Advisory Board

Ravi Bhoothalingam, is an Emeritus Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi. His interests lie in the Chinese economy, history, and Confucianism. Mr. Bhoothalingam holds a B.Sc Hons in Physics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and an M.A. in Experimental Psychology from Cambridge University, United Kingdom. He has also pursued an Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School. Under the mentorship of renowned scientist and sinologist Joseph Needham, Mr. Bhoothalingam received specialized training in psycholinguistics, scientific Method, and Chinese culture. Throughout his career, Mr. Bhoothalingam has held prominent leadership positions in various fields both in India and abroad. He has served as the President of The Oberoi Group of Hotels, the Head of Personnel Worldwide with BAT plc in London, the Managing Director of VST Industries Ltd. in Hyderabad, and the Director of ITC Ltd. in Kolkata. Additionally, he has contributed his expertise as an independent director on several corporate boards and as a member of the Court of Governors of the Administrative Staff College of India. Mr. Bhoothalingam played the role of moderator at the Aspen Leadership Seminars in India, organised by the Aspen Institute, Colorado, USA. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London, and actively participates in the China Core Group of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Mr. Bhoothalingam is also the Founder and Chairman of Manas Advisory, which focuses on top management coaching, integrating psychological science with on-ground management experience. He has written extensively about how the application of science and psychology can enhance understanding between India and China.

Tarun Das is an Indian industrialist, corporate executive, writer and a former Chief Mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).He served CII from 1967 to 1974 as its director general and from 1974 to 2004 as its chief executive.

Das, who did his college education at the University of Calcutta and Manchester University, is a recipient of honoris causa degree of Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of Warwick. He has chaired the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue and the U.S.-India -Japan Strategic Dialogue and has served many corporate houses such as Haldia Petrochemicals, Associated Cement Companies, John Keells Holdings, Asian Hotels and Properties, Bajaj Auto Finance and New Delhi Television as their director. A former member of the International Advisory Board of Coca-Cola, he is a trustee of the Indian chapter of the Aspen Institute.The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2006, for his contributions to Indian trade and industry.

Ranjit Barthakur is an ardent advocate of social entrepreneurship. He is currently focused on improving human health and education, and preserving culture and environment. Barthakur is the chief architect of the vision behind NaturenomicsTM which was developed in collaboration with Globally Managed Services (GMS), and has co-founded several initiatives in the same vein. NaturenomicsTM is about community conservation and addressing the challenges of social inequality through the concept of developing Re- ruralisation

Prasenjit Duara is the Oscar Tang Chair of East Asian Studies at Duke University.  Born and educated in India, he received his PhD in Chinese history from Harvard University. He was Professor of History and East Asian Studies at University of Chicago (1991-2008) and Raffles Professor and Director of Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore (2008-2015).

His books include Culture, Power and the State: Rural North China, 1900-1942 (Stanford Univ Press) winner of Fairbank Prize of the AHA and Levenson Prize of the AAS, USA, Rescuing History from the Nation (U Chicago 1995), Sovereignty and Authenticity: Manchukuo and the East Asian Modern (Rowman 2003) and The Crisis of Global Modernity: Asian Traditions and a Sustainable Future (Cambridge 2014). He was awarded the doctor philosophiae honoris causa from the University of Oslo in 2017.

Pheroza J. Godrej is an art-historian, and a Ph.D. in Ancient Indian Culture. She is a member of the Board of Studies for the Department of Ancient Indian Culture of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.  In 1971, she founded the Cymroza Art Gallery, and has written and co-edited publications and curated several highly-acclaimed exhibitions in leading National and International Museums. She is a member of the Apex Committee of the National Gallery of Modern Art; former Chairperson of the Advisory Committee of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai; Chairperson of the Museum Society of Mumbai; President Emeritus of the National Society of the Friends of the Trees; former Vice President of the Bombay Natural History Society, and Chairperson of the Godrej Archives Council. 

 

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.

Rajendra Pawar is an alumnus of Scindia School, Gwalior and Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. He graduated from the IIT, Delhi in 1972 and was awarded an Honorary Doctoral Degree by the Rajiv Gandhi Technical University in 2005.Pawar has played active role in instituting quality processes and Phil Crosby's Complete Quality Management System in NIIT. Pawar is a member of the National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development. He heads the Quality Committees of various Industry bodies, including the South African President's International Advisory Council (PIAC) on Information Society.

Romila Thapar is an Indian historian whose principal area of study is ancient India. She is the author of several books including the popular volume, A History of India, and is currently Profesor Emerita at Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) in New Delhi. 

Kallam Satish Reddy is an Indian business executive, and Chairman of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories.Reddy holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University, and an M.S. in Medicinal Chemistry from Purdue University. Since 1993, Reddy was the Executive Director in charge of the manufacturing operations of active pharmaceutical ingredients and formulations, research and development activities and new product development at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and also served as its Chief Operating Officer.In 2015, he was appointed as the Chief of National Safety Council (India).