Our Team
The Senior Leadership Team comprises of renowned and respected professionals from both the Industry and the Government.
Shyamal Ghosh IAS (Rtd.)
MF Farooqui IAS (Rtd.)
Mr. M F Farooqui, Chairman, Broadband India Forum
Mr. Farooqui has retired as secretary, department of telecommunications (DoT) and chairman telecom commission.
Prior to the current assignment, he served as Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, Government of India. He also played a key role in Tamil Nadu government in increasing the footprint in the industry sector as principal secretary, department of industry.
Mr. Farooqui also served as Special Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forests and was instrumental in shaping up critical environmental and climate change policies in the Ministry.
During his career, he worked as Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. In mid-nineties he worked as Consul General of India in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He has also worked as chief executive and member, secretary, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).
Mr. Farooqui is a 1978 Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer and holds Masters degrees in Physics and Business Administration.
TV Ramachandran
Mr. TV Ramachandran, Founder & CEO of Advisory@TVR, President, BIF
TV has played a key role in Mobile Telecommunications in India, from its very advent in India in 1994. He was the 1st CEO of Sterling Cellular Ltd. (Essar Cellphone), Delhi, and led the establishment and successful launch of the largest Indian cellular network of that time (Sterling Cellular was incidentally a predecessor of what later became Vodafone India Ltd.).
TV moved on in end 1997, to establish and lead the industry body – Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) and nurtured it over 12 years to the position of being one of the most credible and vibrant professional bodies.
He thereafter served as Resident Director, Regulatory Affairs & Govt. Relations, Vodafone India, for over 5 years from October 2009 till December 2014.
TV is also:
• Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) London, for his contributions to Mobile Telephony. One of only 3 Indians to be conferred this prestigious Award in the over 140 years of existence of this renowned institution; and
• Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers (India)
In March, 2015, at the Telecom Leadership Forum in Delhi, TVR was conferred the Voice & Data Lifetime Contribution Award for his contributions to Mobile Telephony in India.
In October 2017, the Government of India nominated him to serve as an expert member on the High Level Government Forum for India 5G 2020.
Prior to his stint in Telecom, TV had a 28 years distinguished career in R&D, Technical & Product Assurance in Dunlop India & Apollo Tyres Ltd. with rich experience in Manufacturing.
Other notable leaders who lend their knowledge
and acumen to BIF include:
Panel of Honorary Principal Advisors
Dr. BM Baveja
Dr. B.M. Baveja
Dr. B.M. Baveja, former Senior Director and Group Coordinator at MeitY. He is a fellow member of IETE. He is an IEEE Member since 1974.
Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya
Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya
Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya, President, Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research
Amrita Choudhury
Amrita Choudhury
Amrita Choudhury is the Director & President of CCAOI. An active member and contributor at national, regional and global Internet Governance (IG) platforms, she serves as the President of Internet Society India (Delhi); Member of the Nominating Committee 2020 at ICANN; heads the Asia Pacific Women Special Interest Group at Internet Society and is one of the founding member of India school of Internet Governance. She also advises and guides youth initiatives like Youth IGF in India the Rural SIG at Internet Society.
PK Garg
Mr. P K Garg, former Wireless Advisor
Mr. P K Garg, former Wireless Advisor, Government of India and former Chairman, RRB, ITU.
Alok Gupta
Mr. Gupta is the Founder & CEO of Pyramid Cyber Security & Forensic
Mr. Gupta is the Founder & CEO of Pyramid Cyber Security & Forensic. He has 30+ years of experience in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry. He is President of Global Alumni Association of Bimtech (GAAB), Member Board of Governors Bimtech. He is a founding member of DSCI Cyber Forensic Forum & on the Faculty FAFD ICAI.
SK Gupta
Mr. SK Gupta, Former Secretary, TRAI.
Sudhir Gupta
Mr. Sudhir Gupta, Former Secretary, TRAI.
Mr. Sudhir Gupta, Former Secretary, TRAI.
Prof. Rekha Jain
Prof Rekha Jain
Prof Rekha Jain had been the Executive Chair of IIMA-IDEA Telecom Centre of Excellence since its inception in 2008 and was faculty, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India from 1985 until her superannuation in December 2019. Her research and teaching interest are in the telecom sector (policy and regulation), e-governance, ICT Strategy and Management,
Ravi Kant
Mr Ravi Kant, Principal Adviser, Former Member (S), DoT
Mr Ravi Kant is Former Member (Services) Telecom Commission, Department of Telecommunication, Government of India. Prior to his assignment as Member (S), Mr Kant worked as Advisor (North-East), DOT for facilitating telecom growth in N-E area. He has worked in various capacities as Telecom District Head on deputation to BSNL and carried out operational & developmental activities. He has also worked on deputation to TCIL in Kuwait after Gulf War-I and carried out telecom restoration & developmental work in the country.
Abhishek Malhotra
Mr. Abhishek Malhotra, Managing Partner, TMT Law Practice
Mr. Abhishek Malhotra, Managing Partner, TMT Law Practice
Yaduvendra Mathur
Mr. Yaduvendra Mathur (IAS retd.), former Special Secretary, NITI Aayog
Mr. Mathur worked with Associated Cement Companies (a Tata Company) in Mumbai between 1982 – 1984 before joining the Indian Revenue Services (Income Tax) in 1984 and then the IAS in 1986, topping his batch.
He has had long stints in various positions in the Finance Department, including Principal Secretary – Finance, Government of Rajasthan. During his postings under the Department of Economic Affairs (2001-2003), Mr. Mathur worked with the African Development Bank. As Energy Secretary of Rajasthan for over three years, Mr. Mathur contributed in the setting up of three greenfield power plants in the state. He was also Planning Secretary, PHED Secretary and Director General – Revenue Intelligence in Government of Rajasthan. He also has experience as Managing Director of a Textile Mill at Bhilwara and as Chairman of India Gandhi Canal Board. Mr. Mathur was Collector & District Magistrate of Bhilwara and Bharatpur, and has also served for over three years as Senior Deputy Director at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.
Prior to joining NITI Aayog, he was Chairman and Managing Director of Exim Bank from February 2014 to February, 2017. During his tenure from February 2017 up to his retirement in October 2019, he headed the Knowledge and Infrastructure verticals in NITI Aayog.
He is presently serving as the Vice Chairman of Consulting Engineers Group Ltd., and also as Member of the Governing Council of Consulting Engineers Association of India (CEAI).
Rajesh Mehrotra
Mr. Rajesh Mehrotra
Mr. Rajesh Mehrotra, formerly with the Space Services Department of the Radio communication Bureau at ITU HQ, Geneva and Secretary to Working groups at World Radio Conferences at WRC-03 & WRC-07.
KV Seshasayee
Mr K V Seshasayee, Former Group Chief (Technology),Hinduja Group.
Mr K V Seshasayee, Former Group Chief (Technology),Hinduja Group.
Dr. Kuldip Singh
Dr. Kuldip Singh
Dr. Kuldip Singh, former Member TDSAT and former CMD MTNL.
BK Syngal
Mr. B K Syngal
Mr. B K Syngal, a veteran of the telecom sector, former CMD, VSNL.
Brig. Anil Tandan
Brigadier Anil Tandan
Brigadier Anil Tandan (Retd.) is a telecom technology leader, with wide experience in the areas of spectrum, RFPs, technical & commercial negotiations and networks. He has served in Fascel and Tata Cellular, prior to his tenure as CTO in Idea Cellular for 17 years. Has been recognized twice by Voice and Data magazine as the ‘Best CTO’
Dr. Mahesh Uppal
Dr. Mahesh Uppal
Dr. Mahesh Uppal, Telecom Consultant for the last 20 years – he was actively involved in the formative years of regulation and competition in India’s telecom sector and contributed extensively to the process in creating the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India’s first market regulator.
Valsa Williams
Ms. Valsa Williams
Ms. Valsa Williams, Veteran – Government Affairs and Public Policy.
Our Notable BIF Directorate who lend their knowledge and acumen to BIF include:
Debashish Bhattacharya
Arun Mukarji
Sundeep Kathuria
Neema Sunil Kumar
Anand Gupta
Kaustuv Sircar
Abhijit Panicker
Seema Santosh
Swapnil Shukla
