Amitabh Kant, IAS is presently India’s G-20 Sherpa. Prior to this, he was the CEO of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog). He is a member of the Indian Administrative Service, IAS (Kerala Cadre: 1980 batch). He is the author of Branding India-An Incredible Story and has edited “The Path Ahead- Transformative Ideas for India”. Kant has been a key driver of the “Make in India”, Startup India, “Incredible India” and God’s Own Country” initiatives that positioned India and Kerala State as leading manufacturing and tourism destinations. He is the Chairman of the Committee to implement Digital Payment in India. Kant has worked as CEO, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Corporation, CMD – ITDC, Mr. Kant has been the recipient of Economic Times Policy Change Agent of the Year Award, the Bloomberg TV Personality of the year Award, the NDTV Administrator of the year Award and the Distinguished Fellowship of the Institute of Directors. He is also the recipient of Golden Peacock Award for Leadership in Economic Transformation-2017. Mr Kant did his graduation in Economics (Hons) from St. Stephens, Delhi University and M.A from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is a Chevening Scholar and had training with John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmadabad.

Dr. Ajay Bhushan Prasad Pandey is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), 1984 Batch. He took charge as Chairperson, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) in April, 2022. Prior to this, he superannuated from the position of Union Finance Secretary and was responsible for preparing as many as three annual budgets for the Government of India in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. He is also known for bringing fundamental tax reforms by introducing faceless assessment and faceless appeal, automated refunds, and having them implemented them through extensive use of technology. As the Chairman of GSTN, he stabilised the newly introduced GST in India within a short span of three years. Prior to this, he was the Chief Executive Officer and Director General at the Unique Identification Authority of India (Aadhaar) from September 2015 until October 2019. Under his leadership, he expanded Aadhaar to give biometric based identity to 120 billion Indians. Dr. Pandey holds a B. Tech degree from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, along with postgraduate (MS) and doctorate (Ph.D) degrees in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota, USA.

Ashish Upadhyaya is an office of the Indian Administrative Services, 1989 Batch, Madhya Pradesh Cadre. He currently serves as the Special Secretary & Financial Adviser with the Ministry of Power, Govt. of India. He also serves on the Board of NTPC Limited – India’s largest energy conglomerate. Previously, he has also served as the Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Govt. of India. His last deputation with the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh was as the Principal Secretary of the State. Mr. Upadhyaya has also held positions on the Boards of South Eastern Coalfields Limited and Central Coalfields Limited. He has completed a PhD in Business Administration and Management from the Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore (India); an Executive Education Program from the Harvard Kennedy School; and from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs from Syracuse University.

Gopal Krishna Pillai currently serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of Tata International Ltd., Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and the Data Security Council of India. He is also Chairman of IvyCap Ventures. He belongs to the Kerala cadre of the Indian Administrative Service (1972 batch), and is the former Union Home Secretary, Union Commerce Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Justice in the Ministry of Law & Justice. As Special Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, he was India’s chief negotiator at the World Trade Organisation. He has also represented the State and Central Government on delegations to USA, the EU, Argentina, Brazil, DRC, Singapore, Japan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Canada, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, the UK, Thailand and Slovenia. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras.

U. K. Sinha served as Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a period over six years between 2011 and 2017. During his stewardship, SEBI is credited with having brought in significant regulatory amendments in areas such as Takeover Code, Foreign Portfolio Investors, Alternate Investment Funds, REITIs, InVITs., Corporate Governance etc. Prior to this, Mr. Sinha was the Chairman and Managing Director at UTI Asset Management Company Pvt. Ltd. Preceding this, he was the Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs at Ministry of Finance. For his contribution as Chairman SEBI, Mr. Sinha was conferred with many awards including CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards (IBLA) – Outstanding Contribution to Indian Business Award (2014) and Economic Times - Business Reformer of the Year Award (2014) to name a few. Mr. Sinha was selected for the Indian Administrative Service in 1976. He holds a M.Sc. and LLB degree.

Desh Deepak Verma, IAS (retd.) has a 45 years long illustrious professional career, occupying top positions in the Government and public sector undertakings of U.P. and at the Centre, including as the Chairman of U.P. Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Secretary General of Rajya Sabha. At the Government of India level, he has handled assignments like Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests; Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; Director General, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. At the State level, he has been Principal Secretary in the key Departments of Commercial Taxes, Registration, Transport, Cooperatives and Tourism. At the Joint Secretary and Special Secretary level, he dwelled into policy formulation for MSMEs and agro-processing industries. He is a post graduate in Physics from Allahabad University and an MBA from Australia in International Business.

Dr. Anup Wadhawan superannuated as Commerce Secretary, from the Department of Commerce, Government of India. He is currently an Independent Director on the boards of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company. Previously, he has served in the Government of India’ s Departments of Economic Affairs, Financial Services and Commerce, and the Prime Minister’s Office. He has also worked for the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank, enhancing accountability in Water Supply & Sanitation service-delivery through policy, institutional and utility reform. He was a member of an African Development Bank team that evaluated its lending to the public utilities sector in Ghana and Tanzania. He holds a doctorate from Duke University, Masters’ degrees from the Delhi School of Economics and Duke University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Hindu College, University of Delhi, in the area of Economics.

Manoj Pandey, IRS is an officer of the Indian Revenue Services, 1992 Batch. He was appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs with the Government of India in August, 2019. He was also assigned the additional charge of Director General and CEO of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).

Shurbir Singh, IAS is an officer of AGMUT (2004 batch) cadre. He is the Secretary – Power with the Govt. of NCT of Delhi. He has also taken over charge of Delhi Transco Limited as Chairman & Managing Director recently. In addition, he is also serving as Chairman, Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board; Chairman, Indraprastha Power Generation Company Limited & Pragati Power Corporation; and Chairman, DVB Employees Terminal Benefit Fund.

During his illustrious administrative career, he has served in various capacities in Chandigarh, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Puducherry, GNCT of Delhi, and also with the Government of India. He has been Managing Director of Delhi Tourism and Travel Development Corporation; CEO of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, amongst others. Besides, he was appointed the Commissioner cum Secretary, as well as Chief Electoral Officer of Puducherry. He has also been the Secretary to Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and Officer on Special Duties to Minister of State for Home Affairs, with the Central Government. An alumnus of prestigious Punjab Engineering College – Chandigarh, Shri Shurbir Singh has done his B. E. in Mechanical Engineering.

Gurumoorthy Mahalingam is an Independent Director on the Board of LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India). Prior to this he was the Whole-Time Member (Executive Board Member) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), looking after Market Regulation Department, Commodity Derivatives Market Regulation Department, Foreign Portfolio Investors, Investigations Departments and the Office of Investor Assistance and Education. He is also at present member, Board of Governors, National Institute of Securities Market (NISM). He has also been the Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) looking after the market operations for both, Rupee liquidity and FX. In his stint of 34 years with RBI, he has taken on varied key roles including Chief Forex Dealer, Chief Investment Dealer for Forex Reserves Management, Head - Debt Management. He has also been actively involved in regulation and development of Money, Bond and Foreign Exchange and Derivatives markets in India. His prior assignments with the RBI include Bank Examiner as also a Member, Teaching Faculty in RBI's Officers' Training College. He holds a Master’s Degree in Statistics and Operations Research from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur and M.B.A in International Banking and Finance from the Birmingham Business School, UK.

Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, a Mechanical Engineering Graduate and Post-Graduate Diploma in Management joined Indian Oil in 1987 and has since worked on varied assignments, including Terminal Operations, Supply Chain Management and Logistics, Indian Oil’s overseas establishment among others. Currently, in the Board of Indian Oil Corporation as Director (Human Resources), he is leading the organization with a human touch and aligning various HR initiatives with Strategic Corporate Vision. He is also Chairman of Lanka IOC, Indian Oil’s subsidiary in Sri Lanka, which is into retailing, terminalling and bunkering operations in the island nation. As Managing Director of Indian Oil (Mauritius) Ltd, the Company’s overseas subsidiary, during 2012-2015, Mr. Mohapatra led a team of young professionals, registering sizeable growth in market share and profitability. He was also the first Chairman of Mer Rouge Oil Storage Terminal, a joint venture formed by four MNCs to set up modern oil storage facilities in Mauritius. Mr Ranjan has pioneered many HR policies in sports promotion, CSR, Skill-development, e-learning, ‘HR Facilitator’ etc. A firm believer in the power of possibilities and strengths of HR, he has always strived for the betterment of stakeholders.

Dr. Punita Kumar-Sinha, PhD, CFA has focused on investment management and financial markets during her 30-year career. She also has significant governance and Board experience across India and North America. She has been investing in emerging markets since the late 1980s and pioneered some of the first foreign investments in the Indian subcontinent in the early 1990s. Currently, she is the Founding Partner, Pacific Paradigm Advisors. Over the last decade, she has served as an Independent Director and Chair of many Board committees for several companies in India including Infosys, JSW Steel, Blackstone Embassy REIT, Rallis, Jagran and Lupin Limited. She is also a Governor on the board of the CFA Institute. Prior to this, she was a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and the Head & Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone Asia Advisors. Dr. Kumar-Sinha was also the Senior Portfolio Manager and CIO for The India Fund (NYSE: IFN), one of the largest India funds in the US, for almost 15 years. Dr. Kumar-Sinha has a PhD and a Master’s in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering IIT, New Delhi. She has an MBA and is a CFA charter holder. She was awarded the Best Woman Director 2016 by Asian Centre For Corporate Governance and Sustainability. She was featured as one of the top 2019 Directors to Watch: Racial and Ethnic Diversity by Directors and Boards publication, and was also featured in the list of “Most Influential Women” in India by Business World.

Harshu Ghate is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (FCA) and a licentiate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, with more than 37 years of post-qualification experience in corporate finance, accounting and financial management. He started his career in 1985 as Partner with Kirtane & Pandit Chartered Accountants, one of the oldest and most renowned accounting firms in Pune, India. After co-founding and leading the Investment Banking arm of the firm for 7 years, he co-founded ESOP Direct in 1998, and continues to head it. He is very active in the policy making initiatives on ESOPs in India. A member of SEBI’s committee on ESOPs, he has co-authored the Guidance Note on Expensing of ESOPs for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He speaks regularly in national and international conferences on ESOPs. Apart from handling the overall management of the company, he devotes time to critical assignments on ESOP consulting, management and statutory compliance issues. He drives the research, knowledge development and branding efforts of the company. He is credited with conceiving and developing ESOP administration methodologies and software solutions for the first time in India.

He is an experienced Joint Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the textiles industry. Skilled in Business Planning, Business Management and Strategic Finance. Strong business development professional graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce.

Dr. John Mathai assumed charge of Member-Secretary, DVC on June 16, 2022. Prior to this, he was holding the post of General Manager in NTPC, taking care of Corporate HR functions and reporting to Director (HR), NTPC. Dr. Mathai has done MA in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. Apart from this, he has also acquired LLB from Delhi University, MBA from Jamia Millia University, New Delhi and Ph.D. from IIT, Delhi. He joined NTPC in year 1990 and has worked in various capacities & responsibilities in different field formations of NTPC.

Prof. Anil Kumar, Ph.D., is a Professor at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi. He is currently an Independent Director on the board of Life Insurance Corporation of India. An alumnus of SRCC and Harvard Business School, he did his post-graduation in Commerce (M.Com.) from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. He was awarded a Ph.D. degree by the University of Delhi for his thesis on Corporate Governance. He has over thirty years’ experience of teaching, research, training and consultancy. His area of specialization is Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Higher Education. Dr. Kumar has contributed a number of research articles in national and international journals. He has presented his research work at international conferences in India and abroad and has conducted several executive development and training programmes for government officers, corporate executives and directors. He is a leading consultant for higher education and CSR. He founded Vittshalla, launched by the then Union Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley to spread financial education across nook and corner of the country.

Richa Arora is the Managing Partner & CEO - ESG Stewardship Services, at ECube Investment Advisors. Currently, she is also an independent director on the boards of Snapdeal Ltd, FirstMeridian Business Services Ltd & Morphosis Venture Capital Ltd. She has also served as a Director on the Board of Tata Nourishco and Tata Unistore (Tata Cliq). She brings over 30 years of consumer goods experience in strategy, marketing & business operations. Prior to ECube, till 2021, she was with the Tata Group where, as COO she led the transformation of Tata Chemicals’ consumer business, launching Tata Sampann, and building the foods portfolio beyond salt. In her last role at the Tata Group, as President – Packaged Foods, Tata Consumer Products Ltd, she was responsible for driving that business in India. She has extensive strategic marketing consulting experience, advising brands like McCain Foods, Britannia & Wipro (Consumer). She has also held leadership positions in FMCG companies- Britannia Industries Ltd & Balsara Home Products, and Strategic Planning & Communications (Draft FCB). She has mentored many senior leaders, across industries & organizations. In 2020, Richa was on Business Today’s list of Most Powerful Women. A graduate in Economics & an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Richa is a Chevening scholar from the London School of Economics.

Subodh Rai heads the analytical function at CRISIL Ratings, and leads a member team that exceeds 250 members across India. He chairs the Rating Committee and is responsible for its functioning. He also leads the franchise initiatives for CRISIL Ratings and has authored several incisive opinion pieces on topics germane to credit rating. He is S&P’s Nominee Director on the Board of TRIS Ratings, Thailand, since 2017 and a member of CRISIL’s Executive Council since 2013. He has more than 20 years of experience in the ratings business and held various leadership positions across analytical and business functions. In his previous role, he headed the Ratings - mid-corporate group. Mr. Rai was instrumental in turning around the division and strengthening CRISIL’s leadership position in this segment. Prior to this role, he has held several key positions in the Ratings vertical. Before joining CRISIL, he worked with Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd and Garware Wall Ropes Ltd. He holds a PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad and an engineering degree from the College of Technology, GBPUAT, Pantnagar. Uttarakhand.

DVC emerged as a culmination of attempts made over a whole century to control the wild and erratic Damodar River. The valley has been ravaged frequently by floods at varying intensities. Serious floods occurred in 1730, 1823, 1848, 1856, 1882, 1898, 1901, 1916, 1923, 1935 & 1943. The river spans over an area of 25,000 sq. kms covering the states of Bihar (now Jharkhand) & West Bengal.

The catastrophe caused by the1943 flood, led to serious public indignation against the Government. As a result, the Government of Bengal appointed a board of Enquiry titled “Damodar Flood Enquiry Committee” with the Maharaja of Burdwan and the noted physicist Dr. Meghnad Saha as members for suggesting remedial measures.

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, as a member of Cabinet of pre-independence, played a pivotal role in the coordinated efforts for development of the Damodar basin by the Central Government. He pursued relentlessly for the development proposal for Damodar Valley.

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Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian statutory insurance and investment corporation headquartered in the city of Mumbai and it is the most trusted insurance company of India. It is under the ownership of Government of India.

The Life insurance Corporation of India was established on 1 September 1956, when the Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance of India Act that nationalized the insurance industry in India. Over 245 insurance companies and provident societies were merged to create the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India.

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The Nasdaq Stock Market (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is ranked second on the list of stock exchanges by market capitalization of shares traded, behind the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange platform is owned by Nasdaq, Inc., which also owns the Nasdaq Nordic stock market network and several U.S. based stock and options exchanges.

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Delhi Transco Ltd (DTL) came into existence on 1st July 2002. It was carved out of Delhi Vidyut Board as a separate entity after restructuring of Power Sector of Delhi and was accorded the status of State Transmission Utility (STU) of Delhi state for all purposes. DTL is to discharge the functions of STU in accordance with the Clause 39(2) of Indian Electricity Act 2003 for transmitting power by establishing and operating efficient and reliable transmission network in the Capital of India.

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Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is a project of the government of Maharashtra state in India and is the leading corporation of Maharashtra. It provides businesses with infrastructure such as land (open plot or built-up spaces), roads, water supply, drainage facilities and street lights.

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CRISIL is a leading, agile and innovative global analytics company driven by its mission of making markets function better. It is India's foremost provider of ratings, data, research, analytics and solutions with a strong track record of growth, culture of innovation, and global footprint.

It has delivered independent opinions, actionable insights, and efficient solutions to over 100,000 customers through businesses that operate from India, the US, the UK, Argentina, Poland, China, Hong Kong, UAE and Singapore. It is majority owned by S&P Global Inc, a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide.

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AAVAS FINANCIERS LIMITED (Formerly known as Au HOUSING FINANCE LIMITED) was incorporated as a private limited company at Jaipur, Rajasthan, under the name of “Au Housing Finance Private Limited” under the Companies Act, 1956 on February 23, 2011. It formally started its operations in March, 2012. Subsequently, the name of the Company was changed to “Au Housing Finance Limited” due to conversion from a private company to a public company on January 10, 2013. AAVAS is engaged in the business of providing housing loans, primarily, in the un-served and un-reached market which include the States of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Odisha and Karnataka.

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ESOP Direct has a long and rich legacy in the field of accounting and finance, going back to more than five decades. We are part of the Kirtane Pandit Group, that started as an Accounting and Finance Consultancy in 1956, and branched into Software Development and Business Process Consulting company over the years.

As a group, we have over 5000+ professionals on board and operate globally through subsidiaries in US, UK, Germany, France and Poland as well as strategic alliances in over 100 countries.

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Bajaj Allianz Life is one of the leading private life insurance companies in India. The Company is a partnership between two powerful and successful entities in their own right – Bajaj Finserv Limited, one of India’s most diversified non-banking financial institution and Allianz SE, one of world’s leading asset manager and insurer.

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Incorporated in 1989, LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LICHFL) is one of the largest Housing Finance Companies in India with a key objective of providing long term finance to individuals for the purchase or construction of house/flat for residential purposes in India. LICHFL also provides finance on existing property for business/ personal needs and also gives loans to professionals for purchase/construction of Clinics/Nursing Homes/ Diagnostic Centers/ Office Space and also for purchase of equipment. The Company also provides finance to builders and developers engaged in the business of construction of houses or flats for residential purpose and to be sold by them. The Company went public in 1994 and since then its stocks are listed and actively traded on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE).

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Power Grid Corporation of India Limited(POWERGRID), is a Schedule ‘A’, ‘Maharatna’ Public Sector Enterprise of Govt. of India which was incorporated on 23rd Oct 1989 under the Company Act, 1956. POWERGRID is a listed Company, with 51.34% holding of Government of India and the balance is held by Institutional Investors and public.

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