Governing Council

Suresh Prabhu

Shri Suresh Prabhu is a veteran politician and diplomat who has held key positions such as the Union Minister of civil Aviation, Railways, Commerce & Industry among others. He has also served as India’s Sherpa to the G7 and G20. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He has been a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) for 4 consecutive terms from 1996 to 2016, and later a member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) since 2016. He is also serving as the Founding Chancellor of Rishihood university.

MJ Akbar

Shri M. J. Akbar is a former Union Minister of State for External Affairs, and is a distinguished writer who has authored several internationally acclaimed books, mainly on the Indian subcontinent’s complex history and the turbulent interaction between faith and definitions of nationalism. Shri M. J. Akbar has also had an illustrious career as a journalist and editor. In 1976, he launched, as Editor, India’s first weekly political news magazine, Sunday, which quickly became a household presence. He started two daily newspapers: The Telegraph in 1982 and The Asian Age in 1994. He has served as the Editorial Director of India Today, Headlines Today and as the editor of the Deccan Chronicle and The Sunday Guardian. Shri M. J. Akbar entered public life in 1989, when he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kishanganj, Bihar. He went back to the media in 1993, and returned to public life in March 2014, when he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and became the party’s national spokesperson. He was elected as MP to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand in July 2015. In July 2016, he was elected for another term as MP from Madhya Pradesh.

Jayant Sinha

Shri Jayant Sinha is a second term Member of Parliament from Jharkhand, India. Mr. Sinha won his Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019 with record margins. Previously, Mr. Sinha served on India’s Council of Ministers from 2014 to 2019; first, as the Minister of State for Finance and then as the Minister of State for Civil Aviation. Prior to his career in public service, Mr. Sinha was Partner at Omidyar Network (ON) and the Managing Director of Omidyar Network India Advisors, where he led overall investment strategy and operations in India from 2009 to 2013. As a global thought leader, Mr. Sinha has been published in the Financial Times, Times of India, Economic Times, Indian Express, Business Standard, Harvard Business Review, and the McKinsey Quarterly. He has pioneered new thinking on platform-based businesses, innovation-driven entrepreneurship, Climate Change, and sustainable development.

Swapan Dasgupta

Shri Swapan Dasgupta is a Former Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of India’s Parliament. He is one of India’s most widely read political columnists for the past three decades. Having worked in almost all the leading publications in India in senior editorial positions, he has been an independent columnist since 2003. In 2015 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India.

Vinay Sahasrabuddhe

Shri Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra since July 2016. Dr Sahasrabuddhe is the President at Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). He looks after the Good Governance, Central and State Government Program Coordination and Policy Research Department at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)as its National Vice President.

Preeti Saran

Ambassador Preeti Saran is currently a Member of the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). She was formerly worked as Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. She joined the MEA in 1982, and has most recently served as Ambassador of India to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. She has also undertaken diplomatic postings to Toronto, Geneva, Cairo, Dhaka and Moscow. In New Delhi, she has served as Joint Secretary (SAARC/North), Deputy Secretary/ Director (Establishment) / East Asia, and Under secretary (ICCR/AMS).

Amar Sinha

Ambassador Amar Sinha is a career diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1982. He is an Economics Graduate from Patna University and worked with the State Bank of India for over two years before joining the Indian Foreign Service.

PVSLN Murthy

Shri PVSLN Murthy is the Chairman and Managing Director of North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi). He has previously served as a Chief General Manager and Chief Strategy Officer of the State Bank of India, and brings with him around 40 years of development and commercial banking experience.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain

Through most of his 40 year illustrious career General Hasnain has served in turbulent environment and hot spots. From Sri Lanka to Siachen Glacier, from the North East to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), and in UN operations from Mozambique to Rwanda, he has seen it all in crucial appointments. He served seven tours in J&K, decorated in almost of them and knows the J&K conflict comprehensively. He commanded the Indian Army’s Srinagar based 15 Corps and is today one of the foremost writers and analysts on J&K, Pakistan, Middle East and transnational extremist violence. He is a much sought after speaker and writes for major Indian newspapers – The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle and The Asian Age, besides being a regular participant in television debates on mainstream television. With a strong academic background from Sherwood College Nainital, St Stephen’s College Delhi, the Royal College of Defence Studies, Kings College London and the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Hawaii, he has been at the forefront of encouraging the adoption of the US initiated Scholar Warrior concept in the Indian Army. He has spoken at the Lee Kwan Yu School for Public Policy, the Rajaratnam School for International Studies and the Indian Institute for South Asian Studies, all at Singapore. He has also spoken at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), London. He is associated with the Vivekanand International Foundation and Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, as Distinguished Fellow and is on the Governing Council of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies (IPCS). He speaks on National Security at various military, civil services and corporate institutions with a view to enhance India’s strategic culture. He has recently visited Iran and was at the forefront of neutralizing Pakistani influence operations in that country.

On 13 Jul 2018 The President of India appointed Lt Gen Hasnain as Chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir.

Gen Hasnain has six decorations awarded by the President for India and two by the Army Chief. He superannuated from the Indian Army in Jul 2013 after 40 years of active service.

Arun Sahni

Shri Arun Kumar Sahni is a decorated, scholar – soldier, with 40 years of commissioned service in the Indian Army. In his last assignment, tenanting the second highest rank of the army, he was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of one of the six operational commands of the Indian Army.In addition to his Command assignments of leading military formations, his important staff appointments include ‘Chief Operations Officer’ of an Infantry Brigade in Sri Lanka as part of Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), Colonel General Staff responsible for operations of a Counter Insurgency Force in Jammu & Kashmir, ‘Principal Staff officer’ at Army Headquarters, Delhi,and ‘Director General Information Technology.

Shaurya Doval

Shri Shaurya Doval is a Managing Director of Zeus Caps, where he leads the principal investment initiatrrives and deal originations in India. Mr. Doval is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a joint MBA Degree from London Business School and University of Chicago.

Rupa Vasudevan

Dr Rupa Vasudevan is an Educationist , Founder and Chancellor of Bharatiya Engineering Science and Technology Innovation University, a State private University of Andhra Pradesh. She is also Co-Founder and Global President of World Forum for Education, an independent non-profit organization working globally to advance sustainable development, humanitarian response, and facilitating public good through knowledge sharing and Education.

C Sheela Reddy

Prof. C Sheela Reddy is the Dean of the Central University of Andhra Pradesh. She has previously served as Principal of Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi and Chair Professor, Dr. Ambedkar Chair in Social Justice, Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA).