ILDC 2021 Speakers on 22nd Nov 2021
Dr. Shekhar Shah |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-P1″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Dr Shekhar Shah was until recently the Director General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi. As the CEO during 2011-21 of India’s oldest and largest, independent, non-profit, economic think tank, he managed NCAER’s wide-ranging research across all sectors of the economy, including its extensive data collection, analytical, and curation activities. He is credited with NCAER’s outstanding institutional transformation, the redevelopment of its new, world-class campus, and the significant role NCAER now plays in economic research and public policy discussions in India. [/expand] |
Mr. Tim Hanstad |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-P3″ ] Mr. Tim Hanstad is the Chief Executive Officer at the Chandler Foundation. Prior to joining the Chandler Foundation in 2018, Tim co-founded Landesa with Roy Prosterman and spent over three decades with the organization, which included launching programs in China, the former Soviet Union, and India, where he lived for five years. Tim is a Skoll Social Entrepreneur Awardee and Schwab Foundation Outstanding Social Entrepreneur. He has authored numerous books and articles on economic and social development, including One Billion Rising with Roy Prosterman and Robert Mitchell. Tim holds two law degrees from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University. [/expand] |
Vinod Kumar Agarwal |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-P5″ ] Dr Vinod Aggarwal is a trained medical doctor, who passed out from Premier AIIMS New Delhi and ventured into IAS in 1980 and served in Bihar and after division of state in Jharkhand. In a career spanning beyond 36 years, he had worked mainly in the health, education and social sectors. He has served as Secretary (Health) in Jharkhand, Secretary (Health & Medical Education) in Bihar and as Director (Drug Pricing) in the Central Government. In Education, his main contribution was as Secretary, Technical Education in Jharkhand. Additionally, he has spent more than 7 years at various stages in social equity and worked towards upliftment of the Backward Classes, Divyang jan and Scheduled Castes. At the time of retirement, he was Secretary, Government of India in the department of Disability Empowerment. In the Economic sector, he has worked with the Board of Revenue, Border Roads Management and Bihar State Export Corporation. After retirement, for the past 2.5 years, he has been associated with the Human Rights Commission as a Rapporteur, where he is looking into the issues of jails, govt. programs for poor like MG NREGA, Food Security Act, etc in several states. [/expand] |
Govind Kelkar |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-P2″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Dr. Govind Kelkar, PhD in Political Economy of China, is Visiting Professor at the Council for Social Development, Delhi, and Professor and Executive Director of GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation, Gurgaon, India. In her concurrent assignments, Prof. Kelkar is a Regional Council Member of Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Adjunct Distinguished Professor of Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand. a Honorary Professor in Institute of Ethnology, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Yunnan, China; a Member of the Steering Committee of BRICS Feminist Watch, and Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi. She has previously taught at Delhi University, the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand. At AIT, Dr Kelkar founded the graduate program in Gender Development Studies and also the Gender, Technology and Development Journal, published by SAGE, India. Dr. Kelkar resides in Delhi, India. She has extensively worked on gender relations in rural Asia. She has contributed numerous articles to scholarly journals and written 16 books with a focus on political economy of land rights, gender and energy in Asia and has been in close touch with women’s movements in the region. [/expand] |
Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-P4″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Arabinda Kumar Padhee is an Indian national. He has a Master’s degree in Agricultural Science from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and a PhD from Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. He also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) from University of Birmingham, UK. He has taken public policy courses at University of Toronto; Civil Services College, Singapore; and University of Cambridge at various points in his career. Dr Padhee joined the Indian Administrative Services in 1996 and belongs to Odisha cadre. Among the various positions he has held are District Magistrate and Collector; Director, Agriculture and Food Production; Director, World Bank assisted Rural Livelihoods Project; Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Cuttack; Chief Administrator, Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri; Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism and Culture Department, Odisha and Joint Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, Government of India, New Delhi. During his tenure with the Odisha Government, he was instrumental in drafting the Odisha State Agriculture Policy in 2008. He has also served as a member of the Technical Support Group of the erstwhile Planning Commission that prepared the District Agricultural Plan manual. Government of India appointed Dr Padhee as the first nodal officer to implement Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in fertilizers in 2016. [/expand] |
Dr Vincent T Darlong |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22t1s6-P1″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Dr Vincent Darlong is a former Vice Chancellor at MLCU. At present he is a team leader in the world bank funded biodiversity studies undertaken by MLCU and serving as a Director of Centre for Sustainable Development Studies. [/expand] |
Mr Pravanjan Mohapatra |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-Pt1s63″ ] Pravanjan has over 17 years of experience in the development sector with his core expertise in project planning, management, monitoring & evaluation, capacity building and action research. Pravanjan has been working on developing solutions to catalyse land rights research, M&E and capacity building in land, livelihoods and forest space. To strengthen the sustainable land ecosystem, he has been vital to the setting up of the Center for Land Governance, a platform that aims to bring together all stakeholders in land governance. Pravanjan has worked with a diverse set of clients including governments, multilaterals and foundations such as IFAD, DFID, WFP, World Bank, JICA, GIZ, OXFAM, CRS etc. across India and South Asia. He has contributed to projects focusing on tribal development, monitoring, evaluation and implementation of natural resources based livelihood and food security projects primarily for the underprivileged communities. He has worked with organizations like UNDP, SIDBI, State and Central Government departments. As part of these organizations, he has spearheaded several concept designs, program development and facilitated execution. Pravanjan holds a master’s degree in management from Utkal University and completed his law degree in Environmental Law. [/expand] |
Mr Supongnukshi, IFS |
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Mr Dimgong Rongmei |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”2t1s62-P2″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Mr. Dimgonglung Rongmei is a secretary of Development & Relief Department, RNBA Manipur. He is a graduate in B.Sc. Botany from Manipur University, obtained Master in Conflict Study from Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia. He holds Diploma in Development Leadership, Coady International Institute, StFX University, Antigonish, Canada and had exposed on bamboo value chain analysis and bamboo sector development study at China. He is been actively involved in NGO sector (rural development) since 2001 and has experiences around sustainable livelihood through proper natural resources management. Food and livelihood security through proper NRM, Capacity Organization of the community members, and people’s-oriented policies, Good governance, quality education and land rights. [/expand] |
Mr. James Kharkongor |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”2t1ss42-P4″ text-color=”#f5f300″] James has more than 21 years in the field of Social Development and has extensively worked on Participatory Watershed Development, NRM and Livelihood services in North Eastern Region. [/expand] |
Mr Pikato V. Jimo |
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Mr Mihin Dollo |
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Renu Mishra Executive Director, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-01″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Ms. Renu Mishra, Executive Director of Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives (AALI, a women’s right organisation), is a lawyer and women’s rights activist who has been active in the field of women’s empowerment for about 2 decades. The focus of her work has been the access to justice for women and children. She strongly believes in the power of the law as a tool for social change and has tirelessly worked towards developing a human rights-based understanding of the fundamental rights and special laws especially in the Hindi speaking States, as the language of the law is predominantly English and complex. Ms. Mishra specializes in feminist counselling, casework strategy, and laws combating violence against women and those promoting women’s socio-economic and civil and political rights. Renu Mishra is dedicated towards effecting structural change for the promotion and protection of women’s human rights and acts as technical member and consultant to several national networks as well as State Departments. In 2016 her contribution to the women’s movement in Uttar Pradesh was recognized and honoured by the State Government and in 2014 she was presented with the Hindustan Times Woman of the Year Award for her work on women’s empowerment. She holds a L.L.B. from Lucknow University, a Master’s Degree in Commerce. [/expand] |
Chandrakala Sharma |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-03″ ] Ms Chandrakala is the State Co-ordinator of the Ekal Nari Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan and Coordinating Director of the Ekal Nari Shakti Sansthan. She has worked with single women since 1999, has extensive field experience in community organizing and mentoring grass root women activists. [/expand] |
Ravi Verma |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-04a” text-color=”#f5f300″] Ravi Verma is Regional Director at the International Centre for Research on Women’s (ICRW) Asia Regional Office in New Delhi, India. Over the past three decades, he has worked on issues of gender, men and masculinity, male sexual health and gender equality in relation to violence against women, reproductive health, including family planning and HIV/AIDS, in India and countries across the Asian region. He has published extensively on these issues in both Indian and international journals of repute. Ravi has also served as a member of High Level Committee on the Status of Women (HLCSW) from 2013-2016, Government of India and the Rights & Empowerment working group of the FP2020 Initiative. He currently serves as a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Gender and Health. He also serves on the Boards of Women Lift health and Global Health 5050. |
Sailabala Panda Development Practioner,PRADAN |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-02″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Sailabala Panda, as a development practitioner, has worked for close to a decade with PRADAN where she engages in projects from the gender equity perspective. She has gained a wide range of experience in designing, implementing, and monitoring livelihood prototypes—working to empower rural women in different livelihood activities and to increase their incomes and raise their awareness of their political, social, and economic rights, including land rights. [/expand] |
Kanchan Sinha Former Country Director, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-04″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Dr Kanchan Sinha is a developmental professional, a researcher and an academic with more than four decades of experience in programme management, policy research, development planning, gender studies and teaching. She worked with Oxfam GB for nearly two decades in many positions including Country Programme Director in India and Country Director in Tanzania. She has been visiting scholar at University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA and at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA. Prior to joining the development field she was a University faculty teaching philosophy. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University, Boston, USA. She has a PhD degree in Philosophy. |
Shipra Deo Director- Women’s Land Rights, Landesa |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-t2s1604″ text-color=”#f5f300″] Shipra Deo leads Landesa’s work for gender equal and inclusive land governance in India. She is passionate about the gender dimension of social development and specializes in designing and implementing gender responsive strategies and programmes including those related to land. In the recent years she has done intensive research on inheritance by women and gendered aspects of land laws. Her work in the past two decades has focused on expanding opportunities for rural women and girls enabling them to have more control over their lives. She has intensive experience in strategic planning, management of cross-functional teams and catalysing positive changes in challenging contexts. |
Laura Meggiolaro Team Leader |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-05″ ] Ms. Laura Meggiolaro is a specialist in information and knowledge management for development. She believes that information should be a public good and access to information (and data) is a fundamental driver for democracy, which contributes to more robust and free societies and people’s well-being. She has been responsible for the conceptualisation and the overall management, implementation and expansion of the Land Portal project, which has now evolved into an independent Dutch non-profit organisation: the Land Portal Foundation. She has substantial program management experience and she has been responsible for kicking off, implementing and leading a range of data, information and knowledge management initiatives focused on land rights. Prior to joining the Land Portal, Laura collaborated with UN agencies and civil society organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, ActionAid International and the International Land Coalition among others. Laura holds Master’s degrees in Communications Science and on Economics for Development. |
IAS (Retd.), Senior advisor to NCAER and IIHS and Senior Visiting Fellow at CPR |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-07″ ] Mr. Deepak Sanan is the Senior Adviser at National Council of Applied Economic Research (CAER). He retired from the Indian Administrative Service in January 2017 where he was attached to the state of Himachal Pradesh. He held senior positions in public finance, land governance, and water and sanitation sectors at both the state and national levels. He also had significant tenures in the health, urban development and power sectors. Currently, he is an advisor for projects on water and sanitation and land governance at a number of institutions in India. He has been a Consultant with the World Bank, IFAD, DFID, IDS Sussex and AusAid. He has also served as the India Country Team Leader in the Water and Sanitation Program (South Asia) at the World Bank. [/expand] |
Mr. Kumar Sambhav Independent Journalist and Founder, Land Conflict Watch and Member, The Reporters Collective |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-07a” ] Mr. Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava is a Delhi-based independent journalist. He reports and writes on issues at the intersection of environment, business, politics and social justice. He is also a co-founder of Land Conflict Watch, the first-of-its-kind data journalism project that maps land conflicts in India. He has proficiently reported from rural and semi-urban areas across 21 Indian states making him a finalist for the Global Investigative Journalism Network’s Global Shining Light Award in 2017. He received ‘National Award for Excellence in Journalism’ for ‘Development Reporting’ from the Press Council of India in 2014 and was chosen the ‘Young Journalist from the Developing World Award (Runner Up) by the Thomson Foundation in 2015. He was also a finalist for India’s Red-Ink Journalism Awards in 2015 and the ACJ Award for Investigative Journalism in 2016. In the past, he has worked for the Business Standard, Scroll.in, Hindustan Times, Down To Earth and the Times of India on governance, business and social justice [/expand] |
Dr.Charl Thom Bayer Land Information Management and Advocacy Consultant |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-06″ ] Dr. Charl-Thom Bayer is a specialist in land governance and administration with a background in land surveying and information systems design. He is a versatile and seasoned project coordinator with more than twenty years’ of experience in leading multinational teams and initiatives in pursuit of improved land governance and development. He holds an extensive experience of working in capacity development with partners in higher education, civil society and policy makers and is passionate about open data, knowledge diffusion and land administration. Prior to joining Land Portal Foundation, he worked as a Land Tenure Consultant, Land Surveyor and as the Head of Department for Land and Property Science at the Namibia University of Science and Technology. He was born in Namibia and currently resides there. [/expand] |
Dr. Charu Jain Associate Fellow, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-08″ ] Dr. Charu Jain is an Associate Fellow at National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). She is an experienced Associate Researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the research industry. She has also worked at TNS India Ltd and PHD Chamber, New Delhi. Her areas of research interest include gender and educational studies, socio-economic issues, consumer studies and developmental changes. She has worked in the area of large-scale consumer studies; industrial surveys; housing studies; agriculture, steel & handloom sector; and macro-economic policy issues. Her current research focuses on looking at land related policy issues in India. Dr Jain has few national and international publications to her credit and has recently authored a book on the ‘Quality of Secondary Education’ in India published by Springer. She received her PhD in Economics from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi and is Gold medallist during her Master’s program from GJUST, Hisar. [/expand] |
Ms. Shalmoli Halder Analyst, Investments for Omidyar Network’s Property Rights initiative |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-09″ ] Ms. Shalmoli Halder is an Analyst, Investments for Omidyar Network’s Property Rights initiative. Shalmoli is responsible for sourcing, evaluating and managing investments in Property Rights. Prior to joining the firm, Shalmoli was an associate consultant at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, where she supported projects, performed research, and analyzed data for a variety of clients including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, and Omidyar Network spanning gender, financial inclusion, education, and property rights. Shalmoli graduated from Yale University, where she studied biomedical engineering and political science. [/expand] |
Namita Wahi Founding Director, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22T6S105″ ] Dr. Namita Wahi is a Fellow at CPR and Founding Director of the Land Rights Initiative. She is also a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Law and Social Transformation in Bergen. She holds an SJD (doctoral) degree from Harvard Law School, where she wrote her dissertation on “The Right to Property and Economic Development in India”. Namita’s doctoral dissertation traces the historical evolution of the right to property in the Indian Constitution from the colonial period until 1967. Namita’s research interests lie broadly in the areas of property rights, social and economic rights, and eminent domain or expropriation law. She has written extensively on these issues in various academic journals and edited volumes, as well as newspapers and magazines. Namita has taught courses in these areas at Harvard University, both at the Law School and the Department of Government, and at National Law School, Bangalore, and National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. Before entering academia, Namita was a litigator with Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York, where she practised primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, securities, criminal defence and asylum law. Namita also holds an LLM from Harvard Law School, where she was awarded the Laylin Prize for the “Best Paper in International Law” and BA and LLB(Hons.) degrees from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, where she graduated first in her class, and received several gold medals for her academic achievements. She is a recipient of New India Fellowship for her forthcoming book on the history of the Fundamental Right to Property in the Indian Constitution.
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Prerna Prabhakar Associate Fellow at NCAER |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-T6s107″ ] Prerna Prabhakar is an Associate Fellow at NCAER. Her areas of research include international economics and urban/land policy issues. She has also worked on trade-related areas in Research and Information System for Developing Countries and Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute for Foreign Trade. Her assignments at NCAER include NCAER Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI); pilot impact assessment exercise of the Digital India-Land Records Modernisation Programme ; NCAER State Investment Potential Index (NSIPI) ; providing inputs to 15th Finance Commission. She is currently involved in the integrated study of demand side NLRSI and Prindex India which is proposed to be a survey of 25 Indian States/UTs. She has also contributed papers and articles in various media. [/expand] |
Kaveri Haritas Associate Professor, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-t6s107a” ] Dr. Kaveri Haritas is Associate Professor at the Jindal School of Government & Public Policy. She has a bachelor’s degree in law, a Masters and PhD. In Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. She was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation for her doctoral studies (CanDoc), which examines the struggles of poor women and men in a rehabilitation area in Bangalore. Her research focuses on the politics of the poor, the role that gender plays in everyday politics and struggles and the manner in which this shapes citizenship and the role of the state. After her doctoral research, she took part in an international research project on the solidarity economy practices of women in Latin America and India, supported by the Swiss Network of International Studies. In this research, she continued to work on women’s struggles for survival, examining a fisherwomen’s association in Udupi, Karnataka. With an education in development studies, she has a marked leaning towards anthropology, uses ethnography in her research and enjoys research and teaching in the areas of political and economic anthropology. Her recent research interrogates the future of work in a world of technological unemployment, examining the potential of technology to transform both the structures and meanings of work in the contemporary world. She has also been a north-south mobility fellow at the Institute for Research on Development, Paris. [/expand] |
Trisha Pande Research Associate Land Rights Initiative, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-t6s1q07a” ] Dr. Kaveri Haritas is Associate Professor at the Jindal School of Government & Public Policy. She has a bachelor’s degree in law, a Masters and PhD. In Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. She was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation for her doctoral studies (CanDoc), which examines the struggles of poor women and men in a rehabilitation area in Bangalore. Her research focuses on the politics of the poor, the role that gender plays in everyday politics and struggles and the manner in which this shapes citizenship and the role of the state. After her doctoral research, she took part in an international research project on the solidarity economy practices of women in Latin America and India, supported by the Swiss Network of International Studies. In this research, she continued to work on women’s struggles for survival, examining a fisherwomen’s association in Udupi, Karnataka. With an education in development studies, she has a marked leaning towards anthropology, uses ethnography in her research and enjoys research and teaching in the areas of political and economic anthropology. Her recent research interrogates the future of work in a world of technological unemployment, examining the potential of technology to transform both the structures and meanings of work in the contemporary world. She has also been a north-south mobility fellow at the Institute for Research on Development, Paris. [/expand] |
Ramesh Sharma National Coordinator, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-T6S106″ ] Ramesh Sharma works as the General Secretary of Ekta Parishad. Ekta Parishad is a mass-based peoples’ movement for land rights with an active membership of 250,000 landless poor and is regarded as one of the biggest people’s movements in India with an iconic status globally. In 2012, Ekta Parishad was responsible for organizing and leading a foot march of more than 100,000 landless people for over 300 Km (from Gwalior to Delhi) to demand land rights. As the Campaigner, Ramesh is one of the leaders of such large-scale mass struggles and is mainly involved in campaign planning and advocacy. In the last 20 years, Ramesh has played an instrumental role in strengthening and expanding Ekta Parishad as one of the most significant peoples’ struggles for land rights. Ramesh is also engaged in many peacebuilding initiatives especially in the conflict zones of Central and North-Eastern India. Ramesh has been part of several land reforms committees of the Government of India and state governments. In 2008, Ramesh was appointed by the Government of India, as a member of the National Committee on Agrarian Crisis and Land Reforms. In 2012, Ramesh is nominated as a member of the National Task Force on Land Reforms (Government of India); Being member of Task Force – he is engaged in drafting the National Homestead Rights Act, National Land Reforms Policy, designing the institutional Set up for Land Tribunal(s), and various other pro-poor institutional & legal remedial measures towards land reforms. Ramesh is also part of many research & advocacy projects carried by the Food and Agriculture Organization (United Nations FAO), Cambridge University (UK), Rutgers University (USA), LBS National Academy of Administration (India) etc. Ramesh is an author of several research papers and policies related to land rights, peacebuilding, gender justice, agriculture and environment, etc. [/expand] |
Anindita Mukherjee Senior Researcher, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22t6s1-08″ ] Anindita Mukherjee is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Policy Research. As part of CPR’s Scaling City Institutions for India (SCI FI) Initiative, she anchors the research on demystifying the urban land- planning-housing intersections with specific focus on residential vulnerability among the urban poor. Currently, she is supporting Governments of Odisha and Punjab in forming strategies towards unlocking land tenure security enabling slum upgradation and improving inclusion of the urban poor settlements into the city fabric. She has supported in formulation of various programmes and policies: National housing programmes and policies of MoHUA e.g., Rajiv Awaas Yojana (RAY) and Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), Rural Sanitation Policy of Odisha and provided specific support in developing Credit risk Guarantee fund Scheme, affordable housing policies among others. Apart from that, as part of CPR she has worked extensively on areas related to economics of sanitation service delivery in India, monitoring and evaluation of government rolled out national schemes and programmes, in economic and planning issues related to urban development, land management and sanitation. Before joining CPR, Anindita worked with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, India in the project “Inclusive Cities Partnership Programme (ICPP); jointly implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and GIZ. The project supported the agenda of Government of India (GoI) in making affordable housing available to all, with a focus on the improvement of housing and living conditions in slums/ informal settlements. Spanning almost 18 years of her career she has worked with different sector partners; Government agencies e.g., the Ministry of Housing and urban Affairs, various State Governments, urban local body in Kolkata, civil society organisations, other bilateral agencies such as erstwhile DFID, GIZ India and the World Bank. Her key sectors of expertise include urban economics, slum upgradation, inclusion, housing and urban basic services (water & sanitation) for the poor and other marginalized sections of the society, issues pertaining to land and land tenure in urban areas, and associated research work. Anindita is an Economist and has a specialization in Statistics and Econometrics. [/expand] |
Vrinda Bhardwaj Research Associate, Land Rights Initiative, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22t6s1-09″ ] Vrinda Bhardwaj is a Research Associate at CPR’s Land Rights Initiative. Her research interests include policy matters pertaining to real estate, land acquisition/requisition and constitutional interpretation of land laws. [/expand] |
Apar Gupta Executive Director, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22t6s1g-09″ ] Apar is a lawyer and the Executive Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF). For his work on digital rights, he was elected as an Ashoka Fellow in 2019. He completed his post-graduate studies from the Columbia University School of Law and has practised for more than a decade. After graduation, he worked as a commercial litigator in top law firms such as Karanjawala & Co. and was a partner at Advani & Co. During this period, he represented a diverse set of clients from India’s top corporate groups, high net worth individuals and public sector units, even being retained as a counsel for the government of India in the High Court of Delhi. he continue to write op-eds and journal articles for Indian Express, The Hindu, IIC Quarterly and Seminar etc. and has written a book on the I.T. Act, 2000 published by LexisNexis. From 2015, he has been working extensively on public interest issues which include strategic litigation and organisation of campaigns and collectives. In courts, my work as a lawyer includes key digital rights cases on privacy and censorship. He is part of key constitutional challenges on Section 66A, the Right to Privacy and Aadhaar representing public interest litigants. Beyond court work he has worked extensively with activists and set up digital campaigns such as those on Net Neutrality (SaveTheInternet.in), fight against defamation laws (SpeechBill.in) and safeguard privacy (SaveOurPrivacy.in). He is committed to advancing values of the Constitution of India in a digital, technology mediated society. [/expand] |
Sanjoy Patnaik FES |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-t5s310″ ] Sanjoy has been engaged in rights-based work on natural resource management for close to three decades with core competency on policy research and advocacy action on land and forests. Sanjoy specialized on innovative programme planning and design on rural livelihoods – productive land use, land to the landless, forest produce marketing including inclusive and decentralized planning exercise as key components of empowered local governance system. At present Sanjoy is engaged as Strategic Policy Advocacy Adviser in Foundation for Ecological Security, and provides strategic guidance to elevate the debate on Commons and Climate Change. Prior to that Sanjoy served as the India Country Director, Landesa and designed a range of land rights programmes with special focus on land to landless and women’s land rights. [/expand] |
Sibabrata Choudhury Living Farms |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-ta5s312″ ] Sibabrata Choudhury has over two decades of experience in the rural development and public policy space working on issues related to land rights, poverty alleviation, women’s empowerment and climate change. During his career he has worked on projects of agencies like PRADAN, AKRSP, SAMAGRA, UNICEF and LANDESA. Currently he serves as the CEO at Living Farms, an organisation that engages with local communities in rural Odisha to cultivate critical consciousness to deal with the ensuing ecological crisis. Living Farms works in solidarity with local grassroots initiatives, academia, researchers, and the government, by fostering innovative dialogues, valuing local and traditional knowledge and stimulate ethical action for our collective wellbeing. Having completed his graduation studies from OUAT, Sibabrata studied Rural Management from XIMB (1997) in and Public Policy Management from IIM Bangalore (2010). [/expand] |
Manjit Bal FES |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-t5s3-114″ ] Manjeet Kaur Bal is a system reformer who has demonstrated implementation of policies at the grassroots level through livelihood, inclusion, nutrition, education, fair market exchange and tribal rights. Her efforts have brought structural changes in the way policies are implemented. Currently, she is associated with The Foundation for Ecological Security as a Senior Programme Manager focusing on matters concerning livelihood and Community Forest Resource Rights. Manjeet is Doctorate in Faculty of Management after Post Graduate in Human Resource Management. She was working as Faculty (livelihood) in State Institute of Rural Development (Named Thakur Payarelal Institute of Panchayat & Rural Development) and officer in charge of centrally sponsored program like Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) and Integrated Action Plan (IAP) in Directorate of Panchayat. 10-year experience in rural development areas. Areas of expertise involves training and teaching, decentralized planning, livelihood and human resource management. [/expand] |
N B Brindavanam Former Head – Bio Resource Divison, Dabur |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-t5sx311″ ] Dr. N. B Brindavanam is presently a Consultant in NRM, Biodiversity & Medicinal plants- based at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). He is a Project Management Consultant to Tripura SCATFORM Project funded by JICA. In addition, he on advisory role to organizations like Dabur Research & Development Centre, Ghaziabad, Kovel Foundation, Visakhapatnam, National Medicinal Plants Board, New Delhi and Quality Council of India, New Delhi. He holds a degree in graduation in Ayurveda (B. A. M. S.) & M. Sc. in Medicinal Plants. He joined pharmaceutical Research after a stint of Clinical Practice for 5 years. He worked with Research & Development functions at Maharishi Ayurveda Products, Noida & Dabur Research & Development Centre for over 35 years. He has the experience across many facets of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Research like ‘Standardization & Quality Protocol Development for medicinal plants’, ‘Formulations Development & Process validation’, and many more. He has been awarded with 5 national & international patents concerning Herbal Formulations & Processes. He has contributed Chapters in 3 reference books & edited one and over 40 research publications. His several awards & accolades are Fellowship: Society of Ethnobotanists Bharat Excellence Award-2008, NMPB Award for Life time contributions in Sustainable development of Medicinal Plants-2014
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Kavita Sharma Land Accelerator |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-t5s3313″ ] Kavita Sharma is a Manager with the Sustainable Landscapes and Restoration team at WRI India and leads the work on Land Accelerator, South Asia. Earlier she was associated with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in establishing Agri-Business Incubators across the country under the RKVY-RAFTAAR scheme. Kavita is an Agri-Business professional and environment enthusiast, focused on entrepreneurship development, business mentoring, start-up funding. She has experience in the corporate sector in developing agriculture marketing infrastructure, modern wholesale markets and value chains for perishables in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. She has worked as Technical Consultant for six months with Rungis Market International, Paris, France, for developing India International Horticulture Market (IIHM) Project at Ganaur, district Sonipat, Haryana. Kavita holds a PG Diploma in Agri-Business Management from National Institute of Agricultural Marketing, Jaipur and a bachelor’s in Agriculture with a Vice-Chancellor’s Gold Medal from GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar. She is a nature lover and likes reading newspapers and journals [/expand] |
Dr. Nivedita Haran Former-Addl Chief Secretary, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22P2S2-10″ ] Dr. Nivedita P. Haran Graduated with Economics and Philosophy (Hons), obtained Masters in Philosophy from Jadavpur University and PhD in Sociology from IIT, Delhi. She joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1980 and worked in the state of Kerala and in Govt of India in various departments that include departments of Land Revenue, Disaster Management, Agriculture, Industries, Labour & Employment, Planning and Home apart from serving as District Collector/ Magistrate. She was Director and later Joint Secretary in Ministry of Urban Development, Govt of India. She was on deputation to the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo for 5 years. Post-retirement she has been engaged in activities related to research and academics in the areas of Digitisation of Land Records, Disaster Resilience-building, Good Governance, , Labour & Migration issues and management of Water, Waste Water and solid waste. She is a member of the Court-appointed Committee of Experts for cleaning up and conservation of the Dal Lake and the committee related to modernization of land records in Delhi. She is also the chairperson of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development and Ente Bhoomi Trust. She has been a regular speaker at various training Institutes including the Civil services training academy at Mussoorie. [/expand] |
Dr Diana Fletschner Chief Program Officer |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-p2sss212″ ] Dr. Diana Fletschner provides strategic direction and oversight for all of Landesa’s programs. Fletschner is a development economist with over 25 years of experience teaching, conducting research, designing programs and tools, monitoring and evaluating interventions, mentoring, and conducting strategic advocacy with a special focus on rural women. Dr. Fletschner joined Landesa as a Sr. Gender Expert in 2010 and has directed Landesa’s global Research, Evaluation and Learning efforts for the past several years. She has co-led sector-wide efforts that resulted in the successful inclusion of land rights among Sustainable Development Goals’ targets and indicators, creating both an ambitious commitment to ensure land rights for all and a global mandate to generate land rights data. Dr. Fletschner has conducted work in 21 countries. Her work has been published in the Journal of Development Economics, World Development, the Journal of Development Studies, and the Journal of Socio-Economics. Dr. Fletschner has been recognized with awards for her technical work, her mentoring and her teaching. [/expand] |
Jayesh Bhatia Managing Director, NRMC (Intellecap Subsidiary) |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-p2s2s14″ ] Mr. Jayesh Bhatia has over 29 years of experience in the natural resources management and the rural development sector. With post graduate degrees from the prestigious Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal and University of Oxford, Mr. Jayesh has worked with a range of organisations and institutions in India. Mr. Jayesh is a strategic thinker, problem solver and a leading voice in the social development sector, especially in augmenting livelihoods for the underserved communities. [/expand] |
Prof Bina Agarwal Development Economist |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-p2ss211″ ] Prof. Bina Agarwal is Professor of Development Economics and Environment at the University of Manchester, UK. Until recently she was Director of the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University. She is also President of the International Society for Ecological Economics. Educated at the Universities of Cambridge and Delhi she has lectured worldwide and held distinguished positions at many universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Michigan, Minnesota (where she held the Winton Chair), and the NYU School of Law. An economist with a keen interest in interdisciplinary and intercountry explorations, her publications include nine books and over seventy-five professional papers on subjects such as land, livelihoods and property rights; environment and development; food security, the political economy of gender; poverty and inequality; law; and agriculture and technological change. Her writings placed the issue of women’s land rights centrally on the agenda of governments, civil society groups, and international agencies. In 2005, she also catalyzed a successful campaign for the comprehensive amendment of Hindu Inheritance law in India to make it gender equal. n 2008, Agarwal received a Padma Shri from the President of India for her contributions to education; and in 2010 the Leontief Prize from Tufts University ‘for advancing the frontiers of economic thought.’ [/expand] |
Ms Everlyne Nairesiae Coordinator GLII & Gender Lead of Land |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-pp2s213″ ] Ms. Everlyne Nairesiae is a social scientist, with over 17 years of experience working on gender, land and natural resource governance at policy and practice; strategic planning; research; program monitoring and evaluation at national, regional and internal level. She is the Coordinator of the Global Land Indicators Initiative (GLII) at the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN); Land, Housing and Shelter Section in UN-Habitat. She is also the Gender Lead for Land and GLTN. She is known for her contribution in coordinating and facilitating global networks, development of global methodologies and tools for land governance including monitoring of land in the SDGs and impact evaluation; research and analytical frameworks and strategies for mainstreaming gender in natural resource governance and management; and capacity development for governments, CSOs and other actors. She has written several papers and articles that underscore the link between land tenure, gender and land degradation neutrality, land governance monitoring and sustainable development. She previously worked as Women’s Land Rights Adviser at Oxfam International; Senior Regional Program Coordinator for Relief, Development and Protection at Church World Service in Africa. Everlyne holds a Master of Philosophy in Guidance and Counselling, and bachelor’s degree in Geography and Kiswahili from Moi University, Eldoret in Kenya. [/expand] |
Pranab R Choudhury Secretary ILDC |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-hjs213″ ] Mr. Pranab Ranjan Choudhury is an expert with more than 20 years of experience in Natural Resources Management and Governance in India and abroad. He has founded and coordinates NRMC Center for land Governance, a think tank attempting inclusive and informed dialogue around land governance in India for shared prosperity. A post-graduate in Forestry, Mr. Pranab has earlier worked as a Scientist with Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) for about 8 years. He has coordinated implementation of LGAF for World Bank in India and has carried out studies on women land rights, forest rights and land governance with international agencies. He has also worked closely with Govt. Departments across hierarchies (primarily with land use and land administrative departments including Revenue, Forest, Water, and Agriculture etc.), with International and National Donors, NGOs and CBOs in many states of India. His past/ongoing clients/partners include the Donors (The World Bank, UNDP, DFID, JBIC, JICA, EED/BfW etc.), Consultancy Firms (NR International, Pragmatix etc.), State Govts (Odisha, Gujarat, Bihar, UP etc.), International Research Institutes (ICRISAT, ICRAF), INGOs (Caritas, RDI-Landesa) and NGOs. He is well versed with the legal-institutional frameworks and stakeholders (in Govt, Academics and NGO sector) around land and land-use sector in India. [/expand] |
Frank Pichel |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-10″ ] Frank Pichel is the co-founder and Chief Programs Officer at Cadasta Foundation. He is a land administration specialist with experience designing, managing, and implementing land-related projects with a technology focus around the globe. He has worked both with the private sector in implementing programs while based in West Africa, as well as designing and managing programs as part of the Land Tenure and Property Rights Office for the US Agency for International Development (USAID). [/expand] |
Ranjan Praharaj Development Practioner, PRADAN |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-12″ ] Ranjan Praharaj from Cuttack district of Odisha, India is a Master in Social Work. He has more than 2 decades of experience in the development field, particularly in the domain areas of Land Rights, Natural Resource Management (NRM), Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM), Water Security and Rural Livelihood. He is presently working with Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) as State Programme Manager, Odisha in the Land Rights Programme. His special focus is to coordinate for technology adoption in the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 with the objective to ensure tenure security, contribute towards the protection of forest ecology and promote forest-based livelihood. [/expand] |
Ambrish Mehta Co-Founder, Trustee , Arch Vahini |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-14″ ] Ambrish Mehta is one of the founding members of the organization known as ARCH-Vahini and has been working in the tribal areas of Gujarat since the early 1980s. Worked initially on the issue of Rehabilitation of the tribal families, who lost their lands and houses for construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Thereafter from 2000 onwards he has been working on the issues of forests and forest rights, mainly in the Narmada district of Gujarat. From 2008 onwards he is working full-time with his wife Trupti for proper implementation of FRA in Narmada and other tribal districts of Gujarat for both IFR and CFRs. Have developed a method to help Gramsabhas in using GPS and Satellite Imageries to substantiate their claims under FRA. The use of this technology has led to the approval of more than 90% of more than 3000 claimants with the proper area. He is working with the Gramsabhas on carrying out post rights tasks, that they are envisaged to carry out under FRA. This includes helping them in preparing CFR management plans for sustainable use of the Community Forest Resources as well as documenting the positive impacts of recognition of individual as well as community forest rights. [/expand] |
Bhagwan Kesbhat Founder & CEO · Waatavaran |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-11″ ] Bhagwan Kesbhat is the founder and CEO of Waatavaran. A Social Entrepreneur with extensive experience in program design, networking and building community leadership. He has previously worked with Paani Foundation, Video Volunteers, Greenpeace & YUVA. [/expand] |
Shishir Dash Lead Urban Habitat – Tata Trusts, Tata Trusts |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-13″ ] Shishir Dash is leading the Urban Habitat Programmes of Tata Trusts in different states. He and his team provide technical support for strategic planning, quality implementation and progress tracking of the projects on sustainable habitat issues. Mr. Dash graduated in Economics and Business Administration, has more than 20 years of experience in the field of social development. He has experience in leading multi-thematic teams in the field of Urban Habitat, livelihood development, climate change, disaster management, and policy & advocacy. He was leading the Odisha Land Rights and Liveable Habitat Project lauded as the World’s largest slum land tenure programme, of Tata Trusts. He is closely working with Government, urban poor and local groups for improving basic services in the informal settlements. Through his work in urban space, he has demonstrated innovative ideas to bring changes in the life and livelihoods of the people living in the slum communities. [/expand] |
Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, IAS Commissioner of Pimpari and Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and CEO of Pimpri Chinchwad Smart City limited (Pune, Maharashtra) |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-15″ ] Mr. Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, IAS, 2005 Odisha cadre Civil Servant. Presently holding the position of Municipal Commissioner of Pimpari and Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and CEO of Pimpri Chinchwad Smart City limited (Pune, Maharashtra). He worked in several capacities in Government of Odisha. He was appointed as Director, Special Project, PR & DW department (MGNREGA Cell), Govt.of Odisha. He also led Odisha Skill Development Authority as CEO and Director of Employment. He served as District Magistrate and Collector in Kandhamal, Koraput and Mayurbhanj districts. During his stint in Mayurbhanj district (longest served civil servant in the district), Mr. Patil steered voluntary resettlements of villagers from the core areas of Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha and built a vibrant administrative team to drive the successful relocation. He did his Masters in Statistics from Savitri Bail Phule University. He authored an inspirational multi lingual best seller book ‘Maa I’ve Become a Collector: My Journey from Crushing Rural poverty to the Corridors of Power. [/expand] |
Ms. Prerna Singh Bindra Wildlife Conservationist/ Writer/ Journalist/ Ph.D Scholar |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-17″ ] Ms Prerna Singh Bindra is a writer and wildlife conservationist with a primary focus on conservation of wildlife habitats. She has served on various high-level government committees such as India’s National Board for Wildlife and its core Standing Committee and Uttarakhand’s State Wildlife Advisory Board. She was part of the team of the National Tiger Conservation Authority to assess the management effectiveness of tiger reserves. Prerna is a prolific writer and has authored more than 1,500 articles on nature and wildlife in mainstream media. She has authored the critically acclaimed The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis and a book for children When I Grow Up I Want to be a Tiger. In 2019, she co-edited Wild Treasures, an anthology on Natural World Heritage Sites of Asia. She was a visiting fellow of Wildlife Institute of India-UNESCO Category 2 Centre. She is a director of Hathi-Sathi Foundation which works to enable safe shared spaces for people and elephants in north Bengal. She is a PhD Scholar at St Johns College, University of Cambridge. Her doctoral research focuses on resettlement of people from Protected Areas. [/expand] |
Mr. Sanjib Sarangi AVP & Head, Natural Resource based Livelihood Programs, Indian Grameen Services |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-1as7″ ] Mr. Sanjib Sarangi is the AVP & Head, Natural Resource based Livelihood Programs at Indian Grameen Services ,leading the theme, Natural Resource based Livelihood Programs. He has completed his masters in zoology from Ravenshaw University and EEP Leadership program from IIM , Bangalore. He has been an integral part of Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project to facilitate community IGA enterprises of forest dwellers Agri. and forest produces .He has worked for Conservation and Livelihoods: Ecotourism at Mangalajodi, Chilika to Facilitate Community Institution in managing Ecotourism at Mangalajodi in Ensuring Green Livelihoods and conservation Based Livelihoods at Critical Ecosystem, an Action Research based Livelihoods Project with dual reinforcement of conservation and peoples livelihoods implementing at Similipal Biosphere Reserve of Odisha State. [/expand] |
Mr. N. Sunil Kumar Head, Sustainable Banking India, NatWest Group and Head, NatWest India Foundation |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-16″ ] Mr. N. Sunil Kumar, Head, Sustainable Banking India, NatWest Group and Head, NatWest India Foundation (formerly RBS Foundation India). He has more than 2 decades of diverse experience in business strategy, public affairs, sustainability and communications with specialization on climate change/forest sector, environment. Have worked with Government institutions, International organizations and corporate sector. Mr. Sunil previously worked with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and served on the boards of Regional Rural Banks, National Biodiversity Authority’s Senior Expert Group on Access Benefit Sharing; MP Tiger Foundation Society, volunteering time for strategy and field work in NGOs. He studied in XLRI Jamshedpur and did the General Management Programme (GMP 2006-07), a wildlife enthusiast by his passion and travels across the forest landscapes in India and perfectly aligned the foundation’s mandate through partnerships with the civil societies for the supporting enterprises of the communities living around critical fragile ecosystems. Mr. Sunil is supporting the voluntary resettlement of villages living inside the core and buffer areas of Critical Tiger Habitats (CTHs) in India since 2006 in partnership with IGS and the State Forest Departments in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. [/expand] |
Dr. Ramesh Pratap Singh IFS (APCCF Retd.) |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-18″ ] Dr. Ramesh Pratap Singh, IFS (APCCF Retd.), Consultant and Advisor to Government of Madhya Pradesh. During his 35 years of service in the elite Indian Forest Service (IFS), Dr. Singh has undertaken several outstanding innovations and policy measures having powerful impact in field of wildlife conservation and forest management. His dedication to forest conservation has been awarded and recognised in illustrious private as well as public forums at the national and state level like Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Service Award (2017), RBS Green Warrior Award (2015), Prime Ministers Award for Wildlife Management (2016) and Chief Ministers Gold Medal for Relocation (2016). He is the person, who anchored voluntary relocation of villages from the Tiger Reserves in the state. Dr. Singh demonstrated this initiative by undertaking voluntary relocation of 42 villages (about 15,000 people) from core area of Satpura Tiger Reserve when he was Field Director during 2011-15. He later facilitated the relocation of 25 more villages from Sanjay Tiger Reserve, Nauradehi and Kheoni Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS). His efforts in Wildlife conservation & Enforcement through habitat improvements programme created thriving habitats for tigers & Barasingha in Kanha and Satpura Tiger Reserves and facilitated resurgence of endangered species from the brink – Eurasian and Smooth coated otter, Indian Skimmer, Indian grey wolf. He facilitated and mastered the task of releasing enclosure reared Tigers and Hard Ground Swamp Deer (Barasingha). When, he was the State Head of MP Special Task Force (STF), he built the momentum of provisioning of greater legal and structural powers to the STF. Dr. Singh also catalyzed several productive partnerships with CSR, Civil Societies, UN organizations and local communities to support conservation of wildlife and habitats. [/expand] |
Ms. Bharati Joshi Managing Director & CEO, Indian Grameen Services |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-1rs8″ ] She is currently the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indian Grameen Services (IGS), based in Kolkata. She has more than two decades of experience in the development sector. Her core competencies are in the areas of livelihoods sector strategizing and program development. She has been a development researcher, trainer, implementer and mentor, in diverse livelihood-focused initiatives. She has worked with community institutions and grassroot civil society organisations, facilitating their human and institutional capacity enhancement and governance improvement efforts. She has coordinated professional support to small NGOs through young development professionals. She has conceptualized and rolled out action research initiatives in the space of community-based natural resource management, livelihood portfolio diversification of the poor and migrant support. She has led and developed teams of livelihood professionals, set up and implemented systems to improve the quality of implementation of community-centered programs, and fortified the livelihood sector portfolios of the organizations she has worked with. Before joining IGS, she was leading the Economic Development Unit at CARE India Solutions for Sustainable Development. She holds a Masters in Extension for Natural Resource Based Livelihoods (as Commonwealth Scholar, from the University of Reading, UK) as well as an M.Sc. in Plant Molecular Biology (Delhi University), and Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (from Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal). [/expand] |
Ms Shilpa Vasavda Independent development professional |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-19″ ] Shilpa Vasavada is a Gender, Land and Livelihood professional with experience in advancing women’s land rights and gender mainstreaming in livelihoods, largely with the nonprofit sector in India. She is the founder convener of a network of women’s land rights issue in Gujarat. Issue of Women’s land rights issue has been close to her heart and she is associated with the issue in different capacities. Her proficiency in gender analysis and mainstreaming in agriculture has led her to look at the issue of climate change closely, including for gender mainstreaming in climate smart agriculture projects. She is a trained Social scientist from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and her field work has been largely in western, central and eastern states of India. [/expand] |
Ms.Karen Pineiro Research and documentation consultant, SWATI |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-21″ ] Karen Pineiro works with SWATI as a consultant and has 5 years of experience in gender, education, health, livelihoods and other social issues. [/expand] |
Ms Rachel McMonagl Climate Change and Land Tenure Specialist, Landesa |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-23″ ] Rachel McMonagle is a climate justice and land rights advocate and practitioner with experience advancing climate resilience efforts with a social justice focus through nonprofit and U.S. government initiatives. She has honed a theoretical proficiency in climate mitigation and adaption strategies with a technical expertise in sustainable agriculture and soil science. As Landesa’s climate change and land tenure programmatic lead, Rachel develops capacity to implement land tenure as a climate mitigation and adaptation strategy to advance interventions that yield positive outcomes for communities and the environment alike. Rachel holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment and a B.A. from Oberlin College. Her fieldwork includes experience in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe. [/expand] |
Ms Poonam Kathuria Director, SWATI |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-20″ ] Poonam kathuria is the director of Society for Women’s Action and Training Initiatives-SWATI (http://www.swati.org.in). Poonam has over 20 years of experience in a leadership role working for the prevention of gender-based violence, women’s empowerment & leadership. She is a founder member of the Working Group of Women and Land rights. She bridges the divide between practitioners and academia . Her latest work is an edited collection titled ‘Indian Feminisms- Individual and Collective Journeys [/expand] |
Ms Amy Coughenour CEO,Cadasta Foundation |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-22″ ] With over 28 years of experience, Amy is a results-oriented, mission-driven executive leader with a proven record of significantly growing organizations. Amy comes to Cadasta from the National Cooperative Business Association, CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) where she served as the Chief Operating Officer of International Programs from 2011 to 2018. In this role, she oversaw a team of over 800 staff and a near tripling of the portfolio in 20 countries across Africa, Latin America, and Asia working in resilience, food security, and rural development.Prior to her work at NCBA CLUSA, Amy worked as the Deputy Executive Director of the Pan American Development Foundation; the Deputy Director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Washington Director of the Center for Occupational Research and Development; and as the Vice President for North America for the International Vocational Education and Training Association (IVETA). She currently serves on the board of Interaction, the premier alliance of International NGOs working in humanitarian assistance and development. [/expand] |
Ms Kinjal P Coordinator, WGWLO |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-22z” ] Kinjal Pillai, Coordinator at Working Group for Women and Land Rights, Gujarat state based network committed to sustained grassroots action and policy advocacy around the issue of women’s land rights, including access and ownership over Land and other productive resources. Initiated in 2002, WGWLO today has a diverse membership of more than 40 NGOs and CBO (community based organization) and individuals with varied expertise, across 17 out of total 33 districts of Gujarat. Kinjal Pillai is a Sustainable Development Specialist working in the field of Sustainable. She has done her Masters in Environmental Planning (MTech) from CEPT University, Ahmedabad and has experience of 14 years in the field of sustainable development. Her interest area is working for resolving gender issues in focusing on building their resilience. She also has experience of working with communities, training and them on various aspects of sustainable development and building resilience on climate change. Currently she coordinates WGWLO and the three thematic areas vis., women and land rights, sustainable agriculture and forest rights. Women having land ownership empowers her and gives her decision-making power enabling her to take decision to move towards sustainable agriculture thus leading towards sustainable development. Her experience includes working in the field of climate change through adaptation projects ranging from preparation of State Action Plan of Climate change for Gujarat State to evaluating community based adaptation projects for Earth Care awards, (a climate change award where CEE is Knowledge partner) as an evaluator. [/expand] |
Prof Uchendu Eugene Chigbu Associate Professor, |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-1921″ ] Uchendu Eugene Chigbu is an Associate Professor (Land Administration) in the Department of Land and Property Sciences (DLPS) at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). He is a Co-Chair of the Research Cluster of the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), and an Associate Editor of the Journal, Land Use Policy (Elsevier). [/expand] |
Jonty Cogger Attorney I Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-19xx21″ ] Jonty Cogger is an attorney at Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre, an activist organization in Cape Town, where he specialises in constitutional property law and human rights litigation. He is part of a dynamic interdisciplinary team that has over the last five years sought to expand and protect access to affordable housing and to build a more equal and spatially just city. A central strategy of this team is to pressurise municipal planning authorities to realise their constitutional and statutory obligations to regulate land use in a manner that transforms racial and class-based segregation. He also represents various communities experiencing homelessness in litigation to challenge discriminatory practices at the hands of local law enforcement. He also holds a Ph.D. in Public Law at the University of Cape Town. [/expand] |
Helen Programme Director at DAG – Cape Town |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-19xax21″ ] Helen is a Programme Director at DAG – Cape Town based NGO. Helen has over seventeen years of experience in the urban development sector. Helen is the current project lead for a National Programme on Land Value Capture in partnership with the National Treasury Cities Support Programme and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy geared to providing technical support and training to metros. Over the last five years Helen has worked in partnership with the City of Cape Town and local civics around neighbourhood regeneration and social housing in the inner city which has resulted in the delivery of the first transitional housing project in Cape Town. Helen has extensive expertise in informal settlement upgrading and regularisation, including the coordination of the NUSP socio-technical assistance to the City of Cape Town for 32 informal settlements and pioneered the Hangberg in situ upgrade in 2008. [/expand] |
Dr K P Krishnan IEPF Chair Professor in Regulatory Economics |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-1922″ ] Dr K P Krishnan is the IEPF Chair Professor in Regulatory Economics. The Chair has been established with the support of the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority of the Government of India. Dr Krishnan leads a group focused on research and policy outreach in the broad area of regulatory and public economics, including concerns about investor protection and financial sector reforms, land policy and records, public finance and public administration, and law, economics, and justice. Before his retirement from public service in December 2019, Dr Krishnan was the Union Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Prior to that he was Special & Additional Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development; Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance; Principal Secretary, Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms in the Government of Karnataka (his parent cadre); Secretary to the PM’s Economic Advisory Council in New Delhi; Joint Secretary, DEA; Secretary Finance in Karnataka; Advisor to the Indian ED at the World Bank, Dr Bimal Jalan; and a number of other positions after joining the Indian Administrative Service in the 1983 batch. Trained in economics, finance, and law, Dr Krishnan has chaired or served as a member of several Government of India committees, including the Krishnan Committee on Cross Border Insolvency Rules/Regulation Committee, the Krishnan Committee on Comprehensive Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies, the T K Viswanathan Committee on Reform of Bankruptcy Laws in India; the Rangarajan High-level Expert Committee on Efficient Management of Public Expenditure; High-level Coordination Committee on Financial Markets chaired by the RBI Governor; and the Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms. Professor Krishnan has taught as a visiting professor at the Indian School of Business, at Ashoka University, as BOK Visiting International School Professor of Regulation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and he regularly lectures at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. He has published on a range of public policy issues in books, journals, and the mainstream media. Dr Krishnan holds a B.A. (Hons) in Economics from St Stephen’s College and an LL.B. degree from the University of Delhi, an M.A. in Economics from the University of Mysore, and a FPM/Ph.D. in Economics & Finance from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. [/expand] |
Ms Aparna Das Senior Technical Expert, GIZ |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-072X1″ ] Ms. Aparna Das got trained as an architect and later received a Master of Science degree in Urban Development Planning from Development Planning Unit, University College London. She was also a Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS) Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, during 2018-19. At present, she is working as a Senior Advisor in the Sustainable Urban Development – Smart Cities (SUD-SC) project of GIZ. She is working with the line ministries of Government of India at the central, state, and local level to implement various housing and urban development programmes. In a career spanning over twenty years, she has worked with different sector partners; national and international NGOs and other multi- and bilateral agencies, such as the World Bank, UNICEF, UNDP, DFID India. In recent years, she has been focusing on the contestations over land in urban areas and equity concerns in cities. [/expand] |
IAS (Retd.), Senior advisor to NCAER and IIHS and Senior Visiting Fellow at CPR |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-0721″ ] Mr. Deepak Sanan is the Senior Adviser at National Council of Applied Economic Research (CAER). He retired from the Indian Administrative Service in January 2017 where he was attached to the state of Himachal Pradesh. He held senior positions in public finance, land governance, and water and sanitation sectors at both the state and national levels. He also had significant tenures in the health, urban development and power sectors. Currently, he is an advisor for projects on water and sanitation and land governance at a number of institutions in India. He has been a Consultant with the World Bank, IFAD, DFID, IDS Sussex and AusAid. He has also served as the India Country Team Leader in the Water and Sanitation Program (South Asia) at the World Bank. [/expand] |
Mr R. Srinivas Head- Metropolitan and Union Territories Division of TCPO |
[expand title=”Profile Details” swaptitle=”Close” id=”22-07211″ ] Mr. R. Srinivas has been working in TCPO since 1991. He has done his Post Graduation in Urban and Regional Planning from IIT Kharagpur and Professional Masters in Urban Planning and Management from ITC Netherlands. He has been heading the Metropolitan and Union Territories Division of TCPO, and is responsible for rendering technical advice and assistance on various issues pertaining to planning and development of Delhi NCR and Chandigarh, and advising and assisting the Department. [/expand] |
