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Meeting No: 2514 125 2566
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About the Speakers

Arvind Gupta

Dr. Arvind Gupta is the Director of Vivekananda International Foundation, a Delhi based independent, non-partisan think-tank focusing on research on foreign policy, defence, and security related issues from an Indian perspective. From 2014-17, he was the Deputy National Security Advisor and headed the National Security Council Secretariat in the Government of India. During 2012-14, he was Director General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. He was Lal Bahadur Shastri Chair on National Security at the IDSA during 2008-2014. Dr. Gupta is a former Diplomat and is also an Honorary Professor in the Department of Defence and National Security Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. His interests are in India’s foreign policy, security, history, culture and civilization. His book How India Manages its National Security was published by Penguin India Ltd. in 2018.

Rajesh Singh

Rajesh Singh is a freelance analyst on politics and public affairs. He is a regular contributor to media platforms such as Wion News, Indus Scrolls, Pgurus and Mail Today. He also writes for the leading think-tank, Vivekananda International Foundation, where he was a Visiting Fellow for a brief while. He had a nine-year stint with Delhi-based The Pioneer newspaper, where he served first as Deputy National Bureau Chief and later as Opinion Editor. He also served as Media Advisor to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in 2002–03, during which period he was concurrently Director, Department of Information and Publicity, Government of Goa. Singh is now based in Delhi-NCR.

Ajay Shankar

Ajay Shankar is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who served as the Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), which is now known as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). He retired from the IAS in December 2009. He joined the IAS in 1973 and held various significant positions at both Central and State government levels over a career spanning more than 40 years. He served for a decade in the Power Ministry, playing a key role in the preparation and enactment of the Electricity Act, 2003, and the universal rural electrification program launched in 2005.Ajay Shankar has remained involved in public policy. He is a Distinguished Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and holds positions as Chairman of the Mobile and Electronic Devices Export Promotion Council (MEDEPC) and the TEMA Council on Industrial Policy (Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India). He is also the President of the Board of Trustees for the Foundation for MSME Clusters (FMC) and a Member of the Board of Management at JK Lakshmipat University, where he also chairs the Center for Policy Studies.

RS Deshpande

R S Deshpande is a Former Director of Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore. He was formerly National Fellow, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). He was the initiator of the proposal and founding Director of Bengaluru Dr. B. R. Ambedkar School of Economics. He steered the mega study on “Farmer at the Millennium” and he was the architect of Karnataka’s Agricultural Policy 2006 and Chaired many Policy Bodies in the Agricultural Sector. He participated in the deliberations at the Planning Commission from the 9th Plan onwards. He was on the Research Advisory Committee of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Central Silk Board and also a member of the selection panel under CACP. He was trustee of Indian Institute of Education, Pune, and President of the Foundation for Research in Health Systems, Bangalore. He has authored 22 books, and more than 125 research papers published in national- international journals and completed 49 research studies. He is a recipient of many awards and gold medals especially PNASF Gold Medal for Agricultural Policy, Life Time Achievement Award from Aurangabad University, Sir M Visveswaraya award in excellence in Education. Further, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. He is M.A with Econometrics and PhD in Economics.