Our People

IAS, 1979 batch

Dr Kush Verma is an IAS officer of the 1979 batch and the first Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Government of India. Before joining NCGG, he was Director General of the National Institute of Administrative Research at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. He currently holds charge as Commissioner, National Capital Region, Uttar Pradesh, and has held several notable positions in the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Government of India.

He has published papers on general administration, development, labour issues, and tourism, and presented at international and national seminars. He holds a PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, on ‘Redesigning India’s Civil Services’, and has lectured at the National Institute of Labour, LBSNAA, the Indian Institute of Public Administration, and the Bankers Institute of Rural Development, Lucknow.

Entrepreneur and tech policy expert

Anmol Pushjai Goel is an Indian entrepreneur, tech policy expert, and industrialist working on the nation’s AI and automation governance. He is Founder and CEO of Nuclear Edge Deeptech Systems, a Forbes-listed deep-tech SaaS and consulting firm focused on digital transformation, and a Trustee of the Bharat Governance Council, where he advocates India-first technology regulation and responsible AI frameworks.

He advises multiple Union Government ministries on national technology architecture and consumer behaviour, and as a Director at Goel And Associates manages a portfolio of state-government contracted businesses in traditional sectors. With degrees in psychology, philosophy, and sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, he champions digital literacy and technology access for India’s non-metro communities.

IRS, 1984 batch

Ajay Kumar Chauhan is an Indian Revenue Service officer of the 1984 batch who has held important positions across every functional post in the Income Tax Department. He also served as Director General of the Competition Commission of India.

He holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business, University of Sydney, where he was awarded an Asian Development Bank scholarship for meritorious performance; an MPhil in Industrial Psychology and an MA in Psychology with distinction from the University of Delhi; and a BA (Hons) in Psychology, Political Science and History from Aligarh Muslim University.

IAS (retd.), 1984 batch, Manipur cadre

Nikhilesh Jha is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1984 batch from the Manipur cadre. He served in the Department of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs as Special Secretary & Financial Adviser from May 2016 to February 2018.

Over his career he served as Mission Director, Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Additional Secretary, Chief Vigilance Officer, Joint Secretary, Secretary to the Governor, Managing Director, Secretary to the Chief Minister, Deputy Commissioner, and Sub-Divisional Officer. He holds an MSc and a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry, and an MBA.

Technology entrepreneur

Asad Khan is Co-Founder and CEO of TestMu AI, an AI-native quality engineering platform founded as LambdaTest in 2018. Under his leadership it has grown to serve more than 2.5 million users across 132 countries.

Earlier, he co-founded 360logica, a software testing services company acquired by Saksoft in 2014. He began his career as a lead QA engineer at GlobalLogic, designing testing architectures for major Wall Street financial enterprises. He holds a BTech in Information Technology from JSS Academy of Technical Education and is a member of the Forbes Technology Council.

IFS (retd.), 1986 batch

Riva Ganguly Das is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1986 batch. Over more than three decades she held high-profile assignments abroad and at the Ministry of External Affairs, serving as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh and as Secretary (East) before retiring in December 2021.

She was also Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Consul General in New York and Shanghai. An alumna of Delhi University, she taught political science before joining the civil services, and remains active in strategic international dialogues.

Entrepreneur and tech policy expert

Anmol Pushjai Goel is an Indian entrepreneur, tech policy expert, and industrialist working on the nation’s AI and automation governance. He is Founder and CEO of Nuclear Edge Deeptech Systems, a Forbes-listed deep-tech SaaS and consulting firm focused on digital transformation, and a Trustee of the Bharat Governance Council, where he advocates India-first technology regulation and responsible AI frameworks.

He advises multiple Union Government ministries on national technology architecture and consumer behaviour, and as a Director at Goel And Associates manages a portfolio of state-government contracted businesses in traditional sectors. With degrees in psychology, philosophy, and sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, he champions digital literacy and technology access for India’s non-metro communities.

Retired Indian Foreign Service, 1988 batch

Bharti joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1988. Throughout his diplomatic tenure, he served as India's ambassador to multiple countries, including Ukraine, Belarus, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia.

From May 2011 to September 2015, Bharti served as the Ambassador of India to Belarus. In September 2015, he was appointed as the Ambassador of India to Ukraine, where he remained until 2018.

On 13 October 2020, he was appointed as the Ambassador of India to Indonesia. During his tenure as Ambassador to Indonesia, Bharti was involved in coordinating high-level visits, including the participation of the Indian delegation during the 2022 G20 summit hosted by Indonesia. On 31 December 2021, he received an additional concurrent accreditation as Ambassador to Timor-Leste (East Timor).

His last posting before retirement in March 2023 was as the Ambassador to Indonesia. He also served in various capacities within the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, including as Secretary (Administration).

He retired from the Indian Foreign Service in March 2023.

Retd. Chief Engineer, Punjab Govt.

Er. Harmesh Kumar is a senior Electrical Engineer with 33½ years of experience in Punjab’s power sector. His expertise spans hydel power generation, LT/HT line execution, EHV transmission systems, protection, testing and commissioning, grid operations and system control, supported by experience in PSTCL’s Administration Wing and as Head of Department. Since retirement, he has continued to offer technical guidance, consultancy and advisory services on power-sector matters, drawing on his broad understanding of the technical, regulatory and administrative aspects of the industry.

As an AI Transformation Coach, with over two decades of experience in technology training and consulting, he has been working with organisations across industries to move beyond AI awareness towards practical adoption and business transformation. He has coached and trained leaders and teams across organisations such as Bosch across India, Mexico and Vietnam, Aditya Birla Group, VECV/Volvo Eicher, Kohler, NIIT and other technology and business organisations, apart from his work with CAG and AICTE-led programmes.

Varundeep Kaur is a technology and AI leader with 23+ years of experience across technology leadership, digital transformation, financial inclusion, AI, cybersecurity, governance and institutional technology. She has worked at the intersection of technology, business and governance, with experience in building technology-led initiatives, advising and engaging with institutions, and developing AI and technology capability among professionals and emerging leaders.

Her areas of contribution include:

• AI Governance & Responsible AI: AI governance, responsible adoption, risk, accountability and board-level perspectives on AI.

• AI in Public Institutions & Digital Public Infrastructure: Applying AI and technology to strengthen institutional effectiveness, inclusion and citizen-oriented outcomes.

• AI Capability & Workforce Readiness: Building AI understanding and leadership capability among executives, educators, institutions and emerging professionals.

• Research, Dialogue & Convening: Bringing practitioner and industry perspectives into conversations involving government, academia, technology and business.

• AI Implementation & Institutional Use Cases: Contributing practical perspectives on moving AI from frameworks and concepts into real organizational settings.

Information Security Leader | Critical Infrastructure & OT/SCADA Security | Cyber Risk & Governance

Information Security Leader | Critical Infrastructure & OT/SCADA Security | Cyber Risk & Governance

Procurement Officer with more than 14 years of experience in Punjab Government

Procurement Officer with more than 14 years of experience in Punjab Government