Advisory Board

N. C. Suri

Air Chief Marshal (Retd.) Ex. Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Suri was appointed Chief of the Air Staff on 1st August 1991 after 41 years in uniform and headed the fourth largest Air Force in the world. He continued to indulge in his passion for flying by traveling the length and breadth of India on aircraft which he piloted himself on a regular basis. This includes the Boeing - 737, HS - 748, AN - 32 and many types of helicopters including Cheetah/Chetak, Bell, and Mi-8/ Mi-17. In his career span of over four decades, he has flown almost 85 different types of aircraft. Throughout his tenure as Chief of Air Staff, he captained all the aircraft which he flew whether fighter, transport or helicopters.

Justice Dr. Arijit Pasayat

Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court An illustrious son of Orissa, a legendary figure in the freedom movement and an eminent Jurist, Justice Dr. Arijit Pasayat had a brilliant academic career, excelling in almost every academic examination he appeared in. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court on 20.3.1989 and a permanent Judge of that Court on 20.9.1990. He was elevated as Chief Justice of Kerala High Court and later as Chief Justice, Delhi High Court on 10.5.2000. He was Elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court on 19.10.2001.

Deepak Kapoor

General (Retd.) Ex-Chief of The Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on 11 June 1967 and has held important Staff and Command appointments in his illustrious military career spanning over 43 years. The General officer had taken an active part in 1971 operations, launched for the Liberation of Bangladesh.
The General Officer took over as the Chief of the Army Staff on 30 Sep 07.

Mr. Ashok Sajjanhar

Former Ambassador of India to Sweden Ambassador Sajjanhar joined the Indian Foreign Services in July 1978 and retired as Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India on 31st July, 2012. In addition, he has held several senior and significant positions of Ambassador/ High Commissioner in Indian Embassies in Moscow, Teheran, Geneva, Dhaka, Bangkok, Washington and Brussels.
Ambassador Sajjanhar negotiated for India in the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and made a vital and critical contribution to outcomes in several areas including Trade-Related Investment Measures, Agriculture, Textiles, Anti-Dumping, Subsidies, and Countervailing Duties, etc.

Sumit Mukerji

Air Marshal (Retd.) He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for Gallantry (peacetime) in 1981 and the Vishisht Seva Medal in 1997. He was the Air officer-in-charge Personnel at Air Headquarters.
Air Marshal Sumit Mukerji was appointed the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command on 01 Sep 09. On 26 Jan 2011, he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in recognition of his lifetime achievements and distinguished service of the most exceptional order. Air Marshal Mukerji retired from the Indian Air Force on 30 Jun 2011 after 40 years of dedicated service.

Dr. Hareesha Iddya

Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India He retired as Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. A B.E. (Metallurgy) from Karnataka Regional Engineering college, Dr. Iddya did his Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1981. His expertise in strategic Planning and Programme Management is being utilized by the Group for enhancing the quality of education.

Dr. Prof. Ravi Prakash

Ex-Vice Chancellor, Jaypee University, Solan & former Dean, Research & Consultancy, BITS, Pilani Dr. Ravi Prakash is a sincere educationist and an ace administrator. He was Vice-Chancellor of Jaypee University of Information Technology, Solan and was also a Dean of BITS, Pilani from 1995 till 2010, after having served as professor of Mechanical Engineering for 16 years. He did his B.Tech. from Banaras Hindu University and Ph.D. from Cranfield University.

Anil Chopra

Air Marshal (Retd.) Air Marshal Anil Chopra is a Fighter pilot who has flown over 40 types of aircraft. He is a qualified Test Pilot, and a Flying Instructor. His last assignment was commanding a mirage 2000 Squadron and two major flying bases. He has also Commanded India's Flight Test Centre ASTE at Bangalore. In his near 40 years career, he has had many other important assignments such as heading the HR of the Indian Air Force.

Dr. S.C. Maiti

Ph.D. (I.I.T. Kharagpur), Ex. Joint Director (N.C.C.B.M), New Delhi Dr. Maiti has more than 40 years of experience. Besides working as a lecturer in his initial days of career, he worked as a Scientist, Group Manager, General Manager and Joint Director in National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM), Ballabgarh, Haryana (from 14 May 1971 to 30 June 2003). Now he is working as a Technical Consultant at Grasim Industries.

Richa Rana

Founder, Carte Blanche Solutions Richa has 20+ years of experience in varied roles in technology, operations, and supply chain as an entrepreneur. She received many prestigious awards for contributing and building NIIT’s visionary leaders and recipient of the highest award (President awardee) for leading the organization ahead on leadership development. She started her career with Escorts in the latest of the technology, moving on to NIIT, building platforms, and providing IT services to Japanese, Singapore, US, and British customers worldwide, playing a diverse role and providing leadership. She got involved in various programs like Talent Connect, Women Mentorship programs across countries. An eminent speaker and writer, she is a prestigious speaker in various organizations, motivating people especially women on how to build a successful professional and personal life. A mother of a 17-year-old boy, passionate about reading, traveling, and understanding different cultures and societies, and understanding from different experiences and people.She is on the Advisory Board since its inception.

Piyush Singhal

Founder Director - Global Achievers Piyush Singhal, a B.Tech. from NIT, Kurukshetra and an IIM Ahmedabad alumni, is actively involved in the field of Education Management. He has worked with various MNCs, notable among those are Accenture Singapore, EDS, Ness Technologies/Tech Mahindra. He has a total industry/ corporate experience of more than 15 years.

H.C. Ganeshia

Chairman, Rules Framing Committee in Baba Bhim Rao University in Lucknow Shri H.C. Ganeshia is a distinguished lawyer who has been practicing as an advocate since 1979. He was awarded – Bharat Gaurav Samman in USA, Madan Mohan Malviya Samman, Braj Gaurav Samman, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Samman, and many more awards were conferred on him for his exemplary contribution in legal and social fields.

Dr. Shashi Bhalla

Emeritus Scientist (Former Principal Scientist),
ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR),
New Delhi Dr. Shashi Bhalla Emeritus Scientist (Former Principal Scientist), ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi, is M.Sc., Ph.D., L.L.B., ARS by qualification.

Widely traveled as an invited speaker, she is having more than 36 years of Research experience. In addition to the institute projects, executed 15 projects funded by national and international agencies. She is also having teaching experience of about 20 years in the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi. She is also having Administrative experience of 6 years in ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi. She presented 200 invited papers in National and International Seminars/ Symposia / Conferences/ Training Programmes. She has more than 400 publications to her credit. Her work in the field of providing training on various aspects of quarantine, biosecurity, and biosafety is noteworthy.