Grand Jury 2013

Osama Manzar | Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF)
Osama Manzar is a convert social entrepreneur spearheading the mission to overcome the information barrier between India’s rural sector, and the so-called developed society, through Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) – the not-for-profit organization founded to accomplish the mission. He is a Member, Working Group, Internet Governance Forum of Ministry of Communication & IT and was a Member, Task Force on Growth of IT, ITES & Electronics HW Manufacturing Industry, Ministry of Comm & IT, India.

Laura Turkington | Country Head-India,Vodafone Foundation
Laura Turkington is the Head of “Vodafone Foundation” in India, which focuses on improving access to a better education, empowering women and using mobile innovation to create social change. Laura manages the existing portfolio and supports a number of programs and partnerships, which work to achieve this goal. Prior to this, Laura was responsible for Vodafone’s award winning corporate responsibility program in Ireland and the Vodafone Ireland Foundation. Before joining Vodafone, Laura worked as Director of Strategy for a leading NGO and has worked in several senior positions in the ICT /Telco sector both in Ireland and further afield. Laura holds a Bachelors Degree in Law.

Milind Pathak | Head Global Business, One97
MilindPathak is a multiple Domain experience & expertise in Mobile VAS / Mobile marketing & advertising / interactive TV / Mobile SNS / Mobile CRM & Loyalty / m-Commerce / Telecom Solutions experience. He also served the SAARC business and the mobile content solutions business unit at Comviva. MilindPathak has over seventeen years of experience in managing sales, business development, and marketing, Strategy & Operations. Prior to Comviva, he was co-Ceo and country manager at Buongiorno (HongKong ltd) where he managed and developed the company’s Indian business.

Anuraj Gambhir | Strategic Advisor and Innovation Evangelist, Steadworks
Anuraj has worked in the mobile telecommunications industry for over 2 decades across several parts of the mobile value web and devices ecosystem including leading Mobile Network Operators, Device Manufacturers, R&D Centres, International Trade Bodies, Consultancy Firms, VAS Developers/Providers, Wireless Technology Retail and Network Solution Vendors on 4 continents – Australasia, North America, Europe & Asia. He has worked from hands-on technical roles to senior executive management positions and is regarded by many as an industry visionary. Companies he has worked for include: NASA/JPL, SingTel Optus, Logica/Aethos, T-Mobile, Orange, GSM Association, Sharp, Siemens/BenQ mobile, Spice& Ericsson. He has spearheaded several innovations in the advanced as well as grass-root level mobile domain in mature and emerging markets.

Arjun Basu | Co-Founder and Director, Mydala
Arjun Basu is Co-Founder and Director at mydala.com. He is responsible for shaping the strategy and direction of mydala, as well as overseeing the financial operations and investor relations. Prior to starting mydala.com, Arjun was a Director at Capital Fusion Partners, where he focused on promoting new businesses and raising capital. He has also worked with Capital One Bank where he managed a multi-billion multi-strategy investments portfolio. His investment focus was primarily on commercial real estate bonds (CMBS), as well as direct investments in commercial real estate and financial technology businesses.

Mahesh Uppal | Director COM FIRST (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED
Dr. Mahesh Uppal obtained a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and later, an MA in Communication Policy Studies from City University, London. He has carried out academic research in several major universities in India and United Kingdom including Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Sussex and Cambridge University. He has over 20 years of consulting experience in telecommunications- in both, its roles as a major industry and utility as well as a tool to deliver national development, productivity and competitiveness. He has been actively involved in the sector since the formative years of regulation and competition. He contributed extensively to the setting up of India’s regulatory body for telecommunications(TRAI).

Indumini Kodikara | Project Manager, e-Society at Information & Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka
Indumini Kodikara has a multiple domain experience in the fields of ICT4D, Agriculture, Economics & Market Research. Indumini has been in the field of ICT4D for the last 5 years. She was handling over 100 grass-root level ICT Projects in Sri Lanka contributing to the growth and development of ICT in the society. Prior to joining ICTA Indumini worked at Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and her over nine years of experience there includes e-commerce applications for the development of export sector. Further as a Deputy Director at EDB she played a key role in implementing the EU-Sri Lanka Organic Agriculture Project. And she worked at a Market Research Company prior to joining EDB. Indumini holds a MBA and a B. Sc. degree in Agriculture Economics.

Sushil Raj Pandey | Knowledge Management and Communication Specialist, ICIMOD
SushilPandey is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Specialist and leads the information technology (IT) team in ICIMOD’s Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) Programme. He has 16 years of experience in the area of ICT, and his current responsibilities include the management of the enterprise-wide computing and electronic communications environment; planning, designing and implementing information systems; systems integration; and interface with mutually reinforcing systems and technology like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and knowledge management.

Mohammad Chowdhury | Partner & Telecoms Industry Leader at Price waterhouse Coopers India
Telecoms, IT and technology sector executive shaping and delivering growth opportunities in emerging markets. He has twenty years of experience spanning strategy, sales, commercial and business development. He also created Vodafone’s data services strategy for emerging markets including India in 2010, executed IBM’s Telco off-shoring and NGN strategies in the mid 2000s. He worked across Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe in 70 countries. He is currently building PWC’s telecom practice in India across Consulting, Deals, Risk, Tax and Assurance.

Pranshu Singhal | Head, Sustainability at Nokia India Private Limited
The strongest citadels have been built from the deepest foundations and that is how PranshuSinghal developed his career in sustainability. He was the Executive Officer at CII where he managed Environment & Development projects of CII with international agencies and consulted corporations on EMS implementation up to 2002. He took on a joint freelance assignment of Philips, Motorola, Panasonic and Nokia where he developed Key Environmental Performance Indicators (KEPIs) method for assessment of life cycle environmental impacts of mobile devices, which launched him as a Project Manager at Nokia, Finland in 2004.

Binay Tiwari | Director – Global Marketing & Product. Vserv.mobi
Binay Tiwari heads Global Marketing efforts at Vserv. Prior to this, he led the Vserv Marketplace and was instrumental in growing it to global scale. His passion for the Internet has been the ‘pole star’ of his career journey spanning Tata Broadband, Vodafone & InMobi.

Dr. Ananya Raihan | Executive Director, D.Net
Dr. Ananya Raihan is currently the Executive Director of D.Net. He is a social entrepreneur and Economist. Dr. Raihan was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2004 in recognition of his contribution as a social innovator in the area of ICT for the rural community. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from V.M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics, National Academy of Science, Ukraine.

Soumya Sarkar | National Editor, Mint
Soumya Sarkar is News Editor in Mint, a sister publication of the Hindustan Times published in partnership with the Wall Street Journal. He has been working in Media and Communications for over two decades and was previously with The Times of India, The Indian Express Group, the Telegraph and the Down to Earth magazine. He has also worked as development and communications consultant with organizations that include the World Bank and the Aga Khan Development Network. Besides working in the areas of environment, rural livelihoods, energy and water resources, Soumya is keenly interested in science and technology issues.

Professor Debabrata Goswami | Professor at IIT Kanpur and Academic Council & Advisory Council Member, Glocal University
Professor Debabrata Goswami is a renowned Chemistry Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He is an Indian spectroscopist, winner of the Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow Award (2004), Swarnajayanti Award (2004). He is also an Academic Council & Advisory Council Member, Glocal University, Saharanpur, UP, India. He has also participated in an internet venture by topperlearning.com for provision of education through modern methods via internet.

Mahesh Venkateswaran | Principal – Innovation and Engagement at National Skill Development Corporation
Mahesh Venkateswaran is currently working as a principal, Innovation and Engagement, National Skill Development Corporation (http://www.nsdcindia.org/). Prior to this, he was CEO at KGVK Social Enterprises Limited, TVM Operations Leader at KGVK and Founder/CEO at KGVK Rural Enterprises Limited.

N. Ramakrishnan | Director of Projects, Ideosync Media Combine
N. Ramakrishnan is a C4D specialist, and a Founder/Director of Ideosync Media Combine, a New Delhi-based communication for social change organization working on issues around health, sexuality, HIV, migration, and media access. An alumnus of the Mass Communication Research Center (MCRC), JamiaMilliaIslamia University, he is also an independent film-maker and technology enthusiast; and conducts workshops on community radio, developmental filmmaking and low cost radio and video technology. He has worked on a number of groundbreaking C4D tools and initiatives, including the National Award winning film Nirankush (1998), on female infanticide in the Indian state of Rajasthan; and the acclaimed Growing Up/Badhte Hum/Time of Our Lives (1998-2010) video module series on reproductive and sexual health for young people.He is currently also an office bearer of the Community Radio Forum, the Indian association of community radio broadcasters.