Shri Raj Kumar Singh assumed the charge as the Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India on 3rd September, 2017. Shri Singh joined Indian Administrative Service in 1975 and held various important assignments, such as the District Magistrate of East Champaran and of Patna, Director and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, Commissioner of Patna Division and Home Secretary of Bihar, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Principal Secretary of the Road Construction Department of the Government of Bihar. He also held the post of Secretary, Department of Defence Production, Government of India and the Union Home Secretary, Govt. of India. He was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014. He served on various Parliamentary Committees including mainly, the Privilege Committee, the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Defence and the Standing Committee of Ministry of Health &Family Welfare. He was also a Member of the Standing Committee for Peace and Security of International Parliamentary Union. As Minister of State with Independent Charge of the Ministries of Power and New & Renewable Energy, he had the privilege of launching and accomplishing the task of the world’s biggest power access programme, under which all villages and hamlets in the country were provided access to electricity. Thereafter, he implemented the “Saubhagya Scheme”, which saw electricity connections being provided to more than 26 million households who were earlier deprived within a span of 18 months (October 2017 – March 2019). The International Energy Agency acknowledged this achievement as the most significant initiative in the energy sector worldwide. His term as the Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister was also marked by connecting the whole country into one grid under the initiative ‘One Country, One Grid, One Frequency’. This has ensured access to the better quality of power, stability to the grid and also the efficient use of energy in line of Sustainable Development Goals. In the Renewable Energy Sector, Shri Singh has effectively catalyzed India’s vast RE potential with renewable energy capacity already reaching around 90 GW as on date with around 50 GW under installation. India is now well poised under his leadership to achieve the target of 175 GW by December 2022.

Mr. Ajwad Musthafa was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Energy on 19th January 2014. He holds an MSc in Energy Economics from University of Surrey, UK. Prior to his appointment, he was the Director General and a member of the Governing Board of Maldives Energy Authority. Mr. Musthafa currently oversees all activities at an executive level within the Ministry and act as a financial executive of the institution, as well as the head of civil service of the Ministry who coordinates with Ministers and other political appointees. The scope of his diverse management experience spans all sectors within the mandate of the Ministry including environment protection and conservation, utilities services (energy, water, sewerage) and related infrastructure projects. He also has extensive experience of in the regulatory aspects of the said sectors through managerial oversight of regulatory institutions, Maldives Energy Authority and Environment Protection Agency, both of which operates in a semi-independent manner under the Ministry. Paired with his academic qualification and extensive managerial experience especially in the energy sector, he had spearheaded sector planning aspects, and had been instrumental in facilitating transformational changes within the energy sector over the past several years.

Dr Amit Jain is a Fulbright Scholar at NREL, USA, Chevening Fellow at King’s College, London, and has Ph.D. in solar energy. He works with the World Bank and leads a $2 billion renewable portfolio in India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. It includes REWA and Charanka solar park, inaugurated by Hon. PM Shri Narendra Modi. The REWA project has received the World Bank Group President Award for innovation and excellence and included in the Prime Minister's book 'A Book of Innovation: New Beginnings'. Amit’s previous assignments include the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Clinton Foundation. Amit has authored two books on climate change policy and waste to energy and has several international peer-reviewed journal publications. His hobbies include scuba diving and badminton.

Chandra Govindarajalu has over 20 years of experience working at the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) on energy efficiency, energy access and renewable energy across 15 countries in South Asia, East Asia as well as Middle East and North Africa. He leads the energy climate finance team which is responsible for mobilizing climate finance for the Energy and Extractives Practice at the World Bank. He also leads the global energy storage program and the coal transition program at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) Chandra holds a PhD in Energy and Environmental Policy from the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware.

Representative of SNA

FARIS HADAD-ZERVOS is the World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka based out of Kathmandu. He leads the overall program and policy dialogue with the clients, providing guidance to the management teams in the countries. Prior to this, he served as the World Bank Country Manager for Nepal, Country Manager for Malaysia and the Head of the Global Knowledge and Research Hub in Kuala Lumpur. Mr. Hadad-Zervos, a US national, joined the World Bank in 1996 with the Private Sector Development Department. He served as Manager of the Technical Cooperation Program with the Gulf Cooperation Countries (2000-2003), Head of Mission for Iraq (2003-2005), Operations Manager for the West Bank and Gaza (2005-2008), Acting Director for Fragile States in the Operations Department (2010-2011) and Country Manager for Bolivia (2012-2015). In 2008, Hadad-Zervos took a leave of absence from the World Bank to serve as the Deputy Head of the Quartet Office for the Middle East Peace Process, based in Jerusalem. Mr. Hadad-Zervos holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from George Mason University, and a Master's Degree in Finance from The George Washington University.

Gailius J. Draugelis is a Lead Energy Specialist with the World Bank’s South Asia Infrastructure Energy. In his 24-year career at the World Bank, Gailius has had the privilege of advising clients, managing investment and policy lending projects and overseeing portfolios that mobilized World Bank and external financing of over US$5 billion in clean energy, energy efficiency, urban infrastructure, air quality and post conflict reconstruction, across the Baltic states, Bangladesh, Central Asia, China, Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Southeast Europe and other South Asian countries. Prior to his current position, he was responsible for strategy and oversight of energy sector lending, technical assistance, policy dialogue and client relationships for the World Bank in China, Mongolia and Indonesia – based in Beijing and Jakarta for nine years. Toward the end of his seven-year residence in Beijing, he was appointed Program Leader for the Bank’s Energy, Climate Change, Environment and Agriculture businesses in China and Mongolia. He is a co-author of the following publications: Urban China: Toward Efficient, Inclusive and Sustainable Urbanization (2014); Survey of International Experience in Advanced Metering Infrastructure and its Implementation (2019); and Data Analytics for Advanced Metering Infrastructure: A Guidance Note for South Asian Power Utilities (2019).

Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan was appointed as the Minister of Environment on the 17th of November 2018, following the inauguration of the new administration of President H.E. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The new Minister is responsible for the conservation of the natural environment, water resources and energy sources in the Maldives.

Mr. Upendra Tripathy, former Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has made exceptional and outstanding contribution towards achieving 175 GW target and for ushering in policies that transformed India’s renewable energy sector between 2014 and 2016. In ex-officio capacity, he has headed Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), National Institute of Solar Energy and National Institute of Wind Energy, National Institute of Bio Energy, Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States (AREAS) and International Solar Alliance (ISA). Mr. Tripathy galvanised both the Ministry of Renewable Energy and the Solar Energy Corporation through a plethora of new and imaginative policy measures. His institution building abilities and innovations got reflected in building of Hassan Kalamandir (1989), Center for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) in Indian Institute of Science (2009), Environmental Management Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) (2003), Akshar Foundation (2001), turnaround of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) (2003-2008) and institution of Nrupathunga Award in Karnataka (2008). For these achievements, and for all his work in transforming a city Transport undertaking in Bangalore into a profit making one, the Prime Minister of India bestowed the PM’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration of Mr. Tripathy in 2009. Other awards that recognise his abilities, excellence and innovative thinking, are – Extra-Ordinary Citizens’ Award from Rotary International-2008, Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) Award 2016 for outstanding contribution to India’s Renewable Energy Sector, 10th Enertia Life Time Achievement Award- 2016 and UBM 2016 as Crusader of the year for Renewable Energy. What helps Mr. Tripathy in being an outstanding administrator of great eminence is his 36 years of diverse experience in an across related sectors- land administration, rural development, agriculture, education, social inclusion, environment, petroleum and natural gas, and transportation. He has worked in federal, provincial sand local administrations in India. HE Mr Tripathy currently heads International Solar Alliance as DG and can be at reached at utripathy@gmail.com and utripathy@isolaralliance.org.