Alumni in the news - Oct 31

The National Board of Directors of Pratham USA appointed Arvind Sanger as Chairman of the Board. Pratham provides underprivileged children in India with an opportunity to gain the reading and education skills needed to secure a job with a living wage and to improve their lives and the lives of future generations. Arvind Sanger founded Geosphere Capital Management, a global long-short equity hedge fund, in 2007. Arvind graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, with a B. Tech in 1984. "Having been closely involved with Pratham USA for several years, I am excited by its growth and inspired by the tremendous impact that Pratham's programs are having in India. I am honored by the opportunity to serve as Chairperson of the Pratham USA Board," said Arvind. "I look forward to working closely with the rest of the team as we continue to build and strengthen the organization, thereby allowing us to reach and impact more children."

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The Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, is one of the important centres of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Dr R.R. Navalgund ('70) is its Director. The SAC has built scores of remote-sensing, meteorological and communication payloads for the satellites launched by the ISRO. The centre played a key role in the Chandrayaan-1 project by building two of its 11 scientific instruments – the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) and the Hyperspectral Imager (HySI). Before becoming the Director of the SAC, Navalgund had served as the Director of the National Remote Sensing Agency (now renamed National Remote Sensing Centre), Hyderabad. He took his postgraduate degree in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, and earned his Ph.D in Physics from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Navalgund has received several awards, including the Indian National Remote Sensing Award in 1992 instituted by the Indian Society for Remote Sensing, Dehra Dun. He represents India on the Group for Earth Observations, an international initiative.

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Nandan Nilekani relinquished his post as Infosys co-chairman to head the Unique Identification Authority of India. The UIAI project has the ambitious plan of uniquely identifying every Indian, and with 1.2 billion population, the project is rather complex.  He is listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, 2006. He received Fortune's 'Asia's Businessman of the Year 2003' award and named among the 'World's most respected business leaders' in 2002 and 2003, in a global survey by Financial Times and PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 2005, Nilekani was awarded the prestigious Joseph Schumpeter prize for innovative services in field of economy, economic sciences and politics. In 2006, Nandan was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honours awarded by the Government of India.

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Handling several commitments at once is something Jairam Ramesh does with aplomb. The Minister of State, who holds independent charge of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, is driven by issues such forest conservation, improved fuel efficiency and tiger conservation.

A resolute national representative at international forums, Ramesh, a member of the Upper House of Parliament, is also unflinching when it comes to pressing for change on the domestic scene. In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, he spoke about the challenges his ministry must face up to.

GULF NEWS: What are the major issues you have had to address in your role as a minister?

JAIRAM RAMESH: Over the years, an impression has gained ground that we look at the environment department as a formality. Therefore, the biggest challenge is to send a signal that we mean business about protecting the environment and forests. The ministry has different components handling a wide gamut of issues. We not only have a heavy domestic agenda that covers problems of pollution and forest cover but also international issues like climate change.

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World renowned business publication Forbes, has placed Bharat Desai ('75), an Indian origin American, on its list of the top eight self made stars. He has been selected from the list of top 200 small companies with business spread across America and others countries and who have had a great impact on the lives of Americans.

Bharat Desai, a billionaire who did his MBA from Michigan University in finance, has been a pillar for the company Syntel. The company which he founded in 1980, has, as per records on April 28, 2009, an employee base of around 12 thousand people spread globally and with a market capitalisation of $943 million.

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Dr PJ Dilip Kumar has been appointed Director General of Forests, the highest post for an IFS officer in India. The Minister of State for Environment and Forests is also an IIT Bombay alumnus - Mr. Jairam Ramesh ... more.