Advisors

Shyam Benegal is one of the best-known and most prolific contemporary filmmakers from India's arthouse or "New Cinema" tradition. From Ankur (1974) to Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005), his films have explored the contradictions and tensions of a society in rapid transition. Besides feature films, Shyam Benegal has also made ad-films and several documentaries including Nehru (1983), Satyajit Ray (1984) and Nature Symphony (1990).

Recipient of many awards, honours and accolades both nationally and internationally, he bring into focus the issues related to the equity and justice through films and lectures.

He has authored many scholarly articles on films and related subjects that can be found in volumes edited by filmmakers and academics. Shyam Benegal continues to remain an active public figure, serving on various awards and jury panels and contributing to many crucial deliberations in the Rajya Sabha to which he was nominated in February 2006.

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Rama Bijapurkar is one of India's most respected thought leaders on market strategy and consumer related issues in India, and a keen commentator on social and cultural change in the evolving, liberalizing India. She has her own market strategy consulting practice and works with an impressive list of Indian and global companies guiding the development of their business-market strategies.

She describes her mission as bringing "market focus to business strategy". Rama Bijapurkar serves as an independent director on the boards of some of India's most respected corporations - Infosys Technologies (India's leading IT services exporter), CRISIL (the Indian subsidiary of Standard and Poors), UTI Bank (a private bank, promoted by the Government of India), Godrej Consumer Products, Entertainment Network (India) Ltd. (owner of Radio Mirchi, an FM broadcasting station, part of the Times Of India Group) and Give Foundation (a not-for-profit company).

An alumnus of one of Asia's premier business schools, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Rama Bijapurkar continues to be involved with her alma mater where she teaches as a Visiting Professor and serves on the Board of Governors.

Rama Bijapurkar's over 30 years of work experience includes leadership positions with McKinsey & Company, MARG (India's pioneering market research company, now ACNielsen India), and full time consulting with Hindustan Lever (Unilever India).

She is well published within and outside India on emerging market and consumer related issues and has been frequently quoted in international publications on emerging market issues. She also writes two widely read columns for Economic Times and Business World, respectively, India's largest circulating business newspaper and business magazine.

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Carol Breckenridge is Associate Professor of History and Historical Studies at The New School, New York, and is the founding editor of the journal Public Culture. Established by her nineteen years ago, Public Culture is a field-defining ethnographic journal that analyzes the cultural politics of globalization and transnationalism.

Carol Breckenridge received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin and has held faculty positions in University of Chicago and Yale University before joining The New School. Her concentrations include colonialism and the Political Economy of Ritual, State, Policy and Religion in South India, Society and Aesthetics in India since 1850, Cultural Theory and Cosmopolitan Cultural Forms. Recently, Carol Breckenridge has launched ‘Bombay Observatory’, a website at the South Asian Department of The New School that would serve as a network for academics, scholars and artists whose projects relate to Mumbai.

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Dr. Narendra Jadhav is a renowned economist, prolific writer, and a sought after public speaker. Dr. Jadhav is currently the Vice Chancellor of Pune University, one of the largest premier universities in India. Before that Dr. Jadhav was the Principal Advisor and Chief Economist for the Reserve Bank of India, a Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund.

He has written numerous books and many scholarly articles on economy. But the part which is most unique about him is his place as a writer. He was awarded the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad Award for his book Dr Ambedkar: Economic Thoughts & Philosophy. His book Outcaste: A Memoir, originally published in Marathi, has been translated into 22 national and international languages. Dr. Jadhav is on the advisory panel for the PUKAR Youth Fellowship Programme.

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Kumar Ketkar is currently the Chief Editor, Loksatta; the leading Marathi Daily, Indian Express Group. He has been the Editor-In-Chief, Lokmat and has served as the Chief Editor of the Maharashtra Times The Times of India Group for over 7 years (1993-2001). He has also contributed to the Indian and Financial Express and the Times.

He was a Resident Editor for the Daily Observer, of the Ambani Group, Reliance, (1990-93) and a Staff Reporter and Special Correspondent for The Economic Times (1973-1990) and The Times of India Group.

 During his 35 years of active journalism in English as well as Marathi media he has covered many international events like Changing USSR: Glasnost and Perestroika policies of Mikhail Gorbachev, Disintegration of Soviet Union (1991), Parliamentary election in United Kingdom (1987 and 1992), Integration of two Germanys (1991), Five US presidential elections- 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, Hongkong’s integration with China (1997), Israel's fiftieth anniversary events (1998), Transformation and opening of China’s economy and the New Vietnam and its liberal policies.

He has the following awards to his credit:

Kumar Ketkar has been nominated by the Prime Minister on the National Integration Council. He is also on the LIC Monitoring Committee Visiting faculty in the Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, USA and a visiting lecturer in Mumbai and Pune University Media Departments. He has authored seven Marathi books, on current politics, literature, and science and is a frequent commentator on current issues on various TV channels.

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