• Senior journalist in Guwahati and currently a columnist for The Diplomat, News18 & Moneycontrol
• Author of two books - Rendezvous With Rebels: Journey To Meet India's Most Wanted Men & Lens And The Guerrilla: Insurgency In India's Northeast
• Experiences - The Times Of India, The Indian Express, The Telegraph, Times Now (Chief of Bureau-Northeast), Founding Executive Editor of Seven Sisters Post
• Fellowship - Chevening Fellowship ( 2004-5)  

Dr. Monish Tourangbam is a Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, India. He is a Fellow at the Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies (KIIPS). Formerly, he was an Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi. He was a Visiting Faculty at the Department of Political Science, University of Cincinnati, Ohio. He was also a South Asian Voices (SAV) Visiting Fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Centre, Washington D.C. He was part of an India-China Track II Dialogue in 2019 and was an International Observer of the Russian Presidential Election held on 18 March 2018. He was a part of the Indian delegation at a BRICS Exchange Programme held in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 2017 organized by the Chinese Peoples’ Association for Peace and Disarmament, Beijing. He has participated in a number of conferences, including Asia Foundation’s Conference on ‘Asia’s Views on America’s Role in Asia’ and a Track II Dialogue on ‘Planning for the Worst: Nuclear Effect and Disaster Management in South Asia’ organized by the Stimson Center in collaboration with the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), Colombo. He holds a Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.

Dr. Pradeepkumar K.S.

Former Director, Health, Safety and Environment Group (HSEG), Head, Radiation Safety Systems Division & Distinguished Scientist (DS), BARC

Dr. Pradeepkumar, Ph.D. has experience of more than 35 years in the field of Radiological safety.  In addition, he has expertise in Nuclear Security, Environmental Impact assessment, and ‘prevention, preparedness, and response to nuclear and radiological emergencies.  As the Director, HSEG, and member of various safety committees, he ensured radiological safety in DAE’s nuclear and radiological facilities and their environment around. As   the designated   National Radiation Emergency Response Director (ERD), was responsible for the development of national-level preparedness and response to radiation emergencies.    He has carried out exhaustive studies on the impact of nuclear disasters, Nuclear accidents like Fukushima, and radiological emergencies including nuclear and radiological terrorism.

During the last decade, he    strengthened emergency preparedness   through the development of various state of the art detection systems and monitoring methodologies required for the prevention, detection, impact assessment, and response to nuclear and radiological emergencies/threats. Dr. Pradeepkumar was responsible for the development of the National Network of 25 DAE Emergency Response Centers for an effective response to radiation emergencies anywhere in the country and Integrated Centre for Crisis Management (ICCM) for BARC, Trombay site.  Under his initiative and leadership, the team   planned and conducted many Aerial gammas spectrometry surveys using the AGSS developed by them including joint aerial survey exercises with USA teams and mobile radiation monitoring exercises   for demonstrating the methodologies for radiological impact assessment during any nuclear and radiological threats/emergencies.

He was also associated with the development of international and national documents on emergency preparedness including the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) document on guidelines on ‘Nuclear & Radiological Emergency Response’.  Under his guidance, many training programs and exercises were carried out for the benefit of NDRF, Paramilitary Forces, Police, NSG, Customs officials, etc.  He   got more than 500 sensors of IERMON installed as a radiation early warning system and many Police vehicles got installed with a radiation detection system developed by his team and trained   police teams of various states to detect and respond to radiological threats.

Under his leadership, DAE’s   team responded effectively to the Mayapuri radiological emergency caused by Cobalt-60   source.  His expertise was utilized by IAEA for the prevention of radiological threats during World Cup football at South Africa and by the Government of India during the   Commonwealth Games (CWG), Delhi, and as an   expert/consultant to many   Committees constituted by IAEA, NDMA, MHA, MOD, MOH, AERB, etc.  Today He will be talking on ‘Prevention and Preparedness for a response to Nuclear and Radiological Threats’.

Armed with MS in Nuclear Engineering from the USA, Mr. J Nishanth Reddy brings in 20+ years of design & management experience in the areas of Nuclear Instrumentation and CBRN solutions to the Department of Atomic Energy, Defence, Homeland Security, Nuclear medicine. He is a life member of the Indian Society for Radiation Physics (ISRP), Indian Association for Radiation Protection (IARP), Indian Nuclear Society (INS), and Luminescence Society of India (LSI). He contributed technical papers in National & International journals.  

Academician

National Chairperson - JANJATIYA KSHETRA ADHYAYAN SAMOOH

President -CIPS-RF Chhttisgarh Initiated Peace Studies & Research Foundation

M. Sc., Ph.D., P. Doc (Defence Studies)

The ground of Research- Military Psychology

Core Area of Research - Maoist Insurgency & Counter-Insurgency, Defence Problems, Analysis & Man Management technique in the conflict zone

Research Experience: 10-11 years

Invented: Psy-Phy-Tech

Dimension of work - Captured & Surrendered Maoists, Security Forces, and people of the conflict zone.

Interviewed:15-20 Maoist

412 security personnel, officers, doctors, teachers, administrators, and many tribals

Worked more than 2000 tribal students 800 youths at South Bastar

Visited more than 422 villages dense Maoist affected zones where route and transportation were unimaginable... Covered all districts.

Published 35 research papers in national and international journals.

Attended 30 national and 3 International conference as resource person.

Published: 3 books

50 media coverage of research and 4 editorials

Invented 56 Formula and 10 cycles n 2 capsules # maoism

Regularly invited as a guest lecturer @State Police Academy

Presently working on 2 more dimension -Women in uniform Urban Maoism

Member - IDSA (Indian Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi)

National Chairperson -Janjatiy Kshetra Adhdhyan Samooh-FANS

Director - CIPS-RF, (Chhattisgarh Initiated Peace Studies & Research Foundation) Raipur

Awarded - Post Doctoral Fellowship from ICSSR, New Delhi

Ministry of human resources and development

Young Scientist CG from Chhattisgarh Council of Science and Technology

TRITTYYA RASHTRIYA MAHILA SHAKTI SAMMAAN, JHARKHAND

BEST DAUGHTER AWARD

NIRBHYAA SAMMAN 

Inspiring Women Samman

APRAJITA SAMMAN

SAMARPANN -Social Responsibility Award

An alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, the Naval War College, and the International Visitor Leadership Programme, USA, Commodore Seshadri Vasan has a distinguished command, staff, and instructional service of over 34 years in the Navy and the Coast Guard. His appointments include command of warships, two major air stations, and a maritime air squadron. He has participated both in the 1971 war and IPKF operations.  He was an instructor at the Naval War College, India. Prior to retirement, he was the Regional Commander of the Indian Coast Guard Region East overseeing EEZ Patrol, SAR, Anti-Piracy, Fisheries protection, Maritime Border Control, Marine Pollution prevention and other maritime tasks in the Bay of Bengal.

Post retirement he has served in many think tanks and is a regular speaker at many International and national conferences. He was also the Chairman of Aeronautical Society of India, Chennai Charter, and the President of the Navy Foundation Chennai Chapter.  He has many publications to his credit in journals, websites, edited books, and media. ?The details of the papers are at https://centerforasiastudies.academia.edu/SeshadriVasan. The think thanks that he has served in include the Observer Research Foundation where he steered the Maritime Security Programme, The Center for Asia Studies where he is the Head Strategy and Security Studies, Director of the Chennai Centre of China Studies, Director of the Asian Bureau of Worldborderpol and as the Regional Director of the National Maritime Foundation Tamil Nadu. He is also a visiting faculty at the Indian Maritime University, Academy of Maritime Education and Training, Great Lakes Institute of Management and Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology. He is also on the Board of Advisors at the Madras University and the Stella Maris College.

Abhinav Pandya, a Public Affairs graduate from Cornell University is the author of "Radicalization in India: An Exploration," (Pentagon Press, 2019) and a forthcoming book on terror financing in Kashmir. He is the co-founder of the Usanas Foundation, an India-based thinktank for geopolitics and security affairs. He has a field research experience of three years in Kashmir. His second book, " Terror Financing in Kashmir" will be released soon. 

 PM Heblikar retired as Special Secretary, Government of India in September 2010 after over 38 years of service. He is currently Managing Trustee, Institute of Contemporary Studies Bangalore (ICSB) – a not for profit think tank specializing in security and strategic affairs. He was a Visiting Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal University, Manipal (Karnataka) and formerly an Adjunct Faculty, International Security and Strategic Studies Program (ISSSP) at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) Bangalore. Besides, he was associated with the Christ University, Bangalore, and St. Josephs College, Bangalore in developing a new approach to the study of contemporary developments. 

In Dec 2011, he and two other like-minded individuals started a high-end next-generation security consultancy company in Bangalore to help bring new synergies to the world of private security and protection.  Importantly, the major objective is also to help expand India’s strategic footprints overseas. Details of the company can be viewed on the website www.maxgridsecuricor.com. He was a member of Asia Centre - Bangalore-based. He is a Life Member of the United Service Institution (USI), New Delhi. In April 2015, he was appointed as a Director on the Board of Singapore based Asian Dialogue Society (www.asiandialogue.com). He is on the Board of a Bangalore based IT company (www.smarttransformations.com) which specializes inter-alia  in providing training and offers solutions for Cyber Security, Blockchain Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Machine Learning. 

During his government service, he specialized in insurgency and counter-insurgency developments in India’s northeast region.  He held several important and sensitive posts in the central government dealing with external security-related issues. He was also on several committees dealing with cybersecurity policy, national telecom policy, the role of technology in national security, training including skills development and capacity building.

Following his retirement from government service, he has been writing for security and defense-related journals and for leading newspapers and magazines regularly besides participating in seminars and workshops, both in India and overseas. He has visited Taiwan to speak at the National Defense University and the Command and Staff College, Prospect Foundation as also at the National University of Singapore and Nangyang Technological University, Singapore. 

Mr. Heblikar was decorated by the Government of India for Distinguished and Meritorious Service respectively during his career. He was educated in Bangalore.  He plays golf and badminton for relaxation.

Col (Dr) Ram Athavale is an ‘81 Batch veteran Cavalier and an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, College of Military Engineering and Army War College. He has commanded an Armoured Regiment during Operation Parakram and held numerous General Staff appointments in his three decades plus active service. He has experience in an active insurgency in Manipur and at HQ Andaman & Nicobar Command in immediate post Tsunami resurgence.  He was last posted as Director CBRN at the Directorate of Perspective Planning, Army Headquarters.

Col Athavale is a specialist in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Security, Risk Mitigation, and Incident Management with more than two decades of experience. While being a qualified Tank technologist, he holds an MSc in Defence and Strategic Studies, a Certificate in Disaster Management, a Fellowship in CBRN Disaster Management, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HR) and a Ph.D. for his Doctoral research in CBRN Terrorism and its Crisis and Consequence Management in India.

Col Athavale has been a Key Advisor to the Govt of India (MoD and MHA) on CBRN Security and Incident Management.  His areas of focus are CBRN Security for Critical Infrastructure and High Visibility Events. Dr. Athavale was appointed as a Key CBRN Expert for the European Union CBRN Risk Mitigation Centers of Excellence initiative (EU CBRN CoE). He was deployed in the Eastern and Central Africa region from Sep 2015 to Sep 2018, where he advised top Government authorities of eleven partner countries on a wide range of CBRN risk mitigation matters.

 Presently based at Pune, India, he functions as a CBRN Security, Risk Mitigation, and Incident Management Consultant. Professor Athavale is a Visiting Faculty at some Indian and overseas universities, academic institutions, and military training establishments on CBRN subjects and Disaster Management. Notable is the UN, IAEA, OPCW, and NATO recognized Masters in CBRNe Protection course at University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy. A prolific writer in CBRN journals and magazines, he has been a preferred CBRN subject speaker at many international seminars and conferences. He has also authored a pioneering book on ‘CBRN Incident Management in India’, titled “Toxic Portents”. His work details and publications are on his personal website www.chebiran.com.

Dr. Sundararaman K S is a well-known personality in the field of Technical Textiles in India and also in the field of Technical Education. Born on 15/4/1973. He is currently the Managing Director of SHIVA TEXYARN LIMITED and the Managing Trustee of the FIREBIRD INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH IN MANAGEMENT. Dr. Sundararaman K S holds an MBBS Degree in his undergraduate studies and Masters in Business Management from Cambridge University, U.K.

Over the last twenty years he has held multiple positions in distinguished companies in the fields of Marketing, Production, R&D, Technical Education and others.  In the course of the last seventeen years in the Technical Textile industry he has been credited with a few original innovations which have commercially been successful both within India and Abroad.

SHIVA TEXYARN today is a successful multifaceted Textile Company, which manufactures a range of high tech textile products both for common use as well as for specialized industries like Defense. He used to run a very large Engineering College and currently he is mentoring a new International Business School in Coimbatore, The FIREBIRD INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH IN MANAGEMENT. He has been a member in various business forums at a national level. He has been the past Chairman CII Coimbatore, Education Convener CII, Tamilnadu. He is currently the Chairman of the INDIAN TECHNICAL TEXTILE ASSOCIATION & Vice Chairman THE SOUTHERN INDIA MILLS ASSOCIATION.  He sits on the boards of Public Limited Companies, And also on the Governing Councils of Textile Associations. He is currently also the Trustee on the board of the GLOBAL KONGU FOUNDATION. 

An alumnus of the prestigious National Defence Academy, and the Technical Staff College, Colonel KV Kuber, super-specialized in Electronic Warfare. Commanded an Electronic Warfare Regiment (Divya Drishti: Panchajanya) in operations and has conducted EW operations in Western, and Eastern theatres, both in conventional and insurgency environments. He has been an Instructor at the National Defence Academy in training potential officers.

Summary of Achievements are:-

• Born in Srirangam (17 Sep 1960), Trichy District and studied at Sainik School Korukonda, AP; joined the National Defence Academy(NDA) in 1977.
• Indian Army, Corps of Signals: 1981 till Jan 2009; a distinguished career with Presidential awards.
• Commanded an EW Regiment in operations dominating Pakistan. Controlled EW over complete NE, dominating Burma and Bangladesh.
• Director, Capital Acquisitions Programs, in MoD from 2005 till 2009. Handled all capital acquisitions of Army, Navy, Airforce, and ICG, more than 500 programs worth lacs of crores.
• Founded and established the (Defence Offset Facilitation Agency) DOFA in the Ministry of Defence and was the chief architect of the offset policy of the government of India since its inception in 2005. 
• Religare Capital Markets Ltd: Executive VP Investment Banking: 2010
• Advisor NSIC, Ministry of MSME: From June 2012 till June 2014.
• Invited by Embraer to visit their facility, Sao Paulo.
• Advisor with E&Y as an SME to date. Invited by Raytheon to their facility in Boston and delivered a talk on Indian Policies and Procedures and opportunities analysis therein.
• Invited by Government of Australia for energizing the Australian Defence industry in Indian Defence business. Visited major cities and Defence companies of Oz.
• Invited by Rafael Advance Systems to Israel, for a talk on DPP and Offsets.
• Provide thought leadership in terms of steering discussions in various forums and writing articles in magazines.
• Advisor- HQ DRDO, Apr 2014 to Apr 2015 for technology Transfers and Offsets.
• Advisor with DRDO-FICCI ATAC Programme for commercialization of technologies. Honorary Advisor with FICCI Defence division.
• Founded the Sugosha Advisory in April 2017 and Sugosha Media in April 2018, with a primary focus to facilitate MSMEs in Defence Business as also DefInSights, an e-magazine focused on procurements.
• Active Member of ELCINA, FICCI, ASSOCHAM and Ph.D. Chambers to guide and help their members with policies and procedures in Defence.
• Member of National Committee of Experts for the formulation of DPP 2016, the Dhirendra Singh Committee, constituted by Hon'ble RM. Formulated the DPP 2016.
• Have advised many companies in Offsets and DPP to enable industry participation, especially the small industries. Provided government advisory also.
• Provide thought leadership in the sector. Have been on a number of government committees like the Technology Acquisition Committee and others.
• Have presented papers at International offsets Forums such as GOCA.
• Presently, Director Aerospace and Defence, E&Y India. Providing advice to Government, Foreign OEM and Indian industry primarily on Offsets and Industry participation.

RADM Shrikhande graduated from the NDA. His qualifications include Masters from the Soviet Naval War College, St Petersburg (1985-88) in ASW and Weapon Engineering; MSc From Staff College (1995), MPhil from the Indian Naval War College and highest distinction from the US Naval War College (2003). He has served long years at sea, commanded three ships, and been defense attaché in Australia and other South Pacific nations. Ashore he has been commander of War Room at NHQ headed the IN’s Tactical Evaluation Group and was a founding member as a captain of the IN’s Strategy and Operations Council. In flag rank he has been head of Naval Intelligence; Chief of Staff of SNC; Joint HQ staff duties and in the nuclear forces command and Flag Officer Doctrines and Concepts before requesting early retirement in July 2016. As a veteran, he continues teaching at several institutions including the NDC, all War colleges, and the CDM as well as the NDA and INA spanning strategy, operational art, RMA, Peloponnesian War, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, leadership, and ethics. He has participated in Track 1.5 discussions with China and the US and is associated with the Vivekananda International, Observer Research, and the National Maritime Foundations, National Security Council Secretariat as well as other institutions. He has presented papers in several notable Indian and international conferences and workshops and is pursuing his Ph.D. at Mumbai University in sea-based nuclear deterrence. He writes for a few Indian and foreign portals and journals from time to time. He lives in Goa where he is associated (in honorary capacities) with the State Ex- servicemen’s welfare committees and the Navy Foundation.

Gp Capt Ajey Lele (Retd) is a Senior Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. His specific areas of research include issues related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Strategic Technologies. He holds a masters in Physics (Pune University) and doctorate in International Relations (JNU, New Delhi). He has authored a few books.

Rup Sen has been associated for over the last 21+ years with some of the biggest brands in the Aerospace, Defence, Automotive and Software sectors including HAL, GM, and Bosch as well as the Indian Ministry of Defence on various initiatives in Engineering/Technology, Strategy, Innovation, and Leadership/Management.

He is an alumnus of prestigious academic institutes including BITS Pilani, University of Calicut and the Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore.

He believes in changing modern India by Design Thinking and Technology as enablers led by Transformational Leadership.

He is based out of Bangalore and enjoys spending his time with his family and two wonderful kids as well as his friends. He is fluent in 8 languages and enjoys sketching, sculpting, cooking, and listening to music in his spare time.

Smita Purushottam served as Ambassador to Venezuela (Jan 2012 - Jun 2015), Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Holy See (Aug 2015-Oct 2017). In Switzerland, she transformed the sleepy bilateral relationship with 3 Summits held in rapid succession due to greater realisation of the benefits of a stronger partnership with the world’s No. 1 country in Innovation, international competitiveness, vocational education, and environmental performance. Concrete progress was achieved on black money and Swiss support for India’s NSG candidature. Several investment commitments from high-tech Swiss firms were received during her tenure.

She also served in India’s missions abroad as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India in Berlin, Minister (Political) at the High Commission of India, London, the Embassy in Brussels, and Language-trainee and Information Second Secretary at the Embassy of India, Moscow. She made unique contributions to her assignments. Her most formative experience was as Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Indian Embassy in Beijing, where she had the opportunity to see Chinese economic reforms first-hand, which she analysed and relayed back to India. She spent a year as a Fellow at Harvard during 2000-2001 where she prepared a paper “Can India Overtake China?” (2001), in which she compared the two economies and their respective reform experiences; analysed the ongoing reforms in the Indian economy focusing on the telecom sector, aviation, privatization attempts and IT, and recommended building a strong manufacturing sector like China had. She emphasised the importance of embedded technology, now called the IoT, and predicted the success of the ongoing telecom sector reforms in India. Since then, her focus switched to China’s Science & Technology Advances and her publications focused on innovation ecosystems inspired by her study of China.

She served also as Joint Secretary at the Foreign Service Institute (MEA), New Delhi; Joint Secretary in the Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters in MOD; Director/Under Secretary (East Europe/Russia/Soviet Union) and SAARC, and Under Secretary (Bhutan) in MEA. She was perhaps one of the few people who predicted that Glasnost and Perestroika would lead to the unwinding of Communist Party rule in the USSR, which was ignored. She predicted the disruptive effects of China’s tech acquisitions spree and ODI for Europe’s technological base and even EU unity, all of which are coming true (the article was rejected as too speculative but that is exactly what is happening), and that China’s S & T advances contained a powerful challenge for India.

She also attended courses at the National Defence University, Washington in July-August 2002, and the Workshop on the Relationship Between National Security and Technology in China at the University of California, San Diego, in July-August 2013. She attended the High-Performance Leadership course at IMD, Lausanne in May 2017. She joined the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi in 2010, as Senior Fellow and also attended a few evening business management classes at VUB, Brussels.  She was admitted with a full Fellowship for a Ph.D. program at an Ivy league University - Cornell - in 1980 but could not join as she qualified for the Indian Foreign Service in the same year, after briefly teaching in Delhi University. Her publications/ predictions regarding bridging the increasing gap in S & T with China have been validated by current developments.  She also started the High-Tech Defence Innovation Forum to promote high-tech indigenous science and industry, and also the Eurasia cluster to revive studies on this region.

She is the Founder of the non-profit Do Tank “SITARA”, a Science, Indigenous Technology and Advanced Research Accelerator, to bring increased vigour to the indigenisation of high-tech production and building a Science Nation in India.

She was a member of the Board of Studies and Adjunct Professor (without remuneration) at the Bharatiya Skills Development University, Jaipur/ Dr. Rajendra and Ursula Joshi Foundation, an organisation which she discovered and extended full support to during her stay in Switzerland. BSDU is adapting the world-renowned Swiss vocational education system to Indian conditions.

Ms. Purushottam has been published widely in reputed journals and newspapers in India and abroad. 

A Gold Medallist from Punjab University. He has pursued B.E (Hons) in Civil Engineering and subsequently earned his Post-Graduation, specializing in Structures. He is a Fellow of Institute of Engineers. He has done his Master Diploma in Management from Symbiosis and Masters in Management Studies from Osmania University. He has served instructor and directing staff in a number of prestigious establishments and institutions. He has also served as Defence Adviser at Mauritius.

Rajinder Singh Bhatia is currently employed with USD 3 Billion Kalyani Group. A leading Engineering Conglomerate headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra as President & CEO, Defence, and Aerospace. Under him, Kalyani Group has forged partnerships and collaborated with major Defence and Aerospace OEMs of the world including Elbit Advanced Systems and Rafael Advanced Systems of Israel. He is a senior member of the CII National Defence Committee, Executive Member of the SIDM Board and FICCI National Committee on Defence. He is currently Chairman of the CII WR Sub Committee of Defence and Chairman of the SIDM Sub Committee on Land Systems.

He is Chairman of the Board of Analogic Control Systems, KRAS (A joint venture between Rafael and KSSL), BFPEL, and Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited. He is also Executive Director on the Board of BF ELBIT Advanced Systems.

In his previous company, he headed the Land Systems and International Business for nearly seven years before joining Kalyani Group. He was instrumental in setting up and operating a Greenfield plant for the manufacture of defence equipment in a record time equipped with world-class facilities. He was also a member of the group strategy team and worked closely with BCG for two years for developing a business strategy for the Group.

He has been the member of various Task Forces like Kelkar Committee, Dhirendra Singh Committee and was also nominated as Chairman of Subgroup for Macro Process & Management for selection of Strategic Partners.

Shri Prakash Tripathi is the founder President of DISA. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, he last served as Joint Director General of Foreign Trade in the government of India. He has a distinguished career in civil services and held several senior positions in the government sector, particularly in international trade and high technology commerce. He was one of the lead negotiators on the Indo US nuclear deal in 2006 that freed India from sanctions from global technology control regimen like NSG, MTCR, Wassenaar arrangements. He has extensive experience in export controls and promoting high tech commerce between India and global companies."

Lieutenant General Ashok Bhim Shivane, is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune, and joined the Indian Army in Dec 1978. A scholar warrior with over 39 years plus of unblemished and outstanding career in the Indian Army , he has excelled in all spheres. During his career span, he has represented India at the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Guatemala, was in charge of anti-terrorist operations in J&K from 1997 to 1999, was in charge of Perspective Planning and Future Restructuring  of Indian Army and finally the coveted appointment of Director General Mechanised Forces of Indian Army. He commanded the oldest and operationally employed offensive formation of Indian Army - the elite Strike Corps at Mathura from 2104 to 2015, responsible for offensive into Pakistan during war. He was awarded by President of India, PVSM (2017), AVSM (2016), & VSM (2009) besides Chief of Army Staff Commendation and Army Commander Commendations,  for distinguished service of the highest order. Subsequently he was bestowed the rare honour of being nominated Honorary Aide-de-Camp to President of India in July 2017, in recognition of his distinguished services.

The General is  renowned nationally and internationally speaker on leadership, counter terrorism, motivational talks,  geo- strategy , geo politics, national security, space  capability building, defence capability building and make in India, military technology and international relations. Post Pulwama 2019, he had enunciated strategy to tackle proxy war “Hit Hard, Hit Where it Hurts and Hurt where it Lasts” and several others, which possibly found their way in formulating the response. These publications are available on his LinkedIn profile. He has also chaired and been key note speaker at several international and national seminars including Chairman of the Indo-Russian Land System Conference.  He is an acclaimed defence analyst has several publications to his credit including a recent book/research paper released by the Rajya Raksha Mantri. The General is a keen sports man, a part time poet and a lover of nature and music. General Shivane is presently Consultant to Ministry of Defence  (Ordinance Factory Board) and residing in Gurgaon. The General is married and has two daughter who are well settled.

The detailed profile of the General is on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/lt-gen-a-b-shivane-pvsm-avsm-vsm-retd-137a60128) and he has featured in various interviews listed in You Tube(https://youtu.be/gftNEb-m_Mk).

Lt Gen A K Singh (Retd) the erstwhile Lt Governor of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry, Ex GOC in C Southern Command has been an alumnus of NDA, Staff College Camberley, UK, Malinovsky Tank Academy, Moscow & the Higher Command & National Defence College courses. He is one of the few officers to have trained with both the NATO & Warsaw Pact at the height of cold war.

Known for his high integrity and professionalism, the General is looked upon as a role model by large numbers in the Armed Forces.

The General has commanded the 7th Cavalry, a T-90 Tank Brigade, an Armoured Division, and the most powerful Strike 1 (Corps) and has the distinction of conceiving and executing some of the largest ever manoeuvres in recent times. He has tenanted key Operational appointments including Brigade Major of the Kargil Brigade, three appointments in Military operations Directorate, headed the foreign division of the army & was also the Director-General Perspective Planning, where he drew up the long-term perspective of the Indian Army.

After distinguished service in the Armed Forces, Lt Gen A K Singh was entrusted with the responsibility of Administrator/Lt Governor of A&N Islands on Jul 13 and later concurrently assumed the charge of Lt Governor of Puducherry in Jul 14, where he made a great difference with his unique qualities of head & heart. The General is remembered in both the UTs for his high integrity, professional approach, and caring attitude for the common man. Development initiatives and projects were fast-tracked, and many citizens refer to his tenure as the Golden period.  He completed his tenure on Aug 16.

He has been a member of Prime Minister's Team India, as also a member of the National Development Council and Inter-State Council. The General has been decorated with numerous awards both related to defence as well as civil. The General is a frequent speaker at defence and civil forums and contributes to the print media.

Presently he is an Independent Director and Advisor with various firms/educational institutions including O P Jindal Global University, where he also teaches an ‘Elective’ on “National Security, Military Strategy and Governance.” The General is also a distinguished fellow with Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS). His book “Military Strategy for India in the 21st Century” has been published recently. His blog may be accessed at ak7cav.in 

1. Commodore Udai Rao was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1st Jan 1974. He is a Specialist in “Missiles and Gunnery” and was a part of the commissioning crew of INS Rajput in the then Soviet Union from 1978-1980.
2. During his 32 years of naval service, he has served in various appointments, both ashore and afloat, with rich command, staff, and administrative experience.  He has commanded three frontline ships, INS Kavaratti, INS Hosdurg, and INS Gomati as also other shore units. He holds an MSc (Defence Studies) degree from Madras University and is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) Wellington. He has subsequently also been a Directing Staff on the faculty of DSSC Wellington. He has undergone the “Army Higher Command Course” at Army College of Combat, Mhow, M.P
3.  He was a part of IPKF operations and was Indian Naval Commander (INCOM) at Kankesanturai in Northern Sri Lanka in 1987. Earlier he had patrolled the Palk bay extensively while in command of INS Kavaratti.  He has also served as Chief Staff Officer (Operations) at Navy Office in Chennai from 1994 – 1996 where he oversaw operations such as OP TASHA in the Palk Bay, Gulf of Mannar, and in the waters around Sri Lanka.
4. An important appointment that he held was that of Principal Director Naval Intelligence (PDNI) at Naval Head Quarters, New Delhi for a period of five years from 2001 to 2006 including during OP PARAKRAM.
5. Commodore Rao has the distinction of having served as a Director in the Cabinet Secretariat where he set up the Maritime Division and handled strategic and security issues at the National level. He has also been a Diplomat at our mission in the Fiji Islands with concurrent accreditation to the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
6. Commodore Rao’s areas of interests include Maritime and Coastal Security, Maritime Diplomacy, Blue Economy. Indian Ocean issues, China in the IOR, Intelligence and Security issues, and Geo-Political & Geo Strategic issues impinging on the Maritime Domain pertaining to countries and areas of interest to India.
7. Cmde Rao is a recipient of the ‘Binoculars’ on being adjudged the best cadet onboard INS Krishna in 1972. He was awarded the Lentaigne memorial medal for the best dissertation while undergoing the Staff Course at DSSC, Wellington in 1986. He has received the Chief of Naval Staff’s Commendation on two occasions.
8. Cmde Udai Rao superannuated from Government service in Sep 2013 and has settled down in Bangalore. He keeps himself busy writing and talking on ‘Matters Maritime’ at universities/colleges/think tanks etc.   
9. He is closely associated with the Coastal Security Police of Karnataka and has conducted harbor and sea work up the training of Coastal Security personnel between 2015-2018. He has also conducted harbor and sea training of the Customs Marine Wing Mangalore and Mumbai respectively in 2019. He also occasionally writes for Deccan Herald, Hindu Business line, the Week, and some online newspapers on maritime subjects.

 He is currently on the adjunct faculty of Rashtriya  Shakti University Gandhinagar, Gujarat and is a trustee of the Institute of Contemporary Studies Bangalore (ICSB).

Prof. Amit Das is alumni of BHU with 18 years of teaching experience in higher education and research. Presently heading the Centre for AI & Machine Learning, The ICFAI University Dehradun. His area of research is AI, Cognitive Computing, and Nature-based Computing. Prof. Das also takes an interest to deploy such technologies in the field of Defense, National Security & Digital Diplomacy. He is constant China Watcher for Strategic AI & Technological warfare.  

Chris Biggers is Hawkeye360’s Insights Director where he investigates and applies Hawkeye and other commercial remote sensing data to intelligence problems. Prior to Hawkeye, he worked at Planet Labs as their Defense and Intelligence Lead showing how 3 m data could support national security. Before transitioning to the commercial sector, he worked for the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Shri Vaidyanathan R Iyer (Vaidy), Chief of Operations, IBM Security Command Center, Asia Pacific, has thirty-three years of experience in the IT Industry of which more than 20 years have been in the Information Security domain. He has been associated with organizations like Apple Computer, Computer Associates, Intransa Inc, etc. where he has led various initiatives in Sales, Marketing, Channel Management, Training, and business development.

He has been with IBM since March 2009 when he joined Global Technology Services and was responsible for the security product and services business.

Vaidy graduated with distinction from New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, New York and holds an M.S in Management.

Vaidy is a CISA, CISM, COBIT 5 (foundation), Prince 2 Certified and a regular speaker at major Information security events and conferences. He is also on the empaneled speaker list for IBM to speak at WW security events. He is also associated with IBM Cyber Security Education initiatives.

• Founder and CEO – CyBureau - The Cyber Empowerment Center, Romania, Israel;
• Head of Cybersecurity Studies – Information Systems Program, School of Economics and Management, The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo;
• Lecturer at several academic institutions in Israel;
• Expert and researcher of the Internet and Cyber threats in the Middle East and the entire world;
• Holds Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies from Bar-Ilan University, Israel (Dissertation: “Changes in Governmental Restrictions over the Use of Internet in Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between the Years 2002 – 2005”);
• Served as a keynote speaker at international conferences; and has been interviewed as an expert cyber commentator on all major Israeli media outlets.

Mr. Ariit Sengupta is an MBA graduate from IIM Jammu. He is currently employed in the Financial Services industry wherein he specialises in Private Equity. He also holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from Indian Maritime University. He was engaged in R&D activities for three years at the Indian Register of Shipping. He is deeply interested in Economics, Supply Chain, and International relations. With diverse experience and interests, he understands that research is the prime mover for effective decision making.

1. Air Marshal Daljit Singh was commissioned in the Fighter stream of the Indian Air Force, in June 1976. During his illustrious career of 38 years in the Air Force, the Air Mshl has flown more than 3500 hours on fighters, including the Gnat, Hunter, MiG 21, Jaguar, Su 30, and the Mirage 2000. He commanded a Mirage 2000 squadron and a major Fighter Base. At Air Headquarters, he has held major key staff appointments including that of Director (Electronic Warfare), Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Air Defence) and Director General (Air Operations). He retired in October 2014 as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of an Operational Command.
2. The Air Marshal is presently the Senior Defence Consultant and he has been regularly participating in International EW and AD Seminars.