Ashish Dhawan
He is a private equity investor turned philanthropist who founded and ran one of India’s leading private equity funds, ChrysCapital. He is passionate about transforming the science and technology ecosystem in India. Ashish is the chairperson of Ashoka University, a leading liberal arts university in India, and Central Square Foundation, a nonprofit foundation working towards quality education for all children in India. Ashish graduated from Yale University and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He is also on the India Advisory Board of Harvard and a member of Yale’s Development Council.
Varun Aggarwal
An entrepreneur and researcher, he is passionate about building science. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Delhi and later his master’s degree at MIT. He cofounded Aspiring Minds in 2008. His work has led to the world’s first machine-learning-based assessment of coding skills and the world’s first automated motor skills assessment. Varun is a promoter and an advocate of data science. In conjunction with colleagues, he runs ML India to build India’s data science ecosystem, and has organized the world’s first data science camp for children.
Sheel Kapoor
Chief Executive Officer
Sheel has around 31 years of experience with large MNCs like BOC Gases, General Electric, Regal Beloit/Regal Rexnord in a variety of leadership roles in Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma/ Quality, and as a CFO.
Prior to joining FAST, Sheel was the Regional President for Regal Rexnord & President & CEO for Regal Rexnord’s Climate Division for India and Middle East. Here he led focused technology driven profitable organic growth efforts, ensuring his company provided differentiated products and service offerings.
Sheel is an Electrical Engineering graduate from IIT Roorkee and a Post Graduate in Operations Management from SPJIMR Mumbai
Rahul Nayar
Director, Policy
Rahul Nayar is Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology. His previous experience includes leading government emerging technology initiatives focused on targets ranging from climate resilience to national security; shaping national technology policy and innovation strategy across government agencies; and venture development.
He holds a Master’s in Public Policy with Distinction from Oxford University, MPhil in Technology Policy from Cambridge University, and a BE from Madras University.
Prabhakar Jha
Dr. Sarah Iqbal
Sarah is a natural science researcher who now works as a strategic communications and public engagement practitioner. She graduated from the University of Oxford with a PhD in Biochemistry and worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute in Florida. She then worked as the Communications and Public Engagement Lead for the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance. She has experience in designing and executing programmes aimed at enabling public engagement with science. She has also developed various skill and capacity building programmes as well as managed several partnerships aimed at strengthening science communication. Sarah has published in various international academic journals and serves on the advisory boards of various national and international science organizations.
Harleen Kaur
Harleen is a lawyer with a background in health, science and technology policy. She has worked with both for-profit and not-for-profit entities during her career. She has advised leading technology companies in the field of data protection and regulation of the health-tech sector in the past. In her earlier role as a research fellow with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, she was involved in providing research and implementation support to projects aimed at improving regulation of the medical profession, education and government funded healthcare services. She is excited to work with the FAST India team to further her interests in public policy.
Ayushee Thukral
Ayushee’s current role involves work across all key domains of FAST India: policy reforms, government relations, capacity building, and corporate engagement. With diverse experiences across economics, finance, and social development, Ayushee brings her focus on maximizing impact creation to FAST India. Her previous work experience ranges from handling multiple transactions across M&A and Capital Markets in her role as an Investment Banking Analyst with Morgan Stanley to contributing to the growth and development of children from low-income communities in under-served schools as a Fellow for Teach for India. Ayushee is an Economics graduate from St. Stephen’s College. Along with her professional commitments, she is also an active contributor to various initiatives under the Global Shapers Community New Delhi Hub.
Charu Seth
As a former scientist, with nearly a decade of experience in academia (PhD at TIFR Mumbai and postdoc at IISc), science communication, and public outreach, Charu developed a passion for making a positive impact in the research community. Believing she could do it better on the desk than on a lab bench, she moved into the role of a product marketer at AuthorCafé, a B2B tech startup that built digital workflow solutions to streamline grants and PhD program management at research institutions. Sharing the vision of enhancing the research ecosystem in Indian universities, she thrived on connecting with influential higher education leaders and the vibrant research community, in addition to doing strategic product and digital marketing. Acting as a bridge between the internal teams and researchers (our target audience), she helped transform user needs into effective products and features. With her interest and passion towards science and society, she joined FAST-India to be the enabler of science communication in the country.
Sanchita Joshi
An economist by training, Sanchita has previously worked with the AGNIi Mission, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India as a Consultant where she was instrumental in driving strategy, research, and execution of programmatic interventions in areas of climate change and MSMEs (Handicrafts and Handloom) with special emphasis on evidence management and human development thinking. Besides, Sanchita has also worked as a Research Analyst (Power Sector) at India Infrastructure Publishing Private Limited, New Delhi and has taught various modules of economics at the University of Delhi and Delhi Technological University. Her research interests lie in the field of technology and human development, gender dynamics in labour markets, and time use and time poverty.
Avinash Koli
Senior Policy Associate
A passionate professional who thrives at the crossroads of technology and policy. With an in-depth understanding of science and technology policy, political science and physical planning, he adeptly navigates the intricate interplay between market dynamics, governmentality, and societal landscapes. Armed with a post-graduation in public policy from IIT Delhi, a postgraduate degree in politics from JNU, and a bachelor’s in urban planning from SPA Bhopal, Avinash possesses a diverse educational background. His work experience with various government and non-governmental organisations has sharpened his expertise across policy, legal, and planning domains. As part of the policy team, Avinash’s work at FAST India involves undertaking a multidisciplinary inquiry into the subject area to produce a sound basis for data-driven research and decision-making.
Vibodh Nautiyal
Program Manager
An engineer by training from IIT Delhi, Ankita developed keen interest in the policy and social impact space during her graduation days. She brings in a diverse set of experience ranging across consulting, government and social impact organizations. She was instrumental in building initiatives to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in India through her work at Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. She has been a part of Deloitte’s Government Consulting team and is also a Young India Fellow from Ashoka University.
Kaustubh Misra
Kaustubh’s current role at FAST India involves working in the program vertical across matters of policy, government relations, institutions, and corporate engagement. He brings a zeal for working on research in technology with a passion for public policy and dealing with policy matters in constantly evolving environments. His previous work experience ranges from the policy work of the State departments of Agriculture and Health in Karnataka to finance and investment matters at Climate Policy Initiative and Invest India. Kaustubh is an Economics graduate from Ashoka University, and has a Masters’ in Public Policy from National Law School of India, Bangalore.
Utsav Thapliyal
Program Associate
Utsav has completed his post-graduation in Social Work in Mental Health from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health), Chennai. Utsav joined FAST India as a Program Associate in the Science Communication vertical. He has a wide range of pro-bono work experience in the education and health spheres. He strongly advocates for harm reduction, drug policy reform, and mental health. Utsav has immersed himself with marginalized communities and tribal populations across India and is keen on bringing a change in the society by promoting knowledge, making science more accessible/ engaging and creating possible solutions for the society.
Shriya Naidu
Shriya has a strong background in science outreach and communication. In her previous roles she contributed to outreach initiatives at IIT Gandhinagar’s Curiosity Lab and Unicef’s Social Action and Policy Lab, focusing on behavioral insights and education reform. She completed her Masters in Neuropsychology from the National Forensic Sciences University and shifted to science outreach after being awarded the IBRO-DANA Brain Awareness Week Grant. Her role at FAST India revolves around science communication initiatives and primarily the India Science Festival.
Umang Rana
Program Associate
Umang has completed her post-graduation in Public Policy from St. Xavier’s Mumbai and comes from a background of governance and policy implementation, Umang had closely worked in the implementation of world bank schemes in the state of Gujarat while working with the Quality Council of India. Umang joined FAST in the Governance vertical and is currently leading the FAST-PMU in Capacity Building Commission. She is responsible for ideation to the execution of relevant courses for Science and Technology universe in the government. She strongly advocates for gender equality and education for all and wants to bring a significant shift.
Vibodh Nautiyal
Program Associate
Vibodh completed his graduation in Computer Science from Ashoka University. His previous experience ranges from academic research funded by Huawei Technologies on computer systems and architecture with Professor Manu Awasthi to research in the corporate sector in an executive search firm with Spencer Stuart. He is keen to bring about change in the S&T research ecosystem in India by combining his technical background with his research experience. Vibodh has joined FAST India as a Program Associate.
Arpita Kumari
Program Associate – PMU at BHU
Arpita joined the Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology as a Program Associate- PMU at BHU. She is responsible for providing intellectual and execution assistance at BHU, aligned with FAST India’s mission, goals, and targets. She boasts over five years of impactful work in the social sector, focusing on education and child development programs in Uttar Pradesh. Armed with an MA in Social Work, she is currently pursuing her second master’s in Women and Gender Studies. Arpita’s passion for social change and her eagerness to embrace challenges make her a dynamic
professional. Her dual expertise reflects a comprehensive approach to societal issues, with a commitment to making a positive difference.
