Advisory Council

Col.(Dr) Shailendra Singh, is an old garner veteran who has been one of the founder advisors of the Global Counter Terrorism Council. He is a distinguished panellist all over both national and international channels; he has had five postings in services in NE, including Imphal, Manipur. He has been discussing the ongoing Manipur crisis on national channels frequently. Dr. Shailendra Singh has participated in numerous national conferences, seminars. During his service in the Indian Army, he held a variety of command and staff appointments, contributing to operational preparedness, force development, and security management.
Following his retirement, Colonel Singh has remained actively engaged in defence and security discourse through research, policy discussions, leadership mentoring, and public engagement. He is widely respected for his insights on military affairs, national security, strategic leadership, emerging security challenges, and defence preparedness. His work focuses on strengthening strategic awareness and promoting informed dialogue on issues of national importance.

Gaurav C. Sawant is one of India’s leading journalists, defence analysts, and strategic affairs commentators, with extensive experience covering national security, defence, foreign policy, terrorism, and geopolitical developments. As a senior television journalist and editor, he has reported from conflict zones, international borders, military operations, and major strategic events, providing in-depth analysis on security and defence matters.
Widely respected for his expertise in military affairs, strategic studies, and national security issues, he has conducted interviews with senior military commanders, policymakers, diplomats, intelligence professionals, and global leaders. Through his reporting and analysis, he has contributed significantly to enhancing public understanding of defence preparedness, emerging security challenges, and India’s strategic interests.

S.M. Sahai (IPS J&K 1987) Former Additional Secretary in the National Security Council Secretariat under the PM Office, is assigned with work relating to strategic security issues of national importance. He also oversees Internal Security, International Terrorism, non-traditional security, energy security and heads the working-level Indian delegation at the SCO–Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, a multi-lateral security organisation.
A senior officer of the Indian Police Service, he has held many important posts and assignments during his distinguished service spanning 30 years in Jammu & Kashmir. He had wide exposure to cross-border terrorism in J&K, including border ranges of Rajouri / Poonch. He remained head of
Kashmir Police for two terms and Head of Intelligence. His tenure saw a dramatic drop in violence in Kashmir, which he achieved through innovative measures in policing and by using modern techniques.
He has been decorated with many prestigious awards including gallantry award, awards for meritorious services and distinguished services from the President and State Government.

Padmaja Joshi is a distinguished journalist, author, and public affairs commentator with extensive experience in political reporting, national security, strategic affairs, and public policy. Over a career spanning several decades, she has covered some of the most significant developments in Indian politics, governance, internal security, and international affairs, earning recognition for her insightful analysis and field reporting.
She has reported extensively on issues relating to terrorism, insurgency, border security, conflict zones, and national security challenges, bringing ground-level perspectives to public discourse. Through her writings, media engagements, and policy discussions, she has contributed significantly to informed conversations on governance, strategic affairs, social issues, and national development.

Rajesh Kumar Srivastava is a distinguished geoscientist and energy sector leader with nearly four decades of experience in hydrocarbon exploration and petroleum resource development. He served as Director (Exploration) and later as Chairman & Managing Director (Additional Charge) of ONGC, India’s premier oil and gas company. Throughout his career, he played a pivotal role in exploration and development projects across major sedimentary basins of India, including the Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan, and Mumbai Offshore basins. An alumnus of the University of Lucknow and IIT Kanpur, he is recognized for his expertise in reservoir modelling, field development planning, and strategic energy initiatives. He was honored with the National Mineral Award for his significant contributions to hydrocarbon exploration and has also represented India in several international energy collaborations. Currently, he serves as Chairman & Managing Director of National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC), bringing his vast leadership and technical expertise to the infrastructure sector.

Amitabh Mattoo is currently professor of Disarmament studies at the Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD), School of International Studies. His teaching and research interests include issues of international security, India’s foreign policy, and arms control and disarmament. He has published ten books (on nuclear issues, foreign policy and international relations), and more than fifty research articles (including in leading journals like Survival and Asian Survey). He writes regularly for Indian newspapers, including The Telegraph and The Hindu and is a commentator on television. Prof. Mattoo was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu from November 2002 until December 2008. Professor Amitabh Mattoo was awarded the Qimpro Platinum Standard Award (2008) and was recognized as a National Statesman for his work in the field of education along with Mr. Anand Mahindra who was awarded for his leadership in business.

Sh. Manjeev Singh Puri, is a retired Indian civil servant from the Indian Foreign Service Cadre and Ambassador of India to Nepal, European Union, Belgium & Luxembourg and Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nation. Presently he serves as advisor in the Energy and Resource Institute (TERI). He has been actively involved with issues like sustainable development and the environment. Has been a key member of India’s delegation at various forums on climate change including UNFCC. He has also served as advisory board of The Energy and Research Institute.

Sushil Pandit is a Kashmir based social activist. In September 1999, Sushil founded Hive Communication India Pvt Ltd, Delhi and he took responsibility as chief executive officer. He is also the founder of Kashmiri Pandit Youth and have launched initiatives like Roots in Kashmir. is a prominent social activist, author, commentator, and one of the leading voices advocating for the rights, rehabilitation, and cultural preservation of the displaced Kashmiri Hindu community. For several decades, he has been actively engaged in raising awareness about issues relating to Kashmir, national integration, civilisational heritage, human rights, and internal security.
Widely recognised for his contributions to public discourse on Kashmir and national security, Shri Pandit has participated in numerous policy discussions, academic forums, media engagements, and strategic dialogues on issues concerning terrorism, extremism, displacement, identity, and India’s national interests. Through his writings, advocacy, and public engagement, he has consistently highlighted the importance of preserving India’s pluralistic heritage while addressing security and governance challenges.

Dr. Vishwa Mohan Bansal, IAS (Retd.) is a distinguished former civil servant, educationist, policy expert, and institution builder with extensive experience in public administration, governance, higher education, and strategic leadership. During his career in the Indian Administrative Service, he held several important assignments in government, contributing to policy formulation, institutional development, and governance reforms.
Following his public service career, Dr. Bansal has played a significant role in the field of education and leadership development. He serves as the Chairman of the New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM), one of India’s leading management institutions, and has been actively engaged in promoting excellence in higher education, skill development, entrepreneurship, and youth leadership. He is widely respected for his contributions to academic leadership, public policy, governance, and nation-building initiatives.

Anil Razdan, IAS (Retd.) is a distinguished former civil servant who served as Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, and held several senior leadership positions during his illustrious administrative career. With extensive experience in the power, energy and infrastructure sectors, he played a significant role in shaping India’s energy policies, power sector reforms and initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s electricity generation, transmission and distribution ecosystem. He also served as Special Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, contributing to policy formulation and strategic planning in the energy sector.
Over the years, Shri Razdan has been closely associated with issues relating to energy security, infrastructure development, public policy, governance reforms and sustainable growth. As a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Counter Terrorism Council (GCTC), he contributes valuable insights on strategic infrastructure resilience, national preparedness, critical energy systems and governance, supporting GCTC’s efforts to promote informed dialogue on national security and public policy.

Bhupendra Chaubey is one of India’s leading television journalists, editors and strategic affairs commentators, with over two decades of experience in journalism, public affairs and geopolitical reporting. He has covered major national and international developments, including politics, governance, diplomacy, national security, terrorism, defence, economic policy and global affairs. Throughout his career, he has conducted interviews with senior political leaders, diplomats, military commanders, policymakers and global experts, contributing significantly to informed public discourse on issues of national and international importance.
He had been working as executive editor in CNN-News 18. He has been the foremost TV political journalist; travelled across india; reported from all states in India; covered 4 general elections; brought all major stories of the last 15 years to Indian living rooms; made a mark for being a tough no nonsense interviewer in Indian tv space. Interviewed all top politicians and newsmakers of the last decade.

Ashok Khurana, Former DG-CPWD is a distinguished public policy and governance professional with extensive experience in the fields of infrastructure development, urban governance, institutional management and public administration. Over the course of his career, he has worked closely with government institutions, policy bodies and development initiatives, contributing to the design and implementation of programmes aimed at strengthening governance systems and public service delivery. He has been actively associated with several strategic policy dialogues and national development initiatives relating to governance reforms, infrastructure, sustainability and institutional capacity building.
As a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Counter Terrorism Council (GCTC), he provides valuable guidance on policy, governance and institutional engagement, supporting GCTC’s efforts to promote informed dialogue on national security, strategic affairs, public policy and emerging global challenges.

Sanjeev Tripathi, IPS (Retd.) is a distinguished former Indian Police Service officer who served as the Secretary of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s external intelligence agency. During his illustrious career spanning over four decades, he held several key assignments in intelligence, national security, strategic affairs, and international security cooperation.
Widely regarded as one of India’s foremost intelligence professionals, Shri Tripathi possesses extensive expertise in counter-terrorism, intelligence operations, strategic analysis, regional security, and geopolitical affairs. Following his retirement, he has continued to contribute to national security discourse through policy engagement, strategic advisory roles, research, and public discussions on intelligence, terrorism, foreign policy, and emerging security challenges. His insights are highly valued across government, academic, and strategic communities.

Satish Mathur, IPS (Retd.) is a distinguished former Indian Police Service officer and former Director General of Police (DGP), Maharashtra. With a career spanning over three decades, he held several senior leadership positions in policing, intelligence, counter-terrorism, internal security, and law enforcement. He has extensive experience in security management, police administration, investigations, and institutional reforms.
Following his retirement, Shri Mathur has remained actively engaged in public policy, national security, policing reforms, and governance-related initiatives. He is widely respected for his contributions to strengthening law enforcement institutions and promoting professional, accountable, and citizen-centric policing. His expertise continues to inform discussions on internal security, criminal justice, public safety, and strategic governance.

Ambassador Suresh Goel, IFS (Retd.), Advisory Council Member- GCTC & Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and Director General of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, is a distinguished former Indian diplomat with over three decades of experience in diplomacy, foreign policy, multilateral affairs, and international cooperation. A career officer of the Indian Foreign Service, he served in several important diplomatic assignments and represented India in key bilateral and multilateral engagements across the world.
Ambassador Goel is particularly recognised for his expertise in international relations, strategic affairs, global governance, and multilateral diplomacy. Following his retirement, he has remained actively involved in policy research, academic engagement, and strategic dialogue on issues relating to geopolitics, foreign policy, international security, and India’s role in global affairs. His extensive diplomatic experience and deep understanding of international affairs continue to contribute significantly to strategic and policy discourse in India and abroad.

Lt Gen Raj Shukla, PVSM, YSM, SM (Retd.) is a distinguished former General Officer of the Indian Army who served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Army Training Command (ARTRAC). During a military career spanning nearly four decades, he held several key command, staff, and instructional appointments, contributing significantly to India’s military preparedness, strategic planning, and force modernisation.
Widely respected for his expertise in national security, military strategy, defence transformation, and future warfare, Lt Gen Shukla has been actively engaged in strategic research, policy discussions, and public discourse on defence and security issues following his retirement. He is a prominent commentator on national security, geopolitics, military affairs, and emerging defence challenges, and continues to contribute to informed strategic dialogue through various academic, policy, and institutional platforms.

Mr. Gandhi had an illustrious career of spanning for more than 3 decades. He is well known through for his command and expertise as financial sector policy expert and adviser. He had a three-year secondment to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the capital market regulator. He also held the charge of Director of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology IDRBT), Hyderabad. He has been associated with various committees, working groups and task forces, both domestic and international. He was one of the initial members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). He was a member of the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the Committee on Global Financial Systems (CGFS), Basle.

Dr. Kanwal Sibal is the Chairman and Advisory board of GCTC. He was the Foreign Secretary of India from July 2002- November 2003. His Diplomatic career spanning over 41 years included his ambassadorial posts in Turkey, Egypt, and Russia, among others. He has also been a member of the National Security Advisory Board. He is a regular writer on International affairs in leading dailies.

Dr. Sibal graduated from the World Information Distributed University with the scientific degree of International Doctor of Philosophy and the scientific degree of Grand Doctor of Philosophy, in June 2006. He is the First Grand Doctor of Philosophy in India. He received the title of Full Professor from the European Academy of Informatization and the World Information Distributed University-WIDU.

Throughout most of his 40-year illustrious career, General Hasnain has served in turbulent environments and hot spots. From Sri Lanka to Siachen Glacier, from the North East to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), and in UN operations from Mozambique to Rwanda, he has seen it all in crucial appointments. He served seven tours in J&K, decorated in almost all of them and knows the J&K conflict comprehensively. He commanded the Indian Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps and is today one of the foremost writers and analysts on J&K, Pakistan, the Middle East and transnational extremist violence. He is a much sought-after speaker and writes for major Indian newspapers – The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle and The Asian Age, besides being a regular participant in television debates on mainstream television. With a strong academic background from Sherwood College Nainital, St Stephen’s College Delhi, the Royal College of Defence Studies, King's College London and the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Hawaii, he has been at the forefront of encouraging the adoption of the US initiated Scholar Warrior concept in the Indian Army. He has spoken at the Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy, the Rajaratnam School for International Studies and the Indian Institute for South Asian Studies, all in Singapore. He has also spoken at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), London. He is associated with the Vivekanand International Foundation and Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, as Distinguished Fellow and is on the Governing Council of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies (IPCS). He speaks on National Security at various military, civil services and corporate institutions with a view to enhancing India’s strategic culture. He has recently visited Iran and was at the forefront of neutralizing Pakistani influence operations in that country.

On 13 July 2018, The President of India appointed Lt Gen Hasnain as Chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir.

Gen Hasnain has six decorations awarded by the President of India and two by the Army Chief. He superannuated from the Indian Army in July 2013 after 40 years of active service.

Wing Commander Ravi Kant Sharma has been commanding the Maritime Strike Jaguar Squadron. He is a Test Pilot and a Qualified Flying Instructor with more than 2900 hours of accident-free flying, of which nearly 1400 hours are on Jaguar aircraft. An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College he has held various important appointments like Flight Commander of a Jaguar Squadron and Deputy Director at Air Headquarters.

During his tenure as Commanding Officer, the Squadron had consistently completed the command task. In every exercise that the Squadron had taken part in, it had performed extremely well. In Command Gunnery Meet, the Squadron was overall runner-up. The Directorate of Maintenance and Inspection team, which carried out a Quality Audit of the Jaguar fleet in Oct 95, had a special word of appreciation for the Squadron with respect to its maintenance practices. To cap all the achievements, the Squadron was assessed Average Plus in all three disciplines of Operations, Maintenance and Administration by the Directorate of Air Staff Inspection in Nov 95. The achievements were a direct result of the able leadership provided by Wg Cdr RK Sharma.

Wg Cdr RK Sharma is a thorough professional, with a keen eye for details. It was due to his total involvement that the operational status of the Squadron has remained very high. He ensured that the serviceability state of the aircraft in the Squadron remained consistently high to meet its various operational and training commitments.

For exceptional devotion to duty, the President is pleased to award the ‘Vayu Sena Medal’ to Wing Commander Ravi Kant Sharma.

Lieutenant General Suresh Sharma took over as Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army. In his capacity as Engineer-Chief, in addition to steering the Corps of Engineers, he will serve as the Principal Advisor to Chiefs of Army, Navy, Air Force and the Ministry of Defence on all matters pertaining to engineering works services, being head of Military Engineering Services (MES).

The General Officer commanded an Engineer Regiment during Operation\ Parakram and has held key operational logistics appointments in an Infantry Brigade along the Line of Control and an Infantry Division & Strike Corps in the South Western Theatre. He was assigned to the United Nations as an Advisor and served as Chief Operations Officer of the Mission in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Within the Corps, the General Officer has commanded the Bengal Engineer Group and Centre, a premiere training institution, and tenanted the appointments of Chief Engineer (Indian Navy & Coast Guards) Mumbai Zone, Chief Engineer South Western Command and Director General Combat Engineers at the Army HQs.

Prior to taking over as the Engineer-in-Chief, he served as the 24th Director General of the Border Roads Organization (DGBR), where he provided direction and renewed impetus to number of strategic border area projects. On 26 January 2016, the General Officer was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) by the President of India.

Lt Gen Suresh Sharma (Retd) has been appointed Principal Advisor to the Central Board of Irrigation and Power( CBIP), a premier institution set up by the Government of India in 1927. CBIP has been rendering dedicated services to professional organizations, engineers and individuals in the country related to Power, Water Resources and Renewable Energy.

Lt Gen Arun Kumar Sahni is a decorated, scholar – soldier, with 40 years of commissioned service in the Indian Army. In his last assignment, tenanting the second highest rank of the army, he was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of one of the six operational commands of the Indian Army.

His experience encompasses service in the country’s most inhospitable and conflict affected areas to battle external and internal security challenges. He has an unenviable record of being a high achiever throughout his career, starting with the ‘Sword of Honor’
and President’s Gold medal on commissioning to the Army, in 1976.In addition to his command of troops, he has been an Instructor at various Military Schools of Instruction, attended a career course with the British army at UK, was Assistant Military Attache in Russia and has been intimately involved with force structuring, op preparedness and modernization of the Indian Army. The officer has also been involved at the apex level with issues related to cyber, digitization and network enablement for the Indian Army.

The officer is known for his academic excellence and oratory skills. He is incisive with his strategic insight and understanding of internal and external security issues including the emerging international dynamics. Presently he contributes meaningfully through experience sharing and formal interface with different organizations at the operational, directional and strategic level. He is mentoring start-ups and new initiatives that are in the domain of Information Security and HR Management. He is an active participant with various think tanks on a wide range of subjects and is also a motivational speaker on
leadership.

Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia, PVSM, AVSM, SM, (Retd) superannuated after 40 years of distinguished service in the Army as the Director of General Military Operation (DGMO), one of the most important functionaries of the Army. As the DGMO, he was directly responsible for talks with his counterparts in Pakistan to ensure a sustained ceasefire, a first of its kind and was much appreciated by the National Polity. His advisory skills in the strategic arena have played an indispensable part in designing and implementing numerous policies for the Indian Army. He was instrumental in giving the much-needed focus to capability development and capacity enhancement along our Northern borders and effective management of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the LoC. He is a proud alumnus of Sainik School Ghorakhal and the National Defence Academy. Commissioned into the Parachute Regiment in June 1974, he is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, College of Defence Management and the prestigious National Defence College. He has wide-ranging experience in command, staff and instructional appointments. His higher command assignments include that of Mountain Brigade in North Bengal, Infantry Division on the Line of Control and an operational Corps along the India-VChina border. His operational experience is varied, as he has actively been part of Ops Rakshak, Vijay, Rhino, Hifazat, Orchid, Falcon, all clear and Cactus(Maldives). He has written on wide- ranging subjects such as Regional and National Security, International Relations, Special Operations, Human Resources Development, Human Rights, Psychological & Information Warfare and Operational Philosophy in the course of his career and post superannuation. General has also vas experience in Disaster Management. As the Corps commander, he was responsible for the planning, deployment of resources and execution of rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations during the Sikkim Earthquake of 2011.

Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia was the colonel of the Parachute capabilities. He was also the Co-Chair of the India-US Executive Steering Group on Defence Cooperation.

Mr. G. K. Pillai retired from the IAS as Union Home Secretary in 2011. He is a distinguished alumni of IIT Madras.

He worked for the State Government of Kerala, holding various positions including that of District Collector, Quilon, Special Secretary Industries, Secretary Health and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister.

In the Government of India, he has worked in the Ministries of Defence, Surface Transport, Home and Commerce. He was chairman of Board of Approvals for SEZ, chief negotiator for India at the WTO and Secretary Commerce, Government of India.

An accomplished academician, Dr Kavita A Sharma has been an active contributor to the cause of higher education through her teaching, publications and the institutions she has been associated with. Dr Kavita Sharma started teaching in 1971 in Delhi University’s Hindu College and became its Principal in 1998 and served there till 2008 when she took up another challenging assignment as Director of India International Centre, New Delhi.

She has published several books including Internationalization of Education, Sixty Years of University Grants Commission, Hindu College, Delhi – A People’s Movement and The Windmills of the Mind. Her research papers on a wide range of topics, including higher education, language, immigration and identity, culture and women, have made their way into many reputed national and international publications.

Dr Sharma holds a PhD Degree in English from the University of Delhi and an LLM degree from the University of British Columbia, Canada. A Fulbright Fellow, she was conferred the Indira Gandhi Sadbhavana Award by the National Integration and Economic Council in 2005.

Widely travelled around the world, Dr Sharma had also been an Honorary Visiting Lecturer at Tokyo’s Women’s Christian College and the University of Indonesia. She is associated with many professional organizations including the English Association, Indian Association of Canadian Studies, Indian Law Institute and Indian History Congress. She has been the Founder and President of the Parent’s Forum for Meaningful Education.

She was then Director, India International Centre, New Delhi (2008-2014). She is a Life Member of several prestigious associations and institutes including the Indian Association of Canadian Studies, Indian Law Institute, Association of Comparative Literature and Indian History Congress. She has been a recipient of Indo-Canadian Shastri Fellowships twice (1991-92 and 2002-2003) and has also been awarded the Fulbright Fellowship New Century Scholar (2007-08) for research on ‘Higher Education in the 21st Century: Access and Equity by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She has several published books to her credit, including, Windmills of the Mind (2006), Queens of Mahabharata (2006) and Birds, Beasts, Men and Nature in Mahabharata (2008), Internationalization of Higher Education: An Aspect of India’s Foreign Relations (2008), Sixty Years of the University Grants Commission; Establishment, Growth and Evolution (2013), Hindu College, Delhi – A People’s Movement (2014), National University of Educational Planning and Administration, A Transformational Journey, NUEPA (2015). Apart from that she has edited several books and contributed chapters to them. She has also contributed extensively to research journals, and participates regularly in seminars and conferences in India and abroad on subjects ranging from higher education, gender issues, diaspora and Mahabharata.

Suhasini Haidar is the Diplomatic Editor of The Hindu, one of India’s oldest and most respected national dailies, regularly writing on Foreign policy issues. Prior to this, Suhasini was Foreign Affairs editor and prime time anchor for India’s leading 24-hr English news channel CNN-IBN (2005-2014), where she presented the signature show “WorldView with Suhasini Haidar”, and Correspondent for CNN International’s New Delhi bureau before that. In 2015, she was the recipient of the most prestigious Indian print journalism ‘Prem Bhatia’ award, and has won a series of awards for her work in Television as well.

Over the course of her 26-year reporting career, Suhasini has covered the most challenging stories & conflicts from the most diverse regions including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Libya, Lebanon and Syria. In India, she has covered the foreign affairs beat for over a decade and her domestic assignments include political profiles and in-depth reportage from conflict zones including Kashmir, where she was injured in a bomb blast in 2000.

Suhasini Haidar worked with CNN International from 1995-2005, regularly reporting from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. She was part of the CNN team that won the Columbia-Dupont Broadcast Journalism Award in 2005 for coverage of the tsunami in India, and worked for CNN.com in New York for a month during its 9/11 coverage.

Suhasini began her career in journalism as an intern at CNN’s United Nation’s bureau in New York in 1994, after which she joined CNN New Delhi bureau as a producer in April 1995.

Suhasini earned a Bachelor's degree at Lady Shriram College in Delhi, and then completed her Masters in Broadcast Journalism at Boston University’s College of Communication, USA. She lives in Delhi with her husband Nadim and her two daughters Ava Mumtaz and Maya Mehr.

Navika Kumar – India’s leading Journalist with over 2.5 decades of experience in Print and Television. She is among few journalists who have made their imprint in both political as well as in business reporting. Kumar has been credited for investigating and breaking some of the most high- impact stories.

As Group Editor of TIMES NETWORK & Editor-in-Chief of TIMES NOW NAVBHART, Navika Kumar plays a pivotal part in the overall affairs of Channels. Besides directing the Political reporting strategy for all of Times Network’s Channels, she is also the Editorial Head for all Policy/ Political themed properties of Times Influence. She is also responsible for strategic decision making and credible dissemination of news flow on a daily basis. As an entrepreneurial Manager for the Network, her contribution goes beyond Content and she is a critical member of the Network Top Management team.

She hosts the Prime Time Debate Show – “The Newshour@9” every weeknight and an interview show – “Frankly Speaking with Navika Kumar” over weekends on Times Now. And Prime Time Debate Show “Sawaal Public Ka” on Times Now Navbharat.