Steering Committee

Mr. Ashok Kumar Jha, IAS (Retd.), former Finance Secretary to the Government of India, has also served as the President of Hyundai Motors India Limited. Mr. Jha is a renowned expert in handling policy issues of key economic ministries. Mr. Jha has vast experience of over four decades in the upper echelons of Government.


Mr. Sunil K. Munjal, the Jt. Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and Chairman of Hero Corporate Service Ltd. Has been recognised by ‘India Today’ – India’s largest English news magazine, as one of the “Faces of the Millennium” for business. He is responsible for developing growth strategy and implementation of new business plans for the Group. He is also the Founder Chairman of BML Educorp Services and is the guiding force behind the BML Munjal University. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the UK India Business Council.


Dr. Sanjaya Baru currently the Director of Geo-Economics and Strategy, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has also served as the Official Spokesman and Media Adviser to the Prime Minister of India. Prior to his official appointment, he was the Associate Editor of The Economic Times and The Times of India and has also served as a Consulting Senior fellow of the IISS in the past. He is one of India’s most respected and influential commentators on political and economic issues.


An archaeologist, historian and writer, Rima Hooja is a Member of the National Monuments Authority, Government of India, and the former Director of Minnesota University’s MSID India Program. With a MA in History, Post-graduate Certificate in Archaeology (Cambridge, UK), and a Ph.D in Archaeology, also from Cambridge University, Rima has held several academic posts, including Associate Professor Indian Tradition & Culture, Kota Open University, and Visiting Fellow, Institute of Development Studies Jaipur. A Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, she has served on several governing boards, committees and councils, including the Govt of India’s Central Advisory Board for Archaeology (CABA), West Zone Cultural Centre, MGD School Jaipur and Maharaja Sawai Mansingh Vidyalaya (MSMSV) school Jaipur, and has served as Consultant for the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH),. Rima has over a hundred published research papers and articles to her credit, besides journalistic articles, contributions to the Students Encyclopedia Britannica, and presentations at international seminars and conferences. She has been awarded the ‘Maharana Kumbha Award’ by MMCF Udaipur, and the title of ‘International Distinguished Academician’ by Minnesota University.


Raj Liberhan the former Director, India Habitat Centre (IHC), New Delhi, India, served in the Government of India’s financial services for thirty years, before moving on to the non-governmental sector to head the IHC. He has varied experience with a significant range of responsibilities at the senior level in government, public sector and NGO environments, building and sustaining organisations, programmes and missions with sector specific objectives and services.


Dr. Syeda Hameed former Member of the Planning Commission, is a committed writer and social Activist. One of the founder trustees of Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPS) and of the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation, she is also the founder member of the Muslim Women’s Forum and South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR). Having completed her graduation from Miranda House, Delhi University she went on to do her masters at the University of Hawaii, US followed by a doctorate from the University of Alberta, Canada. Apart from her social work, her interests cover a vast spectrum of areas from Women Rights to Urdu Literature and Criticism, translation and Islam.


Dr. Rajiv Lall is the Executive Chairman of IDFC. He has about three decades of experience with leading global investment banks, multilateral agencies and in academia. His areas of expertise include project finance, private equity/venture capital, international capital markets, trade, infrastructure and macroeconomic policy issues with a focus on emerging markets including India and China in particular. Dr. Lall has a number of publications and articles to his credit. He has a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University.


Mr. Kishore Rungta is the Chairman and Managing Director of MĀN Structurals Pvt. Ltd. He has been the Hony. Treasurer of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 1998-2003. He was on the governing board of Kanodiya Mahila Mahavidhyalaya for 10 years. Mr. Rungta, the recipient of `Gaurav Rajasthan Award`, is an effective motivator, open to constructive suggestions and a powerful team organizer.


Ms. Mythili Bhusnurmath is an economist-turned-banker-turned journalist. She has been working with The Economic Times (ET) as consulting editor since 2006. Other than writing editorials — mostly on issues related to macroeconomics, finance and banking, she also writes a regular fortnightly column titled ‘Finance Street’. Ms. Bhusnurmath joined The Financial Express in 2004 and became the first woman editor of the business daily. She served as a consultant to the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. She holds a master’s degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics and is a certified associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers. She recently completed a degree in law from the University of Delhi.


Pradeep S Mehta is the founder Secretary General of the Jaipur-based Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS International), one of the largest consumer groups in India, with offices in Lusaka, Nairobi, Hanoi, Accra and Geneva. Established in 1983/84, CUTS International has now completed 30 glorious years. Mehta studied at The Scindia School, Gwalior, St Xavier’s College at Calcutta University and law at the Rajasthan University, Jaipur. Mehta serves/has served on several policy making bodies of the Government of India, related to trade, environment and consumer affairs, including the National Advisory Committee on International Trade of the Ministry of Commerce and its working groups.


Dr. C. Raja Mohan a Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, is leading the Strategic Studies Initiative of the Foundation. He is a Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore, a Non-Resident Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC and a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute, Sydney. He is also a foreign affairs columnist for ‘The Indian Express’.


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