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Biographies

Sanjay K Agrawal DDG DM, DoT Mr. Sanjay Agrawal, a gold medalist in Computer Science from IIT Delhi, serves as Deputy Director General (Disaster Management) in the Ministry of Communications, New Delhi. With extensive experience in Telecom, Road Infrastructure, and IT sectors, he specializes in Project Planning, Implementation, and Disaster Management. Passionate about disaster management, he led the pan-India implementation of the Early Warning Alert Dissemination system, which is a largest global implementation till date. Mr Agrawal is currently involved in developing the Next Generation unified Network for Public Protection and Disaster Relief Agencies. Recognized for his contributions, Mr. Agrawal has received prestigious awards including the Rashtriya Sanchar Seva Padak and the Vishishta Sanchar Seva Padak. Internationally, he represents India as an Expert Member in the International Standards Organization, contributing to the development of Global Intelligent Transport System Standards. He is also the Vice Chair of the ITU Focus Group on AI for DRR. He also holds membership in the Expert Advisory Group on Road Information Systems of CRRI, New Delhi. He has authored numerous national and international publications including the Times Group.
Madhu Arora Member (Technology), Digital Communications Commission Smt. Madhu Arora completed her graduation from Delhi University and her post-graduation from the University of Queensland, Australia. In 1988, she commenced her career with the Indian Telecom Services, dedicating approximately thirty six years to various roles within the Government of India and its PSUs including BSNL and MTNL. Starting as a Subdivisional Officer at MTNL in Faridabad, she oversaw the expansion and maintenance of crucial infrastructure, ensuring uninterrupted communication at the E10B RLU exchange in Badarpur. This early role laid the foundation for her subsequent positions, such as Divisional Engineer and Assistant Divisional Engineer at the E10B Exchange Janpath, where she refined her skills in maintenance and subscriber service. Transitioning to Assistant General Manager at MTNL Delhi, she led equipment planning for advanced switching technologies, facilitating the smooth integration of systems from Alcatel, Siemens, and AT&T into network modules. Venturing into the governmental sphere as Deputy Secretary to the Government of India in 1997, she coordinated a vital World Bank-assisted project on technician education, influencing national policies in higher and technical education. This experience prepared her for her subsequent role as Director at the Department of Telecommunications, where she managed critical services and operational matters for BSNL. Subsequently, as General Manager ( Restructuring ) at BSNL, she spearheaded "Project SHIKHAR" collaborating with industry experts for BSNL’s transformation towards improved performance. During her tenure as Chief General Manager of BSNL's West Bengal Telecom Circle during 2021-23, significant improvements were achieved across all domains, encompassing enhanced financial performance & improved operational KPIs . Smt. Madhu Arora further ascended in her career, assuming the role of Member (Technology) at DCC (Digital Communications Commission), Ministry of Telecom, effective April 1, 2024. In this esteemed position, she is entrusted with initiating policy decisions, driving technological advancements, and leading strategic decision-making in the telecommunications sector.
Apoorva Bose Programme Coordinator, UNCCD’S G20 Global Land Initiative Apoorva Bose is an International Human Rights lawyer who works as the Programme Coordinator (Capacity Building) at G20 Global Land Initiative at UNCCD. She holds a Master’s degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, and did her Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies from the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, India. Her areas of expertise range from environmental and humanitarian law to development communications and programme coordination. Prior to joining UNCCD, she worked as a Communications and Community Engagement Expert at UNEP and as a Legislative Assistant to a Member of the Indian Parliament. At UNEP, Apoorva was involved in the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), and oversaw the Disasters and Conflicts Branch’s communications strategy. Apoorva’s professional experience extends beyond jurisprudence and communications. She has donned many hats; an actress in the Malayalam film industry, a singer, a voice artist, and a classically-trained dancer. She is also a TEDx speaker and was awarded the “30 under 30” recognition for lawyers and legal influencers by BW Businessworld in 2021.
Anil Gupta, Head of Division, International Cooperation, Director of Projects & CoE, National Institute of Disaster Management Dr. Anil Kumar Gupta (Professor) is a resilience and sustainability strategist, internationally recognized as a global DRR leader. He is recently pronounced as NBS man of India in the 15 years ecoDRR global review meeting at UNEP/UNDRR/UNCCD in UN Campus Germany 2024. He is full Professor (at the level of Joint Secretary, GOI) of Policy and Strategies at India's National Institute of Disaster Management (Ministry of Home Affairs), head of Environment, Climate and DRM Division, International Cooperation, and Director of Projects and COEs. He has steered several international and national projects and programmes in cooperation with UN agencies – UNEP, UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, WFP, other international bodies like GIZ Germany, ICIMOD, IUCN, IGES Japan, CDKN, ISETUS, ICRC, Keio University Japan, ANU Australia, UNU-EHS Bonn, Central Ministries, ICSSR, CPCB, GEAG, FICCI, etc. He is Chief Editor - Springer Nature book series ‘Disaster Resilience and Green Growth’. He represented at several international forums, delegations abroad and contributed to negotiation, cooperation dialogues and bilateral MoUs. At present, Dr. Gupta is Chief PI/PD of innovative strategic project "National Highway Climate Adaptation Policy and Guidelines", Head of "COE on Climate, Disasters and Health" under MoH&FW/NPCCHH, PI/PD of “Chemical-Industrial Safety and Emergency Response CapacityPromotion” project with DCPC/MoC&F and ‘NDMP of Food & PD Sector” with MoFPD/FCI. He is known for strategic and policy contributions at national and sub-national levels including National Disaster Management Plan, Climate Action Plans (National, States), Sectoral DRR Plans (of Central Ministries – Agriculture & FW, MoEFCC, DCPC/MoCF, MoAYUSH), National Drought Management Manual, National DRR Human Resource Capacity Building Plan, National Health Adaptation Plan, National Action Plan on Chemical Disasters, Post-HFA DRR strategies, Bangkok declaration, etc. Dr. Gupta was Anchoring Officer for drafting India’s National Adaptation Communication (for DRR) and UNCCD (for Drought). He has more than 180 publications to his credit including high impact journal papers, books, policy papers, plan documents, manuals, etc. He was recipient of Young Scientist Award in Environment and Forestry in 1996, Excellence Award 2012 of Society for Occupational & Environmental Health and Outstanding Contributions Award of UN-PEDRR (UNEP, UNDRR Germany) in 2023. He is Member - Scientific Advisory Committee of GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment Almora (MoEFCC), and served Research Advisory Board of Development Alternatives (DA), BoS of TERI SAS, GGSIPU, JNU Special Academic Committee, DST Policy Research Centre at IIT Indore, etc. He has been the coordinator of National Book on Disaster Management, and also authored standard Textbook on Disaster Management published by AICTE (being translated in 21 languages). He served as Expert Member of WMO climate statement to UNFCCC, and in Reserach, Academic and Government Bodies of several national and state institutions and as expert member on DRR, CCA, adaptation standards, etc. under several Ministries, etc. Dr. Gupta's DST supported project on Climate Adaptive Planning (CAP-RES) has been rated as ‘Excellent’ and is bestowed with the follow up expansion as COE –ICARS Capacity & Public Policy in Resilience and Sustainability (CAPP-RES, DSTGOI) with IIT Roorkee GNEC. Prof Gupta is presently President - Association of Occupational and Environmental Health (HQ. VMMC Safdarjung Hospital). He is elected Fellow of Society of Earth Scientists and the International Society for Environmental Botany (HQ. CSIR NBRI) and Fellow of Earth Scientists Society (HQ. GSI). Dr. Gupta was offered the prestigious Senior Fellowship with IDRC Canada’s Think Tank Initiative on Policy Research at IEG Delhi, and Senior Technical Advisor (PB-5) at GIZ Germany on CCA-RAI with MoEFCC. He also serves as Programme Committee Chair of World Conference on Disaster Management (WCDM, 2023-25). Dr. Gupta holds throughout first class academic records with M.Sc. (Environment, Sp. Resources), M.Phil. (Environment, Sp. Env. Health), Ph.D. (EIA, Air Pollution), L.L.B. & Post-Doc (CSIR-NEERI) in EIA, Carrying capacity, Policy and Land Environment domains. Before NIDM he worked with University, CSIR, State Government (MP), Public Sector industry (NMDC), consultancy (CICON), and All India Radio. His focus includes science-policypractice interface for integrated DRR – adaptation, safety & risk mitigation, emergency preparedness, recovery and sustainability.
Bilel Jamoussi Deputy Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU Tunisian born, Dr Bilel Jamoussi is Deputy Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU in Geneva Switzerland. Since 2010, he has been leading the bureau’s standards-making activities into a new era characterized by rapid convergence and the need for increased collaboration with vertical sectors and partnership between developed and developing countries. Prior to 2010, Jamoussi worked for a Telecommunication equipment and solutions provider for 15 years in Canada and then in the United States where he held several leadership positions and was granted 22 US patents in diverse areas including packet, optical, wireless, and quality of service. He holds a BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Computer Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, USA. He is fluent in Arabic, French, and English and speaks some Spanish and German.
** Kamal Kishore** Assistant Secretary General I Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) On 27 March 2024, the United Nations Secretary-General announced the appointment of Kamal Kishore as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. Kamal Kishore is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), based in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr. Kishore brings to this position nearly three decades of experience in disaster risk reduction, climate action and sustainable development at the global, regional, national and local levels, having worked in government, the United Nations and civil society organizations. Prior to joining UNDRR, Mr. Kishore was the Head of Department of the National Disaster Management Authority of India, where he led the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction and contributed to the development of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
Neeraj Mittal Secretary (Telecom), Department of Telecommunications Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, a senior Indian Administrative Service Officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, is a B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Kanpur, MBA from Cranfield University, UK and Ph.D from Ohio State University, USA in Management Information Systems. He started his career as an IAS Officer in 1992. He has held various administrative positions in the fields of land and revenue management, mines and minerals, IT/Communications, e-governance. During his stint in Central deputation, he worked in Department of Telecom, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. While working as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, he was instrumental in rolling out the Cash Transfer program in LPG and ‘Give It Up’ campaign. He has also served as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director in World Bank in Washington DC. He held important positions of CEO of Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance and Export Promotion Bureau, Additional Chief Secretary, Information Technology and Digital Service Department and MD & CEO, Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation. He has several publications to his credit.
Nidish Nair Partner, PwC Nidish Nair is a Partner at PwC India and leads the work around climate resilience and cities. He has over 20 years of experience in urban development and planning, specializing in resilience. His body of work encompasses infrastructure resilience, risk and vulnerability assessment, disaster resilience, climate finance, smart cities, sustainability, public finance, institutional strengthening and capacity building, and transaction advisory for various infrastructure projects. Nidish has spearheaded numerous high-impact projects funded by bilateral, multilateral, and UN agencies, including the World Bank, ADB, FCDO, CDRI, and USAID, providing critical support to government bodies at national, state, and district levels. As an Urban Resilience Expert and Team Leader, he conducted a scoping study on climate risk insurance for five India-UK partnership cities for the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office, assessing climate insurance needs and market opportunities. He also directed efforts in the Green Cities and Infrastructure Programme to develop climate-positive urban infrastructure standards in Indian cities. Nidish's portfolio includes leading telecom infrastructure resilience projects with CDRI, power distribution resilience initiatives with GIZ, and leading clean energy transition in Vietnam through a World Bank Project. He is also helping CDRI and the Government of India mainstream disaster resilience into the entire project life cycle under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). As an Urban Resilience Expert, he provided technical assistance for climate-resilient land use, infrastructure planning, and disaster risk management in Kolkata for the Asian Development Bank and Kolkata Municipal Corporation. He led the development of climate change mitigation and adaptation plans for 72 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Telangana under the World Bank-funded Telangana Municipal Development Project. Nidish is also leading the design of a climate-focused Project Preparation and Bid Process Management Facility for Indian cities with the International Sustainable Energy Foundation. His role involves developing the institutional framework, business and operational plans, and engagement strategies to unlock private and climate finance for urban infrastructure, in collaboration with NIUA and other stakeholders. His countries of work experience include India, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal & Bangladesh, among others.
Marco Obiso Chief of the Digital Network Society Department, Telecommunication Development Bureau Mr. Marco Obiso is Chief of the Digital Network Society Department in the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the lead UN-specialized agency for ICTs, and has been working in the field of Information and Communication Technologies for the past two decades. He has been operating in several ICT related domains such network infrastructure and digital services development, IT Service Management, Internet governance and information security. He facilitates the work of ITU in elaborating digital strategies, promoting digital transformation, providing technical assistance at the national level and strengthening coordination and cooperation within the UN system.
Amit Prothi Director General of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) Amit Prothi is the Director General of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). Mr. Prothi brings a wealth of international experience and expertise on climate and disaster resilience issues. He has demonstrated 25 years of progressive leadership in the fields of urban planning and resilient infrastructure, with experience across more than 15 countries including the USA, China, India, Greece, Mongolia, and Mauritania. Mr. Prothi served as Director of Sustainable Planning at AECOM, one of the largest global infrastructure advisory firms, was a consultant to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank and worked with global thinktanks and philanthropic organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation supported 100 Resilient Cities program. Mr. Prothi holds a bachelor’s in architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, and a dual Masters in Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has also pursued doctoral studies in urban studies and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Safi Ahsan Rizvi IPS, Advisor (Mitigation), National Disaster Management Authority A graduate in Economics and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Shri Safi Ahsan Rizvi is an officer of the 1989 batch of IPS borne on the Uttar Pradesh Cadre. After active policing assignments in the State of Uttar Pradesh, he joined the security establishment in Government of India in 2006. Shri Rizvi has been decorated with the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Servies in 2006, the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Services in 2013 and the Extraordinary Intelligence Servies Medal in 2018. Shri Rizvi joined National Disaster Management Authority in July 2023. At NDMA, he runs the Mitigation Division, Reconstruction & Resettlement Division, NDMA’s coordinating body, CoDRR (Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction) and its geo-spatial interactions. He also drives NDMA’s initiatives on Disaster Risk Financing and new technology.
Rajbir Singh Assistant Director General, Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) Dr. Rajbir Singh is presently working as Assistant Director General (Agronomy, Agroforesrty & Climate Change) in Natural Resource Management Division of ICAR at KAB-II, Pusa, New Delhi since February, 2023, where he is instrumental in planning, coordinating and monitoring of R & D programmes for sustainable agricultural production and resource conservation under changing scenario of climate change. He is also coordinating eight research institutes and five AICRPs on important aspects of NRM. Previous to this, Dr. Singh served as Director, ICAR-ATARI, Ludhiana for almost 8 years (2015-2023). Dr. Singh infused new energy in the functioning KVKs and putting all-out efforts to popularize conservation agriculture and natural farming for sustainability, addressing the issue of climate change, soil health deterioration, low farm profitability and environmental pollution. He put all-out efforts to popularize Nutri-gardens to demonstration the role of vegetables and fruits in mitigating malnutrition in rural area. Dr. Singh believes in team building, good coordinator and communicator and exhibited his traits of problem solving. He has been bestowed with many prestigious awards like Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award during 2021, Nanaji Deshmukh ICAR Award for Outstanding Team Research in Agricultural Sciences during 2019, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Outstanding Scientist Award of ICAR during 2016, Fellow of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) during 2022, Fellow of Indian Society of Agronomy (ISA) during 2014, Fellow of Horticultural Society of India (HSI) during 2016 besides several other awards. Dr. Singh has specialization in Conservation Agriculture, Extension Research and Natural Farming. Dr. Singh has more than 100 research papers published in referred international and national journals (Citation score in Google scholar: 5621; H-Index: 32, i10 Index-66) besides 41 technical bulletins, 121 popular articles, 10 books, 27 book chapters, and symposium papers in his credit. Dr. Singh has visited many countries (Israel, Brazil, Germany, Nepal, Poland, Thailand, USA and UAE) for participation in various seminars, symposium and in many advance laboratories for research work. Dr. Singh has over 27 years of experience in research, research management and coordination; and application of technology and has a clear understanding of challenges, opportunities and research priorities of northern states. He has worked with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists and his scientific efforts in natural resource management has led to impact at scale benefiting large number of small holder men and women farmers of Northern India. He has handled more than 15 projects sponsored by different agencies including DST, DAC, ICAR. Looking into his vast experience in the field of natural resource management, Dr. Singh has been assigned as National Nodal Officer to execute Central Scheme on “Promotion of agricultural mechanization for In-situ management of crop residue in the states of Punjab, Haryana, UP & NCR” in which 60 KVKs of Punjab, Haryana and UP is involved. The salient outcome of the project resulted into impact at scale covering more than 0.5 million hectare under zero-tilled wheat and direct seeded rice (DSR) in states of Punjab and Haryana besides one third reduction in active fire incidences of residue burning. ICAR-ATARI under his leadership has made its valuable presence not only in northern zone but across the country as a technology application institute for the welfare of farming community.
Rajkumar Upadhyay CEO, C-DoT Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay is CEO of Centre for Developments of Telematics (C-DOT), a premier R&D Centre of Ministry of Communications, Government of India. His previous assignments include working with Prasar Bharati, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and in Defence R&D Organization. He has also been the Chairman of the working group on ‘Policy and Regulation for South Asian Regulators Council (SATRC) during 2011-12. Currently, he is a Governing Council Member of Telecom Standards Development Society India, Broadband India Forum, Telecom Export Promotion Council, Telecom Centre of Excellence and founding member of ‘Bharat 6G Alliance’. He is also the member of National Committee on Electronics Manufacturing and National Committee on Telecom and Broadband of Confederation of Indian Industry. He is the winner of several awards including: J.C. Bose award by Ministry of Defense, National e-Governance award by Government of India, CIO 100 award by International Data Group (IDG), Deepak C. Jain Award by IIM Bangalore. Under his leadership, C-DOT haswon various awards namely Voice Data “Telecom Person of the Year”, IETE Corporate Award for Telecommunication, ELCINA Award for Innovation in R&D Category, 12th Annual Aegis Graham Bell Awards across three categories for Disaster Management, Secure Messaging & Calling Solution and Covid Quarantine Alert System (CQAS), ELCINA Defennovation Awards for innovation in Defence and many more. Dr Upadhyay holds Ph.D. in Corporate Strategy & Policy and MBA from IIM Bangalore & M.Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee.
Katharina Weitz AI Researcher, Fraunhofer HHI Dr. Katharina Weitz is a Project Manager in the Applied Machine Learning Group at Fraunhofer HHI. She brings a multidisciplinary background in education, psychology, and computer science to her role. Before joining Fraunhofer HHI, Dr. Weitz was a research associate at the University of Augsburg. Her research focused on applying explainable human-centered AI in medical, educational, and industrial contexts, emphasizing end-user perspectives. At Fraunhofer, Dr. Weitz continues to advance the field of Explainable and Human-Centered AI, particularly in natural disaster management and early warning systems. In addition to her research, she has been a board member of the German Computer Science Society since 2022.
Frederic Werner Head of Strategic Engagement, ITU Frederic Werner, based in Geneva, Switzerland, currently serves as the Head of Strategic Engagement at ITU, the United Nations’ specialized agency for ICTs, and also holds the position of Chief of Strategy and Operations for AI for Good. Fred leads TSB’s strategic engagement initiatives, covering digital marketing and communications, membership and business development, business intelligence and analytics, fundraising and resource mobilization, community building and event design, as well as piloting AI-powered tools to enhance business processes and operations. As one of the creators of the landmark AI for Good Global Summit, his mission centres on connecting AI innovators with problem owners to collectively advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Motivated by the potential of communication technologies and AI, he believes in harnessing their power to drive business, improve society, and tackle global issues. Prior to his role at ITU, Frederic worked in Brussels as the Communications & Program Director of ETIS – The Global IT Association for Telecommunications, where he played a pivotal role in the creation of a pan-European network of CIOs and cybersecurity professionals. Earlier, he was the Head of Marketing and Communications at the European Organization for Conformity Assessment, where he led capacity-building projects, trainings and events with the European Commission to enhance the ICT infrastructure in EU candidate countries. On the academic front, Frederic has a B.A. in Business & Human Resources Management with a Communications Minor from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He also completed an MBA in International Business from the United Business Institutes, a Technical MBA in Telecoms Technology from Informa Telecoms in Dubai, and an executive course from the MIT Sloan School of Management focused on AI’s Business Strategy Implications. A recognized figure in the AI sphere, Frederic is a regular keynote speaker and panellist at global tech and AI events, such as AI House Davos, SXSW, AI Africa Expo, World AI Festival Cannes, World AI Summit Amsterdam, WSIS, AWS Reinvent, Huawei Connect and GITEX to name a few. His insights on AI and the Sustainable Development Goals have led to numerous interviews and features across media, books, and podcasts. Having lived in diverse countries such as Belgium, Senegal, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Austria, Turkey, Hungary, and Switzerland, Frederic brings a unique and global perspective to his partnerships and collaborations.