.Tech degree from IIT Madras, and MBA and doctoral degrees from IIM Calcutta.
Anup Kuruvilla John is currently Assistant Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, Kerala. He belongs to the 2004 batch of the Indian Police Service, and was allotted to Kerala cadre. In his five years in the Civil Service, he has held various sensitive and challenging assignments including that of Commissioner of Police, Calicut City, and Superintendent of Police, Kannur. Anup is a lawyer by training, having graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, where he was awarded the prestigious HM Seervai Gold Medal in Constitutional Law. He has also been a National Talent Search Scholar. Anup believes that unfettered access to justice at the cutting edge of the criminal justice chain holds the key to the making of the India of our dreams.
Madhusudan is a conservation scientist. Rather than in a cold, tube-lit, windowless laboratory, he works at the edge of natural and human-dominated spaces – along the fringes of forests, watching what animals do when they leave the jungle and what humans do when they enter it. He believes knowing these two things, and understanding why they are so, is the key to both ensuring a safe future for wildlife and securing people’s lives and livelihoods. What animals do in human habitation affects local economies, livelihoods and lifestyles. What people and do in forests is also driven by social, economic and cultural considerations. Madhu has been at this for more than 15 years. Along the way, he co-founded one of India’s youngest but most-respected wildlife research and conservation organizations, the Nature Conservation Foundation (www.conservation.in). There, he continues to work, teach and learn amid a group of highly inspiring colleagues and students. When he isn’t doing any of those, he is listening to a variety of music, hacking a new gizmo or haunting technology blogs.
Dr. Dinesh Arora is an Indian Administrative Officer and a medical graduate by profession. He has initiated novel concepts on public private partnership, concept of quality assurance in healthcare sector, Data triangulation, financial management etc. Moreover, his medical back ground helps him to understand well the ethos of our society into which we belong. Dr. Dinesh is now the Joint Secretary (Health) to Government of India and is involved in planning and policy matters related to Health, Medical Education & Family Welfare under Ministry for Health, Kerala for developing the infrastructure requirements in the Health field in Kerala. He is also the State Mission Director of National Rural Health Mission, Kerala, and is responsible to provide architectural correction to the existing health system and plays a crucial role in turning the healthcare system to an equitable, accountable, affordable, and universally accessible to meet the needs of the common people thereby stabilizing health indicators and demographic balance. He also holds the position as the Managing Director of Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd. for implementing a Health Systems Project for computerized Drug Procurement & Distribution of drugs & supplies for all the Public Health Institutions under Government of Kerala including Medical Colleges. He has also launched the highly successful implementation of RSBY (Rastriya Suraksha Bhima Yojana), in Kerala, an exclusive insurance scheme of the Central Government, India, reaching medical benefits to the Below Poverty line Population (BPL) bringing to achieve highest healthcare standards in the country.
Arvind Kumar: A graduate in Economics from St Stephens’ college, Delhi, in 1987 he did his Masters in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) in 1989. He took a conscious decision to join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1991 since he felt that it offers enormous scope to change the lives of the poor and under-privileged. He wishes to specialize and continue working in the Development sector. During the last 19 years, he has had a rich and wide-ranging experience in Government while working in different field level assignments in Andhra Pradesh. These include City chief for two cities each with a population of million plus and District Collector in two districts including the State capital, Hyderabad. In order to hone his skills in Public Policy tools, he did Masters in Public Policy from Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University in 2006-07 where he was a Robert McNamara Scholar.In my spare time,He likes to indulge in developing & designing Bonsai plants. and also sketches landscapes and collects ‘Ganesha; statues.
Varun Sahni has focused on building, managing and investing in businesses for low income communities for the past thirteen years. Prior to joining Acumen Fund a global social venture fund to launch the fund’s India office, he worked with both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations focusing on enterprise creation across India. He has also been involved as an angel investor in a number of companies in the Hospitality Services, Food and Beverage, and Education sectors across India. Varun is both a TED India Fellow and an Asia Society Global Young Leader, he writes frequently and is covered by main stream media in India and globally.
Alok Tandon is a mid-career professional belonging to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of the Government of India. He’s an electrical engineer by academic training. In 1984, he graduated at the top of his batch, which is across all engineering disciplines, from Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He received the President’s Gold Medal, awarded personally by the President of India for this achievement. However, the richness of experience in a career in IAS coupled with the strong desire to contribute to public service motivated him to join the IAS in 1986.
During his 23 years of service in IAS till date, Alok has held various assignments as Sub Divisional Magistrate, Chief Development Officer, Joint Secretary and District Magistrate. As District Magistrate of Allahabad, he supervised the setting up of a temporary township on the dry bed of river Ganges in a record time of 4 months to accommodate over one million devotees.Currently, Alok is working as chief executive of a thermal power generation company having 5 generating stations and a combined revenue exceeding $ 1 billion. He has kept himself updated in the academic front too. He took 2 years off from his work in the years 2005-07 and spent this time gainfully in academic pursuits in top US universities ( Princeton University and University of California, San Diego) learning advanced tools of economic and public policy.
Bandana Preyashi is an officer of Indian Administrative Service belonging to Bihar cadre. She is currently posted as Director, Urban Development and Housing Dept. & Excise Commissioner, Excise, Registration and Prohibition Dept., Govt. of Bihar. She also holds additional charge of Managing Director, Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation and Managing Director, Bihar State Housing Board.
Preyashi did her early schooling in Bihar and thereafter at D.P.S., R. K. Puram, Delhi. She completed her Bachelor of Arts from Indraprastha College, has done her Masters from St. Stephens’ College and M.Phil, in English Literature, from Faculty of Arts, Delhi University. She taught briefly at Kirori Mal College, Delhi University and has worked in the Indian Railway Account Services before qualifying for the IAS in the year 2003.
In the last seven years Preyashi has held significant and diverse posts, including Collector and District Magistrate, Siwan and Bhagalpur. Her contribution in the areas of education and health & sanitation has been appreciated.
In her free time Preyashi likes to pen down her thoughts and observations which she hopes to publish soon.
Anjula Negi has been working in the infrastructure sector arena for the past 11 years.Presently, she assists the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Government of India (GoI) as a Public-Private-Partnership(PPP) expert of the Asian Development Bank for its initiatives including mainstreaming of PPP at the Central and State levels. This entails PPP policy making & approaches; preparation of guidelines; project structuring, assessment and appraisals; pilot project initiatives under ADB; technical, legal and financial analysis of PPP projects for VGF funding / approval with DEA, risk analysis, inputs for policy making for sectoral PPP initiatives – airports and ports as an example, capacity building at State level for PPP projects on a financial and risk basis, inputs for development and modification of Model Concession Agreements (MCA) across sector including social sectors like health and education, deriving funding strategies for PPP projects in India, development of PPP Toolkit/s for various infrastructure sectors in India. She holds two technical degrees with a specialization in Transportation Planning. She was awarded Prof. V.N. Prasad Best Thesis award by the Institute of Town Planners of India (ITPI) and was the topper of her batch.In addition to work she would like to work for the development of children especially providing enhanced education abilities and opportunities. She has been assisting a charity driven School in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh and aims to scale up such ideas to the National level.
As the fourth of ten siblings in a modest agriculturist family, life for Madhu Goud Yashki has been a journey of challenges converted into opportunities. Having seen illiteracy, poverty, disease and lack of equality from a very early age, Madhu has always strived to lead those around him to get their due. From his school till he completed his Masters in Law, Madhu was an active student leader. As President and partner of two law firms in New York, Madhu was instrumental in helping numerous clients, and his legal practice has always been inclined towards the disadvantaged. Having made his mark in his profession, he delved into active social service, and runs the Madhu Yaskhi Foundation in Andhra Pradesh, India. Some of the foundation’s activities include helping poor debt-ridden farmers, rehabilitation of Beedi (manual tobacco processing) workers, and helping the cause of minority rights, apart from delivering free medical services with the help of his able spouse, Dr. Shuchee Madhu, a trained Endocrinologist.
Madhu Goud Yaskhi was elected as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) from the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in 2004 and was reelected in 2009. His parliamentary experience includes serving on parliamentary committees related to Defence, Civil Aviation, External Affairs, Non-resident Indian Affairs, Sub-ordinate Legislation, Railways, Women & Child Development, Sports & Youth Affairs and Human Resource Development. He is the Chairman, Indo-European Union Forum for Parliamentarians, Member, Board of Governors, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, and Member, National Literacy Mission Authority. Whenever he finds time, Madhu enjoys reading biographies, traveling, and spending time with his family and friends. Madhu is looking forward to the Chevening Gurukul Leadership Programme to learn and interact with the faculty and fellow participants.
Sunil Prabhu is currently Chief Political Correspondent for New Delhi Television (NDTV) and has been a television journalist for the last fifteen years. He has covered an eventful period of India’s contemporary history, marked by political instability, contested economic reform and social upheaval. He has reported from Jaffna (Sri Lanka) at the height of war and covered other conflict zones like Kashmir and Manipur. He has several investigative reports to his credit, like the expose on corruption in the Judiciary in Ghaziabad, which led to the sacking of some judicial officers and magistrates and the framing of a code of conduct for judges. He has widely reported on political violence as well such as links of liquor barons in Karnataka and illegal mining in Tamil Nadu. He was one of the first to report on the changing face of the Congress Party and it’s plan to democratize its grassroot organizations. Over the years, he has done several exclusive interviews with top policy makers of the country.
Tanzila Mukhtar, hailing from a conformist land, the Paradise ‘Kashmir’ is the 2009 Goldman Sachs Global Leader. She is an exceptional student with an aggregate of 96%, the Best All Rounder in College. With an insight to excel in Research and a vision to be a Nobel Laureate, her mission is to remain useful to Science always. Strong believer of ‘Intellectual Evolution’, she possesses an innate obsession to outperform in every venture she undertakes. Worked with The Times of India during School, been felicitated with the Times NIE Newsmaker’s Award, has a research paper in her name now. She is adventurous, loving, confident and owns a ‘never dying attitude’. She is a workaholic and regards her work as God…A C-certificate holder in NCC, a fervent sportsperson, she is a good orator, a team player and loves to sing.
She is enrolled for Masters in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, in the Department of Bio-medical Science, the University of Sheffield.
Ashish Vachhani is a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) borne on the Tamil Nadu cadre. He has handled substantive policy formulation and implementation positions in the Government of Tamil Nadu over the last decade.
As Tamil Nadu’s State Budget Officer, he managed the unprecedented fiscal crisis faced by the State in the early years of this decade. His contribution in the enactment of a law on fiscal responsibility and transparency in Government Budgeting is widely recognized. As collector of two districts in Tamil Nadu – Dharmapuri and Tirucirappalli, he put his might to improve the quality of public service delivery for the people. Ashish’s work on the rights of women and children in Dhramapuri district won him a rare commendation from the Hon’ble High Court of Madras. In Tiruchirappalli district, his work on the education of children in conflict with law and empowerment of the disadvantaged received wide acclaim.
He is presently a member of the faculty at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie where he is part of the core team that trains India’s highest civil services.
Ajit Anekar is a lawyer, with over ten years of experience, specializing in corporate law. He has advised and represented a number of fortune 500 companies across the industrial spectrum in corporate transactions, litigation and arbitrations. He has been a regular invitee at workshops organized by trade bodies and at conferences, to speak on the legal aspects, and challenges, of doing business in India.
He has been a visiting lecturer in constitutional law in Mumbai and has also been involved in providing free legal services to the needy, with a sense of duty towards society and the legal profession, which he finds very enriching. He is an avid lover of fine arts and Indian classical music.
Brief on Chevening Scholar from Bhutan
Sonam Tshering Dorji is the first ever scholar to be selected from Bhutan for the Chevening Scholarship. Selected through a nationwide competitive process under the King’s Scholars Program, Sonam has been working with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan for the last five and half years in the area of economic development. Besides his Bachelor’s degree in commerce, he also holds a Post Graduate in Development Management, Diploma in Trade Policy from the World Trade Organization and a fellowship from the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation in Switzerland.
Beyond his professional interests, Sonam has always been inclined towards social work engaging himself in various NGOs that focus on youth and the underprivileged sections of society. He is also a self taught guitarist playing for a local band and is an avid reader who loves the outdoors. He enjoys playing basketball and is an enthusiastic fan of football. An occasional cook and a travel aficionado, Sonam turns 28 this year and lives and works in the capital city of Thimphu.
Chevening Scholars 2009/10
Chevening Gurukul Programme 2009
Ms. Rohita Mishra - Senior Assitant Financial Advisor, Northern Railway, Indian Railways
Mr Suhail Salim Kassim - Research Analyst, The World Bank
Mr Bharat Khera - Secretary to the Governor, Himachal Pradesh
Mr Sanjay Kumar Jain - Superintendent of Police, Indian Police Service
Mr Pradeep Kumar - Deputy Conservator of Forest, Haryana Forest Department
Ms Bharati Ramachandran Chief Executive, Murray Culshaw Consulting
Ms SreetamaGupta Bhaya - Programme Officer, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
Mr Arvind Malkhede - Deputy Chief Vigilance Officer (traffic), Cenrtral Railway Headquaters, Mumbai
Ms Hemali Chhapia - Principal Correspondent, The Times of India
Mr Harit Soni - Founding Director, Ecolibrium Energy Pvt Ltd
Mr Subir Hazra - General Manager and EA to Group Chairman, GMR Group
Dr Dinesh Arora - Deputy Secretary Health, Government of Kerela
Mr Radheshyam Jadhav - Principla Correspondent, The Times of India
Selected Scholars for the Chevening Scholarships for Masters degree in the UK 2009/10
Mr Manish Bharadwaj - Director, Directorate of Technical Education, Gujarat
Mr Amitabh Tripathi - Deputy Controller General of Accounts, Ministry of Finance
Mr Amit Talwar - Chief General Manager, Chandigarh Industrial & Tourism Corporation
Ms Anu Joseph - Deputy Special Features Editor, CNN IBN
Ms Ria Anna Thomas George - Senior Architect, Larsen & Toubro
Mr Sanjeev Shankar - Independent Design Consultant, FOAM
Mr Shivendra Singh - Engineer, Bajaj Auto Ltd
Mr Manoj Vadakinazhikathu Krishnapillai Chief Administrative Officer, Torque Technology Solutions
Ms Amrita Bahri - Student LLB
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