Ms. Corinne Demege
Head of International Cooperation, Swiss Embassy – New Delhi
Ms. Corinne Demenge joined the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland in 2008. In August 2020, she took up the position of Head of International Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi. SDC’s work in India focuses on addressing the global challenge of climate change by finding innovative solutions for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions or exchanging knowledge and skills to adapt to the consequences of climate change. Previously, she held the positions of Deputy Head of Cooperation in Tajikistan (2017-2020) and Head of Staff Unit at the Global Cooperation Domain in Bern, which is responsible for SDC’s engagement with the UN system and International Financial organizations (2013-2017). From 2009 to 2013, Ms Corinne worked as Assistant Country Director at the Swiss Embassy in Nepal. As part of her former assignments, she worked with the World Food Programme in New Delhi, India (2007-2008).
Ms Corinne Demenge holds an MPhil in international development studies from Oxford University, England, and a MA in international studies from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Mark Smith, IWMI- Co Chair
Director General
Divya Kashyap
SDC Project Manager
Divya holds a Masters in Environmental Management from University of Oxford and Masters in Regional Planning and Rural Development from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
Dr. Aditi Mukherji
Regional Project Coordinator, IWMI – Member Secretary
Dr. Alok Sikka
Lead, Groundwater Component and Country Representative, IWMI India
He brings extensive experience from his long term employment at the India Center for Agricultural Research which culminated in the role of Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management), and Deputy Director General (Agri. Extension). At ICAR he lead a research portfolio covering: farming systems research, conservation agriculture, decision support tools for water management, drought analysis and management, land use planning, land use hydrology, Integrated Watershed Management, water harvesting and ground water recharge, soil erosion mapping, and modelling & Sedimentation. He has a PhD in Civil & Environment, Energy, Hydrology & Water Resources from Utah State University, USA.
Dr. Tushaar Shah
Advisor and member of Project Advisory Committee
Rajeev Gyani
Additional Director (RE) ISA NFP/CP Coordinator Representative, International Solar Alliance, ISA
Professionally a Mechanical Engineer & Certified Energy Auditor. +30 years of experience in the field of Renewable Energy & Energy Conservation. Worked in Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA), as Regional Head & Project Head for Solar Electrification and Operation maintenance of more than 1800 locations including remote un electrified villages, tribal hostels, community places, government buildings, institutions in urban areas, Solar Pumps for irrigation/drinking water, Energy Conservation/Efficiency in Urban Local Bodies/Govt Institutions/Industries etc. and Compliance of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO)
&Renewable Energy Certificate mechanism of Government of India within Chhattisgarh State. Joined International Solar Alliance (ISA), since April 2018, as Additional Director (RE), heading the ISA Programme No. 1 – Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use. Simultaneously working as ISA Coordinator for National Focal Points and Contact Points of ISA Countries. Recently concluded the first ever largest International Competitive Bid for Price Discovery of 272,579 Nos. of Solar Water Pumping Systems for 22 ISA Member Countries.
# Twice visited Hiroshima University, Japan to give lecture on Solar PV Technology.
# Presented papers on renewable energy & energy conservation in more than twenty National & International Conferences
# Papers published in National & International Souvenirs/Magazines
# Life Member of Solar Energy Society of India (SESI), Society of Energy Engineers & Managers (SEEM) and Chartered Engineer
S. M. Monirul Islam
Deputy CEO and CFO Representative, IDCOL, Bangladesh
Mr. S. M. Monirul Islam joined IDCOL in 1998 and worked as a key resource person of the Company since its inception. Mr. Islam holds substantial wealth of experience in financial management and he is an expert in negotiating and managing funds from the government and various development partners. He has been managing, apart from the company’s own resources, about USD 1 billion of development funds, in the forms of credit and grant, raised from development partners like The World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), UK Department for International Development (DFID), German Development Bank (KFW), German Development Cooperation (GIZ), SNV – Netherlands Development Organisation, Global Partnership on Output Based Aid (GPOBA), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF), etc.
Mr. Islam has been trained, home and abroad, on financial management and reporting, project financing, financial modeling, procurement, project evaluation and monitoring, prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, micro-finance and ICT. Mr. Islam has led several delegations to different overseas forums and events and represented the organization as well as the country. He presented key notes and addressed a number of national and international seminars and workshops. Mr. Islam is a key person in designing and implementing promotion and capacity building initiatives under the development programs of the organization.
Apart from financial management, Mr. Islam also oversees the operations activities of the organization which include procurement, administration, people management and ICT.
Akhilesh Magal
Representative GERMI, Gujarat, India
Mr. Akhilesh Magal heads the Renewable Advisory team at Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI), where he leads the advisory and consulting group. The group’s main task is to advise the government on implementing policies and technologies on the energy transition. He has been instrumental in drafting the solar policy, solar-wind hybrid policy, and electric vehicle policy for the state of Gujarat. He holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.
Laxman Ghimire
Representative, AEPC Nepal
An Electrical Engineer by profession, Laxman Ghimire is the Assistant Director for the Solar and Wind Energy Section in Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation (MoEWRI) at Lalitpur in Nepal. Ghimire’s main interests have been in areas surrounding renewable energy policy formulation, development, and promotion of solar energy in rural Nepal and quality control aspects related to renewable energy. He has an extensive experience of working with rural communities in the country. He holds a PhD from the Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Kifayat Zaman
Head of Department, Director General, Federal Water Management Cell, Pakistan
Mr. Kifayat Zaman is Head of Department, Director General, Federal Water Management Cell at the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Pakistan. He has more than 18 years of progressive experience in diverse institutional setups at key managerial, strategic and leadership roles in national (Federal/provincial government) and international development and humanitarian settings, including USAID, World Bank, FAO, to name a few. Under Prime Minister’s National Agriculture Emergency Program (PM-NAEP), Mr Zaman has supervised 3 mega national water projects and has been a member of strategic planning groups for various national and international collaboration on water, farm mechanisation and sustainable land resources management. Prior to joining FWMC, he was associated with UN-FAO in Peshawar, Pakistan, as a Water Management Officer. He holds a master’s degree in agricultural engineering, specialising in soil and water engineering from UET Peshawar.
The overall purpose of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) is to review and approve annual work plans, monitor progress in project execution, provide strategic and policy guidance, and to support communication and dissemination of project outcomes. The Project Steering Committee will have decision-making authority to review the overall project development over the project life time.
The Project Steering Committee shall consist of six (6) regular members and five (5) co-opted members.