DCE Alumni Book

Celebrating Excellence
Celebrating
Excellence
The Great Alumni Power of India’s premier
engineering institution DCE, now DTU, Speaks
GLOBAL ALUMNI CONCLAVE 2012

Arti Printers • 09313990242 • artiprinters2010@gmail.com
A Pan DCE DTU Publications

E d i t o rs
Delhi Technological University Prof. P. B. Sharma
(Formerly Delhi College of Engineering)
Shahbad Daulatpur, Bawana Road, Delhi-110042, INDIA Dr. Ruchika Malhotra
www.dce.edu Rashmi Sablania
Sanjay Meena
Celebrating
Excellence
Celebrating
Excellence
E d i t o rs
Prof. P. B. Sharma
Dr. Ruchika Malhotra
Rashmi Sablania
Sanjay Meena

Delhi Technological University
Shahbad Daulatpur, Bawana Road, Delhi-110042, INDIA
www.dce.edu
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgement
Messages
From the Desk of Vice Chancellor - “Celebrating 70 Years of Excellence”
1. Rajesh K. Soin 32
Chairman, Soin International
2. K. L. Chugh 37
Chairman Emeritus, ITC Ltd.
3. Vinod Dham 40
Father of Pentium Chip
4. Durga D. Agrawal 46
President & CEO, Piping Technology & Products, Inc.
5. Prof. Bhuvenesh Goswami 47

Professor, Clemson University, USA
6. Ajoy Choudhury 51
Principal Partner, Ajoy Choudhury and Associates
7. Promod Haque 52
Managing Director, Norwest Venture Partners
8. Sanjiv Ahuja 56
Chairman and CEO of LightSquared
9. A. K. Purwaha 60
CMD, Engineers India Limited
10. Ashwani Kumar Datt 62

CMD, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
11. Prof. Yogi Goswami 64

John & Naida Ramil Professor & Director, Clean Energy
Research Center, University of South Florida
12. Ashok Kumar Puri 66

Former CMD, BHEL
13. Ashok K. Baweja 68

Former Chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
14. Sharad Sharma 70

Former CEO Yahoo India R&D
15. C. Y. Pal 75
Non-Executive Chairman, Cadbury India
16. Arun Kumar Puri 79

Former Chief Engineer, Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power
17. Sanjay Nayar 81
CEO KKR Group (Former CEO CITIBANK Asia)
18. Srikant Gokhale 84

Former CEO, The Mobile Store, ESSAR Group
19. Karnal Singh 89

Director of Police, Mizoram
20. Surya Kant 90

President, TCS North America
21. Arun Jain 95

Chairman, Polaris Software
22. Anil Sardana 98

Managing Director, Tata Powers
23. Janak Bhasin 102

Former Chairman, Central Electricity Authority
24. Satish Kumar 105

Director (Electrical), DMRC
25. Satish K. Vij 109

President, Indian Buildings Congress
Former Member, Engineering/Railway Board
26. Ashok Khurana 113

Member Engineering, DDA
27. Raj Jain 117

MD and CEO, Bharti Walmart
28. Dr. Krishan Kumar 118

Director, Maruti Udyog Ltd.
29. N. Sivasailam, IAS 119

Managing Director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
30. Satpal Goel 120

Management Consultant
31. Dr. O. P. Grover 124

Former Professor & HOD, Deptt. of Mech. Engg., Delhi College of Engineering
32. P. K. Adlakha 127

Founder and Managing Director Adlakha Associates Pvt. Ltd.
33. Prof. Vinod Mahna 129

Former Joint Secretary, Government of India
34. Ashok Sarin 132

Former Additional Director General, CPWD &
Former Member (Engineering), DDA
35. R. S. Kalsi 135

Executive Officer (SPD, SND and Logistics), Maruti Suzuki
36. Prof. M. G. Syal 139
Professor, Michigan State University
37. Ravinder Kumar Rehani 141

Former MD, PNB Asset Management Company, Ltd.
38. S. M. Mahajan 142

Former Executive Director, BHEL
39. Jayant Ratti 145

President & CEO, TechJect Inc.
40. Dr. Goldie Gabrani 147

Whole Time Director, Hythro Power Corporation Ltd.
41. Arun Goyal, IAS 150

Minister (Economic and Commercial) at Embassy of India, Tokyo
42. Vivek Priyadarshi 151

Suprintendent of Police, CBI
43. Dr. Pawan Kumar Sharma, IAS 155

District Collector & Magistrate (IAS), Chhindwara, MP

44. Bhishma Kumar Chugh 159
Special Advisor, Innovative Technologies & Systems, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
(Former Director General, CPWD)
45. Vijay Shekhar Sharma 161

MD, One97 Comm
46. Sanjay Diwan 165

Vice-President Marketing, IMI Mobiles
47. Aakash Sinha 168

CEO, Omnipresent Robot Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
48. Adarsh Sakhuja 172

President, CliffDew Management Consultants
49. Amit Khatri, IAS 175

50. Anil Kapuria 178
Chief Operating Officer, The Stride Center
51. Ashok Kumar Gupta 182

Chairman, Crane-Bel International Pvt. Ltd.
52. Devendra Garg 185

Chairman and Managing Director, Garuda Cotex Shades Ltd.
53. Devinder Kaul 187

Deputy General Manager, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd.
54. Sangeeta Wij 190

Managing Director, Prime SD Engineering Consultants Ltd.
55. Aurbind Sharma 195

Founder & CMD, TED Consulting
56. Durjoy Datta 197
Author and Founder Director, Grapevine India Publishers
57. Sachin Garg 200

Author & Co-founder, Grapevine India Publishers
58. Sangeeta Nagrath 204

Founder Partner, HR Bridges
59. Sparsh Gupta 207

Partner and CTO at Wingify Software Pvt. Ltd.
60. Krishan Kalra 210

Additional Secretary General, FICCI
61. Santosh Kumar 212

Director General, National Power Training Institute
62. Bharat Bhatia 213

Regional Director, Asia Pacific Government Affairs,
Motorola Solutions Singapore
63. Air Marshal R. K. Vashisht 214

AO-In-Charge Maintenance
64. Anuj Kanish 215

Co-Founder & CEO, TolMol.com
65. Arun Aggarwal 217

Team leader, Treasury Sales, ICCI Bank
66. Dr. Adermi Adekoya 220

Director of the DDR, United Nation
67. C. M. Dutta 223

Senior Executive Director, Research Design & Standard Organization
68. Arnav Anand 225

Director of Business Development at Orbees Medical
69. Mudit Narain 229

Energy Analyst, World Bank
70. Anand Meena 231

Founder & CTO, Acube Technologies
71. Anwesha Bose 234

Co-Founder & CMO, Acube Technologies
Disclaimer 237
About the Editors 238
Preface
Delhi Technological University, erstwhile Delhi College of
Engineering and Delhi Polytechnic has produced world’s finest
and best engineers who have risen to great positions in corporate
world in India and abroad. They have provided immense glory to
their Alma matter by providing their distinguished services to the
nation with utmost dedication and commitment. The alumni of Delhi
technological university, erstwhile Delhi College of Engineering and
Delhi Polytechnic has excelled in every phase of life. Some like Vinod
Dham, 1971 EC, The Designer of Pentium Chip, Raj Soin, 1969 Mech.
Chairman, Soin International, Ohio, USA and K.L. Chugh, 1960 Mech,
former CMD of ITC, are great innovators, entrepreneurs and venture
capitalists. Few of them like Dr. Durga Das Agrawal, 1967 Mech.
President and CEO, Piping Technology and Products, Houston,
Yogesh Sud, 1969 Mech, NASA Gold Medalist Scientist, Surya Kant,
Vice President and Head TCS America USA, A.K. Puri, 1975 Mech.,
Former CMD BHEL, A.K. Baweja, Former CMD, Hindustan Aero.
Ltd., Sanjeev Ahuja, Former Chairman, Orange SA, Ashwani Kumar,
CMD, Bharat Electronics Ltd., Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata
Power Ltd., A.K. Purwaha, CMD, Engineers India Ltd., are successful
chairman and managing director of public sector organizations. Few
of them like Prof. Bhuvenesh Goswami, 1959 Textile, Distinguished
Alumni Professor, University of Clemson, USA, Prof. Yogi Goswami,
1969 Mech. Distinguished Professor of Solar Energy Technologies,
University of Florida, USA, are academicians and publishers. Others
like Satish K. Vij, President, Indian Buildings Congress, Former
Member, Engineering/Railway Board, Pawan Kumar Sharma, IAS,
Satish Kumar, Director Delhi Metro are doing great in government
sectors including civil services.
On this occasion when we celebrate 70 years of excellence

of this great institution, we illustrate the journey of the distinguished
alumni who have provided vital strength to stand among the tallest in
the community of engineering institutions in India and have enabled
us to earn a high recognition and repute abroad. This book gives
an inside view of the life of some of the greatest minds of India’s
premier institution. It is needless to say that hard work, team spirit
and leadership are some of the important traits that were honed
during their college days.
This book is an attempt to document some of the golden
pages of the history of Delhi Technological University, erstwhile Delhi
College of Engineering and Delhi Polytechnic. This may inspire,
motivate and encourage coming generations to work hard and
achieve excellence in their chosen disciplines. Readers will find great
success stories in diversified disciplines that will help them to plan
their professional career and successful life. The time tested and
effectively implemented techniques and strategies may enlighten our
readers to march on the path of success. Despite best of our efforts
we may have missed some of the enterprising alumni members here
and we sincerely regret the same.
Dated : December 31, 2011 Prof. P. B. Sharma

Dr. Ruchika Malhotra
Rashmi Sablania
Sanjay Meena
Acknowledgement
Celebrating Excellence is a tribute to the alumni of Delhi
Polytechnic, later renamed as Delhi College of Engineering and now
Delhi Technological University, scattered across the globe for not just
being successful professionals in their chosen domains but also able
citizens and better human beings.
Our sincere gratitude to all the contributors of this book, the

fabulous alumni of this glorious institution, who tolerated our incessant
calls and emails and spared their precious time to provide us the
necessary information, helped us in connecting with their batch-
mates and guided us all along. We also acknowledge the Internet
sources from which some of the information has been collected.
We are also thankful to the wonderful students and research

scholars of DTU, who helped us in different aspects of compiling
this book, including Prince Jain, Nikhil, Vaibhav Gupta, Ishha
Nagrath, Pranay Bhardwaj, Ashish Sharda, Shubham Kumar and
Poonam Gupta. The support received from Mr. Yoginder Kumar, PA
to Vice Chancellor, DTU in the preparation of this Book is also highly
appreciated and acknowledged. We are also thankful to Ms. Geeta
Kumar Singh, Documentalist, DTU Library and Mr. Harsh Tiwari, Office
Assistant. And, at last but most importantly, to the God Almighty for
removing all the bottlenecks and enabling this book see light of day.
MESSAGE
I am happy to learn that the Delhi Technological University is

celebrating 70 years of excellence and is organizing a ‘Global Alumni
Conclave-2012’ on January 7-8, 2012 to commemorate the occasion.
The alumni of Delhi Technological University spread across

the globe have made not only their alma mater, but the country proud
through their achievements. The Global Alumni Conclave is an opportune
occasion to recognize their contributions. I am sure that the Conclave
shall provide an opportunity for the alumni to network with one another
and connect with the younger generation.
I extend my warm greetings and felicitations to the organizers

and the participants and wish the Conclave all success.
(Pratibha Devisingh Patil)

New Delhi
December 23,2011
MESSAGE
The Prime Minister is happy to know that a Global Alumni

Conclave-2012 is being organized by the Delhi Technological University
from 7th to 8th January, 2012 to commemorate 70th anniversary of the
institution.
Over the years, the Delhi Technological University has shaped

itself as one of the finest institutions of excellence in Engineering and
Technology.
I am pleased to convey the greetings and good wishes of the

Prime Minister for a successful Global Alumni Conclave-2012.
(Binoy Job)
December 27, 2011
MESSAGE
It gives me immense pleasure to know that PAN DCE- DTU
network of Delhi Technological University, formerly Delhi College of
Engineering, is organizing a ‘Global Alumni Conclave’ on January 7-8,
2012.
I am also happy to learn that the University is celebrating 70
years of excellence of this prestigious institution and the Conclave
is an endeavour to bring the alumni power of the institution spread
across the world under one roof to enable them to be partners in
DTU’s attempt to scale the peaks of excellence.
Participation from successful entrepreneurs and industry
leaders at the Conclave, would act as a guiding light to the enterprising
youth, who would be soon embarking on their career paths. I am
happy to note that Entrepreneurship Summit, Leadership Lectures
and Innovation Exhibition are being organized as a part of Conclave. I
am sure that the Conclave will share the vision and the ideas of alumni
to transform DTU into the world class Technological University and
will provide the vital connect between alumni, academia and the
talented student community of the University. I extend my warm
greetings to the alumni visiting DTU campus for this Conclave.
My very best wishes for the success of the Conclave.
(Sheila Dikshit)
January 02, 2012
MESSAGE
I am happy to note that the Delhi Technological University,

formerly Delhi College of Engineering is organizing "Global alumni
Conclave 2012" to celebrate 70 years of excellence in engineering
and technology education of this prestigious institution.
It is absolutely important for us to shape our institutions of

higher learning as centres of excellence in education, research and
innovations in order to advance towards realization of our dream
of India as a developed country. For this we need to prepare our
professionals of tomorrow as highly responsible citizens adorning
human values.
I am delighted to note that during the illustrious journey of

70 years the institution has produced very many distinguished
alumni who have excelled in engineering and technology profession
at home and also abroad. It is a happy occasion when some of its
distinguished alumni shall be sharing their lifetime experience on
creating excellence with the current generations of students and
faculty at the above Conclave.
I extend my warm greetings to the visiting alumni delegates

and with the Conclave all success.
(P. K. Tripathi)
PA/STTE/Misc./2012
02nd January 2012
Message
It gives me immense pleasure to know that Delhi Technological

University, formerly Delhi College of Engineering is organizing " Global
Alumni Conclave" on January 7th - 8th, 2012 with a view to bring together
its illustrious alumni spread all across the globe.
It is also heartening to note that the University is celebrating its 70 years

of excellence in the engineering and technological education research.
This Conclave is in the right spirit to guide the enterprising youth, who
would be soon embarking on their career paths. Leadership Lectures
and Innovation Exhibition in this Conclave will further inspire the current
and future generations of budding engineering of this prestigious
technological university to contribute to engineering excellence and
bring added pride to our nation.
I extend my warm greetings to all the alumni visiting DTU campus for
this Conclave and my very best wishes for the success of the Conclave.
[Lalmalsawma]
Celebrating Excellence 23
“Celebrating 70 Years
of Excellence”
Let me begin by extending My Very Best Wishes for a Happy,
Peaceful and Professionally Enlightening New Year 2012 to all
the members of faculty, staff and students of the Delhi Technological
University as also to the alumni of this great institution, former
members of the faculty and staff and all those who have supported
the growth of this great institution during its long professional journey
spanning over 70 years.
Delhi Technological University (since 2009), its predecessors

Delhi College of Engineering (1965-2009) and Delhi Polytechnic
(1941-1964) have provided to our nation and world at large some of
the best and finest engineering and technology professionals who
have led with distinction great enterprises and corporate houses in
India and abroad, brought immense glory to their alma-mater while
at the same time enhanced the pride of the profession of engineering
by their distinguished services performed with utmost sincerity and
commitment. The long list of distinguished alumni of this great
institution which includes Vinod Dham, 1971 EC, The Designer of
Pentium Chip, Raj Soin, 1969 Mech. Chairman, Soin International,
Ohio, USA, K.L. Chugh, 1960 Mech, former CMD of ITC, Ajoy
Choudhury, 1958 Architecture, Eminent Architect, Dr. Durga Das
Agrawal, 1967 Mech. President and CEO, Piping Technology and
Products, Houston, Prof. Bhuvenesh Goswami, 1959 Textile,
Distinguished Alumni Professor, University of Clemson, USA, Prof.
Yogi Goswami, 1969 Mech. Distinguished Professor of Solar Energy
Technologies, University of Florida, USA, Yogesh Sud, 1969 Mech,
NASA Gold Medalist Scientist, Surya Kant, Vice President and Head
TCS America USA, A.K. Puri, 1975 Mech., Former CMD BHEL, A.K.
Baweja, Former CMD, Hindustan Aero. Ltd., Sanjeev Ahuja, Former
Chairman, Orange SA, Ashwani Kumar, CMD, Bharat Electronics
Ltd., Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Power Ltd., A.K.
Purwaha, CMD, Engineers India Ltd., Satish Kumar Director Delhi
Metro, Dr. Krishan Kumar Director(Technical) Maruti Udyog Ltd.,
Satish K. Vij President, Indian Buildings Congress, Former Member,
Engineering/Railway Board, Karnal Singh, IPS, DGP Mizoram
Police, Arun Goyal, IAS, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Indian
24 Celebrating Excellence
Embassy, Tokyo, Japan and many more, is a matter of great pride

and honour for this mother institution of IIT Delhi, School of Planning
and Architecture, College of Arts and it may not be wrong if we
add to this premier league the famous Faculty of Management of
Delhi University and Shri Ram College of Commerce, both having
been nurtured by the initial genes from the then Delhi Polytechnic of
Government of India at Kashmere Gate.
On this occasion when we celebrate 70 years of excellence

our of this great institution, let us get a renewed inspiration from our
distinguished alumni and also from all those who have provided
this institution the vital strength to stand among the tallest in the
community of engineering institutions in India and have enabled us
to earn a high recognition and repute abroad. And let this inspire us
to march forward on the path of professional excellence and scale
new frontiers of engineering & technology education & research in
the years to come.
The illustrious march on the path of excellence of this premier

institution began in 1941 at Kashmere Gate when the founding fathers
of this great institution put together the concept of a model institution
of higher learning in which engineering and technology excellence
would flourish in a seamless environment of Arts and Sculpture,
Town Planning and Architecture, Commerce and Management
and Pure and Applied Sciences. Such was the conviction of the
founding fathers that all these streams of learning and scholarship
flourished under one roof, enriching a fuller understanding of
engineering as a multifaceted discipline supported by a rich and
profound understanding of humanities, social sciences, business
and management and together serving the interest of the society
and nation through Applied Engineering, Applied Arts, Planning
and Management. It is also a matter of great satisfaction that the
Delhi Polytechnic offered at that time engineering and technology
programs of Certificate Level, Diploma Levels and the National
Diploma equivalent to Degree levels, all from the same institution.
Such a noble tradition is, however, today non-existent even in the
best institutions of this country.
It is also a matter of great pride that the famous Delhi

Polytechnic within the same campus had a Technical School to
sensitize and nurture that vital engineering and technology instinct

in its budding engineers while providing the thrill and excitement of
India’s rich and profound heritage, a legacy of excellence in design
and town planning as was Kashmere Gate and the Old Delhi area
then being the hub of India’s great magnificence. No wonder, this
institution produced some of the tallest personalities in engineering
and technology, commerce and management, arts and sculpture
and town planning and architecture. The only institution in the
neighbourhood at that time was the Thompson College of Engineering
at Roorkee. Together these two institutions in the northern India were
the torch bearers of India’s excellence in engineering and technology
education.
The historic campus at Kashmere Gate bore testimony of

India’s great heritage of education and scholarship. It is the same
Kashmere Gate campus which was the home for the famous St.
Stephen’s College and Hindu College. This historic campus has
witnessed the epoch-making events such as the rise of IIT Delhi at
Hauz Khas, School of Planning and Architecture at I.P. Estate near
I.T.O., College of Arts at Tilak Marg opposite Supreme Court of India
and later the rise of Delhi Institute of Technology which later became
NSIT.
The transformation of Delhi Polytechnic into Delhi College of

Engineering in 1965 was a historic event when the institution became
a College of Engineering under the then Delhi Administration. The
academic programs were affiliated to Delhi University ever since
1952. This historic change was made to provide the necessary
vertical growth in engineering and technology education by offering
degrees at the level of Degree, Post Graduate Degree and later at
the Doctoral level. The core disciplines of engineering namely Civil,
Mechanical and Electrical were further added by newer disciplines
such as Electronics and Communication in the 70’s and Computer
Engineering in the 80’s. Having transferred the Textile Technology
and Chemical Engineering to IIT Delhi with Lock-Stock and Barrel
(Faculty, Technical Staff, Books, and Laboratory Equipments),
the institution was feeling a vacuum in respect of these Applied
Engineering disciplines. This was later bridged to some extent by
adding Polymer Science and Technology in 80’s at the Master’s level.
By that time, the Delhi College of Engineering at Kashmere Gate was
already offering Master’s program in 7 other disciplines including

Thermal, Production, Controls and Instrumentation, Electronics
and Communication, Hydraulics and Flood Control, Environmental
Engineering and Structural Engineering. A Master’s program in
Computer Technology and Application was also added in the 90’s to
strengthen the Mathematical base of Modern Computing as also to
produce industry-relevant manpower for the Computer and Software
industry. Further expansion required its shifting to the new campus
at Bawana Road adjoining Sector – 17 of Rohini.
The development of the new campus at Bawana Road on

a plot of 164 acres provided a unique opportunity for innovations
and design of the institutional campus and to create an environment
in which education, research and innovations could flourish in a
largely residential campus, where the students and teachers would
have hours of interaction beyond the working hours and motivated
to return to their laboratories and Library after a short break in the
evening and on holidays. A major fillip to the expansion of educational
and professional activities took place once the college shifted to its
new campus from August 1996 onwards. The Under Graduate intake
which was at 320 at Kashmere Gate (prior to shifting to the New
Campus) rose to 670 in 2008 with the addition of new disciplines of
Information Technology, Bio Technology and Polymer Science and
Chemical Technology at Under Graduate Levels.
It is all the more a matter of great pride that the magnificent

new campus was designed by one of our illustrious alumni, an
eminent architect Shri Ajoy Choudhury, 1958 Architecture who has
excelled globally for his architectural design innovations. The campus
was constructed under the professional command and quality
supervision of our country’s one of the most illustrious technocrat
Shri Bhishma Kumar Chugh, known for his missionary zeal and firm
resolve for excellence, who later rose to the eminent position of the
Director General of CPWD and currently working as Special Advisor
on Innovative Technologies and Systems for Government of NCT
Delhi. The construction work of the new campus was also supported
by a number of eminent alumni which included Chief Engineer Shri
I. M. Singh, Shri P. S. Chadha, Project Manager who later became
Additional Director General, CPWD, Shri Rajesh Banga and Shri
Gajendra Kumar, young Assistant Engineers at that time.
I had the privilege of being associated from conceptualizing

the design to its final implementation and shifting the institution from its
Kashmere Gate Campus to the lush green magnificent New Campus
designed for innovation and energy efficient building designs. Prof.
J.N. Mudgill, the Doyen of Technical Education who himself has been
the toughest Principal of DCE and the man who planned and built IIT
Delhi was also associated in finalizing the designs and supervision of
the construction work along with senior members of the faculty of the
institution, namely Prof. M. Pal Das, former Principal and Professor
of Civil Engineering, Prof. Y.V.S.R. Sastry, the then HoD, Mechanical,
Prof. J.K. Das, the then HoD, Electrical, Prof. V.K. Mahana, the then
Dean (Academics) and Shri Satyanarain, the then OSD-cum-Project
Officer who all provided their valuable time in the development of
this new campus. The new campus owes its share of gratitude to
the Government of NCT Delhi for its generous financial outlay and
support for the rapid construction of the new campus. This enabled
shifting from the historic Kashmere Gate to the New Campus in
August 1996.
The magnificent geometric forms such as Semi-circular

Library, Triangular Administrative Block, Circular Hospital Building,
High Rise “Y” and “True V” shaped columns supporting the structure
at 3rd storey in the Academic Blocks, Maintenance Free Buildings
of the impressive circular academic plaza where radial blocks are
for Laboratories, front semi-circular buildings, housing talented
faculty and lecture theatres embedded in the inner circle together
represent the academic might of this great institution. The campus
is water secured, provided with underground storm water drainage
system, wide road network, adequate parking spaces, adequate
green cover all were designed to glow their eminence for several
decades and inspire the budding engineers for an environmentally
benign planning and development. The impressive Main Gate of the
campus is equipped with Cantilever Arches resembling the “Wings
of Knowledge” while at the same time the entire campus glowing the
“Power of Innovation” from this temple of engineering excellence,
the seat of learning and scholarship of India’s most illustrious
engineering institution.
The transformation of Delhi College of Engineering into Delhi

Technological University in 2009 through the Delhi Act 6 of 2009
marks a historic milestone in the march of this premier institution

from strength to strength, nurturing excellence all along. This
premier institution as a non-affiliating Teaching–cum–Research
Technological University is equipped with the necessary academic
and administrative autonomy which gave the opportunity to excel
beyond the milestones of achievements already accomplished.
During the first 2 years of functioning of DCE as DTU it has been
our endeavour to ensure that the growth with quality becomes the
guiding principle besides pursuing new frontiers of knowledge
and innovations in emerging and new areas of engineering and
technology. New Master’s Programs in the area of Microwave
and Optical Communication, Nano-Science and Technology, Bio-
Informatics, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Geo-Tech
Engineering and VLSI Design and Embedded System have been
added, in addition to new Under Graduate programs in areas of
Automobile Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering,
Software Engineering, Engineering Physics and lately Mathematics
and Computing. Here again, the major focus has been on nurturing
the vital synergy between science and engineering as also to foster
inter-disciplinary and trans-departmental approaches. This has
further enhanced our focus on industry-relevance and renewed our
quest for excellence in an era of knowledge creation and innovations.
We have also established Delhi School of Management in

DTU to nurture managerial excellence in a campus full of thrill and
excitement of engineering and technology. The purpose here is
to create a niche advantage in management education in areas of
Technology Management, Knowledge and Innovation Management,
Info-System Management and Supply Chain Management all
requiring a technology temper and scientific bent of mind. The
establishment of the Management School in the campus also
equipped the institution with the necessary professional connect
with the corporate and the world of business.
The year 2011 for Delhi Technological University has been

a year of great achievements and growth. The university achieved
a new height of its glory with its ranking in Top 10 Best Engineering
Institutions in India in reputed independent surveys carried out by
Outlook and India Today. DTU was ranked at No. 7 by India Today
and at No. 8 by Outlook among the Top 10 Best Engineering
institutions in India. The University also achieved the distinction of

being ranked overall at No. 3 in the country in Campus Placements
in the Best Engineering Institutions including the IITs. The highest
salary in campus placements for Undergraduates has gone up to
Rs. 40 lakhs p.a. while the domestic salary rose to Rs. 16 lakhs p.a.
Shri Ajir Behari and Shri Abhishek Gupta had the honour of receiving
the highest paid job offers of Rs. 40 lakhs plus from EPIC this year.
In all, 961 job offers have been received from 176 companies
for the graduating batch of 2011. This included 140 double job
offers for under graduates. All eligible post graduates also were
placed through campus placement marking a unique departure
from previous years. This also shows that the industry in India is now
graduating to new product development for which it is now recruiting
postgraduates and Ph.D. holders. The companies which visited DTU
includes Microsoft, Facebook, Google, EPIC, Yahoo, Oracle, IBM,
Alstom, Samsung, McKenzie, Deloitte, Freescale, Mentor Graphics,
Texas Instruments, L&T, Maruti, Tata Motors, BHEL, NTPC, EIL, GAIL,
Indian Oil, CSC, C-dot. India Railways for the first time visited DTU
for the campus placement. By the close of the year, in this academic
year (2011-12) 452 job offers have already been received from 95
companies that have visited the campus so far. The highest salary is
likely to go up to 52 lakhs as the final results of Facebook is awaited.
A large number of companies are further registered for campus
placement in January and February 2012.
On innovation front, DTU Solar Car this year (October 2011)

participated in the World Solar Challenge held in Australia from
Darwin to Adelaide while its Robotic Submarine and Super Mileage
Vehicle also participated in the International Design Competition in
US. DTU team has also developed the Next Generation Unmanned
Arial Vehicle for urban applications in collaboration with Lockheed
Martin of US.
Another major achievement of the University has been to

strengthen its interface with the industry and with the world class
universities. DTU entered into MoU with Samsung Electronics
(India) alongside with MoUs with LaTrobe University, Australia, MoU
with National University of Singapore, MoU with National Physical
Laboratory, MoU with Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun.
An M.Tech program in Software Technology for 20 Samsung

Professionals has also started by DTU thus marking the beginning of
a new era of academia – industry partnership.
DTU is celebrating 70 years of its excellence and is organizing

Global Alumni Conclave 2012 on January 7th – 8th, 2012 at which
its Global Alumni Power shall congregate at DTU Campus. A Pan
DCE DTU Portal has also been launched by DTU to provide the vital
alumni connect to its alma-mater. On this historic occasion, the great
alumni power of this premier institution has a unique opportunity to
pool together their brainwaves to envision their support to shape
their alma-mater as an institution of their dream, a world class
technological university in fact a global knowledge enterprise such
that it not only provides the necessary academic and professional
ambience to produce engineers of tomorrow but is equipped with
the necessary knowledge infrastructure, technology incubation and
innovation support mechanism to give rise to student and faculty
startups, training and shaping them as highly successful techno-
entrepreneurs of the new knowledge age. Towards this end, we
expect our alumni to support the rise of highly specialized centres
of research and development in areas of high relevance such as
solar energy technologies, tomorrow’s digital technologies, new
and smart materials and composites, nano devices, nano machines
and mechanisms and to foster newer vistas of engineering related
to tomorrow’s medical engineering, sports engineering, music
engineering and mind engineering.
The great alumni power can also pool its resources together
to create their permanent foot prints in the form of new building blocks
and academic and research facilities in their alma-mater. Above all
their constant engagement with their alma-mater in providing the
vital thought power and learned council for future planning and
development is of utmost importance. Their sharing of life long
experience of techno-preneurship and enterprise management with
the current generation of budding engineering at the institution shall
also immensely benefit the student community which shall emulate
some of the best practices with which the illustrious alumni of this
great institution have earned high eminence both nationally as well
as globally. Let this “Celebration of Excellence” inspire one and
all in this Temple of Engineering Education to devote themselves
unconditionally to the cause of excellence in design and development

and above all in service to the humanity.
Well the year 2012 must be the year of professional

enlightenment and hope for taking DTU to newer heights of glory
by our distinguished contributions to education, research and
innovations. This is also the year which shall provide a formidable
thrust to the new infrastructure development for which planning has
already taken place. During 2012 we wish to actively involve our
alumni into advancing their alma-mater to newer heights of glory and
services to the community and the profession of engineering.
“With its focus on industry relevance and its sustained quest

for excellence Delhi College of Engineering, DCE in its new avatar as
Delhi Technological University, DTU is marching ahead to become a
global leader in engineering and technology education, research and
innovations and we look forward to ever rising spirit of innovation and
commitment to march on the pathways of excellence. Let me close
by adding that "Pursuit of excellence demands unconditional
commitment and fullest dedication and paying greatest attention
to minutest details".
May I wish you all a Very Prosperous and Glorious Year 2012.
My very best wishes for the great success of “Global Alumni

Conclave 2012.
Dated: December 31, 2011 Prof. P. B. Sharma

Vice Chancellor
Rajesh K. Soin
Chairman, Soin International
“I firmly believe if an individual tries to take

the easy road without any risks, the rewards
commensurate. To achieve greater reward
a person must take greater risks. We need
to remember if it was easy, everybody would be
doing it”.
The success of Rajesh K. Soin (popularly known as Raj Soin)

can be easily labeled as a quintessential rags to riches story, but it
didn’t come easy. It wasn’t just his hardwork and determination but
also the courage to chart unknown terrain and take calculated risk
that enabled this DCEite from
Delhi to become one of the most “One of the best things
well-to-do business tycoons in the about our college life
United States (He is the founder- was some of the lifelong
owner of Soin International, which
is a multi-million dollar company friendships we developed
in US). “I firmly believe if an then and that are still a
individual tries to take the easy major part of our lives”.
road without any risks, the rewards
are commensurate. To achieve
greater reward a person must take greater risks. We need to
remember if it was easy everybody would be doing it,” said Soin.
Soin’s parents, Shri Sukhdev Raj Soin and Smt. Satya Soin
were originally from Gujranwala, West Punjab and moved to India
prior to the partition. His father’s career with Military Engineering
Services (MES) in India, ensured that the family moved to a new city
in every few years and this taught Soin to adapt quickly to different
cities, diverse languages and culture, and to make new friends.
Influenced by his father, Soin decided to pursue engineering

and was able to bag admission offers by three prominent engineering
institutions of the country, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur,
Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) and BITS, Pilani. Soin choose
DCE for being located in a big city like Delhi, more than anything
else! “I rate my overall experience at DCE as exceptional because of
a good combination of involvement in education and extracurricular
activities such as NCC, laboratory facilities, and sports. One of my
special memories during college life was a design and build project
which every student was required to complete during the last two
years of College. I was teamed up with Moti Gehani, a friend, to
design and build an automatic grain thrasher. This project gave
us hands-on experience in design and machine operations. One
of the best things about our college life was some of the lifelong
friendships we developed then and that are still a major part of our
lives,” reminisced Soin.
His stint at DCE also enriched him with a valuable lesson

that if you want to change a situation or circumstance you must get
involved and drive the change rather than complain and talk about
circumstances or situations. The lesson I learnt was if you want
change, become an agent of change and make it happen,” added
Soin.
After graduating from DCE in 1969 in mechanical engineering,
Soin pursued his M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Bradley
University located at Peoria Illinois in the United States and started
his professional career with Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. He
gradually moved on to Williams International a manufacturer of small
jet engines, where he held various management positions in the areas
of Industrial Engineering, Program Control, Project Management and
Technical Modernization. However, in 1984 he finally took the huge
risk of quitting a cushy job and pooled all his resources to concentrate
full-time on establishing Modern Technologies Corporation (MTC), an
engineering services company with the support of his life-partner and
wife Indu. According to Soin, “MTC started as an engineering services
company for defence organizations and within a couple of years after
the start up I started challenging my engineers to submit ideas they had
for potential research and development and the company financed
the development of those ideas. Successful projects developed
into a business segment and as these segments grew they evolved
into divisions of the company or subsidiaries and the engineers had
opportunities to run the business segment independently.” MTC
Technologies emerged as a provider of engineering, management
and technical services to a defense departments, federal agencies
and commercial customers, offering services in wide gamut of areas
like Acquisition Support, Aeropropulsion Sciences, Computer and
Software Technologies, Management and Administration, Operations
and Maintenance, Quality Technologies, Telecommunications and
Engineering Technologies.
In the early years of business, Soin had to at times, bet the

entire company to create a future through high risk ventures. “I firmly
believe if an individual tries to take the easy road without any risks,
the rewards commensurate. To achieve greater reward a person
must take greater risks. We need to remember if it was easy everybody
would be doing it,” he informed, who often faced the challenge of
being in a foreign land and away from family. It hardly comes as a
surprise that right from its inception MTC grew at an exceptional rate
and was hailed as one of the fastest growing companies in the United
States by Inc. magazine for four consecutive years. Over 25 years,

Soin was able to create over 15 companies. “As we spawned different
companies we retained the Defence Services and Engineering
Company under the MTC umbrella and all other companies were
moved under Soin International as subsidiaries. In 2002, we issued
an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for MTC which was publically traded in
NASDAQ. In 2008, after reaching $500 million in sales, MTC was
sold to BAE Systems,” he added.
Over the years, Soin

FAVOURITE QUOTES International sold some of the
“Luck happens when companies and today Soin
opportunity meets International is still a holding
preparedness”. company with a portfolio of five
operating companies, specializing
“The harder I work, the in Software Development, BPO,
luckier I get”. Plastics Manufacturing, Metal
Manufacturing, and Real Estate
Development.
My philosophy is that people are the most important part

in making a business successful and I have always focused on
identifying the right people. I have often been quoted as saying - I
don’t believe in industry or products, I believe in the people. If you
give me the right horse, I’ll bet on any race,” said the proud recipient
of Ernst & Young's Master Entrepreneur Award-1999.
The softer side of this immaculate businessman is repeatedly

revealed in a number of philanthropic activities that he and his wife
support be in the sphere of education, health, sports or the Indian
community based in US. Raj Soin College of Business at Wright
State University, Soin Paediatric Emergency and Trauma Centre and
Sukhdev Raj Soin Hospital
near Delhi, India are some of
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
the shining examples of it. A
large, not for profit, hospital Young people need to know
under the name Indu and that they should always dream
Raj Soin Medical Center at big and never give up and
Beavercreek, Ohio and a
Satya Soin High School in
keep working to achieve those
Jammu Kashmir, India are dreams.
also in the pipeline.
Today, besides being an active Chairman of Soin International,

Soin is involved in a number of not for profit organizations as a board
member and advisor including the Ohio Business Roundtable,
Kettering Health Network, Bradley University (Board of Trustees),
and International Alumni Committee of DTU. “Two major lessons I
have learned throughout my career are - the importance of people
and building of teams to do an effective job and secondly loyalty
to the organization and people you come in contact with. To be
successful in any venture you need strong, loyal people around you.
In order to earn loyalty, you must first demonstrate your own loyalty,”
he concluded.
K. L. Chugh
Chairman Emeritus, ITC Ltd.
“Would like to see the future generations of

DTU amongst the best global technology
leaders. The new world provides you the
opportunity to bring pride to your alma-mater
and your country.”
K L Chugh was the Chairman of the ITC Group from November

1991 to December 1995. On his retirement he was honoured with the
title of Chairman Emeritus - ITC.
Prior to joining ITC in 1971, Chugh - a Mechanical Engineer

from Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) - worked for 10 years
with India's largest engineering enterprise, the Heavy Engineering
Corporation, a public sector organization based in Ranchi, where he
achieved valuable experience in heavy industry and large projects.
Chugh set up the ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited

in the tribal area of Andhra Pradesh. Leading a young team, he
implemented this large project in record time with no cost over-runs.
The company has since received numerous awards in recognition of its
excellent working and has grown to become India's largest company.
Chugh has moreover, authored Clonal Plantation Technology in
Bhadrachalam - this has helped spur the rapid growth of the Indian
paper industry. In 1989, he came back to ITC as Vice Chairman and
took over as Chairman in 1991. During his stewardship, ITC became
one of the India's leading private sector corporations in turnover,
profit, and market capitalization, the country's largest exporter and
a prestigious Super Star trading house. During Chugh's tenure of
four years as Chairman, ITC grew more than two fold in turnover
and almost four times in profit. For two consecutive years ITC was
India's No.1 Company based on a number of criteria - growth, profit,
return to shareholders and market capitalization. In the early days
of economic liberalization, the former DCEite re-engineered ITC to
grow as India's leading multinational company. He was the first Indian
CEO to talk about `Creating India's Multinationals' and encouraging
global competitiveness.
Chugh was appointed a Director on the Central Board of

Reserve Bank of India, Shipping Credit and Investment Company
of India Ltd., Tourism Finance Corporation of India and National
Housing Bank of India; and Member, Board of Governors, National
Council of Applied Economic Research, IIM Kolkata, Administrative
Staff College of India, President AIMA. He was elected the financial
world's International 1994 CEO of the Year Asia and in 1993 was
adjudged amongst the Top two Best Indian Chief Executives. He was
elected one of five 'Tobacco Men of the Year' by the World Tobacco
International, USA, and the Most Distinguished Alumni of the DCE.
He is presently Chairman of Gati Ltd; Director of Sandhar

Auto Industries, Urban Mass Transit Co., Fozal Small Hydro Power,
and Spice Telecom; and Member of Board of Governors of the Indian
Institute of Management, Bangalore and Population Foundation of
India. His current interests are management consulting, renewable
energy and education.
Vinod Dham
Father of Pentium Chip
“Professional success for me has meant building

a compelling product, technology, or a start-up.
I attribute my success to my ability to ‘connect
the dots’ in developing a competitive business
strategy, building a world-class team, and
putting in a laser-like focus on executing that
strategy for winning in the marketplace.”
Internationally renowned as Father of Pentium Chip, Vinod

Dham was keen to become a Physicist and had even enrolled for the
B.Sc. Physics programme at Delhi University and when at the eleventh
hour his elder brother advised him to pursue engineering instead.
His brother told him about the financial merits of doing engineering
over pure physics and persuaded him to take up engineering as a
career option. Eventually, Dham joined the Electrical Engineering
Department of Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) in 1966 and
began his tryst with destiny.
“It took me about a year to get my bearings. I enjoyed the

hands on classes in lathe, smithy, welding, etc., during the first year.
I almost failed my surveying practical exam in Civil Engineering in the
first year as I accidentally knocked off the theodolite. I also recall that
I was not very athletic and hated the NCC (National Cadet Corps) - it
was a compulsory training to prepare college youth for employment
in the Indian Armed Forces. The third year was toughest and most
demanding, with over a dozen subjects and half a dozen practicals,
and never ending set of exams! Even though we were being
groomed for Electrical Engineering and Electronics, we had to study
subjects ranging from Fluid Mechanics and Strength of Materials to
Refrigeration and Heat Engines. Computer Science courses were
not offered at DCE back then.
One incident I particularly remember happened in the third

year, when we all panicked after reviewing our final exam paper in
Electrical Engineering Materials. This subject was taught by Dr. R.
C. Narayanan, who was then the head of our Electrical Engineering
Department and had followed Deckard’s book for that course. The
questions were asked in a manner that most of us could not answer.
Only when we were given more choices to answer those questions
did we all get through the surprise exam. I was not very fond of heavy
electrical taught in the electrical engineering and my real interest in
learning sparked only starting in my fourth year, as we began to study
subjects related to electronics engineering,” he reminisced.
Dham further acknowledges that DCE laid the foundation for

basic understanding of math, science, and engineering that enabled
one to build further knowledge on it, and equipped one for self-
learning as technologies continue to evolve at a rapid pace.
After graduating from DCE, he worked for Continental

Devices India Limited (CDIL), Delhi and discovered his passion
for semiconductors. He further realized that he needed a deeper
understanding of the physics behind the behaviour of the
semiconductor devices, for which he decided to pursue a Master’s
degree in Engineering at the University of Cincinnati (UC), United
States.
“I was excited about joining UC as they gave me a free

scholarship and a Research Assistantship for $325 per month as a
graduate student. I was more impressed by the fact that UC had a
highly advanced semiconductor,” said Dham., who landed in the US
with mere $8 in his pocket. Back in 1975, the Government of India
allowed foreign travellers to exchange rupees for only up to eight
dollars. One could also get additional $20 from RBI, by showing
proof that they were going abroad as a student. Unfortunately Dham
could not collect the $20. “So I left with $8, hoping I would collect
$325 on arrival to pay for my stay on campus. It turned out that the
$325 monthly assistantship pay was only available starting at the end
of the first month of doing the research. Upon learning that I had only
$8 with me, the foreign student office advanced me a $125 interest
free loan from their petty cash to survive the first two weeks – which
barely paid for my rent and health insurance leaving little money for
food. I gradually paid back the loan over a period of five months by
returning $25 per month,” he recalled.
After completing his Master’s in 1977, Dham joined NCR

Corporation based in Dayton, Ohio, as it had approached UC for
assistance and Dham was only student in his class with prior work
experience in semiconductors. At NCR, he was involved in developing
new types of non-volatile memories, a crucial component used in
a point of sale terminal to store crucial sale and inventory data in
retail stores. While making a presentation for NCR at a workshop in
California, Dham was spotted by Intel and he was offered a job. Dham
joined the company in 1979 to work with their non-volatile memory
team and was one of the co-inventors of Intel’s first flash memory
(ETOX), realizing little that he was soon going to write history!
“I discovered that I enjoyed being closer to business and not

just R & D therefore I created an opportunity in 1986 to work in Intel’s
microprocessor group by initially adding value in helping improve
the yield on Intel’s first 32-bit microprocessor (i386).
Subsequently, I took over the i486 microprocessor

development midstream and launched i486 and a family of fourth
generation microprocessors managing a multibillion dollar i486
business as the General Manager. Subsequently, I stepped out to
lead the development of the Pentium Processor and managed its
launch and ramp up as well as the derivative family (higher
performance cost reduction P54C and multimedia version P55C) as
the Vice President of Pentium Processor Division,” he informed.
After spending 16 years at Intel

and working on three generations of “The best thing that
Intel’s microprocessors and leading happened to me was
the Pentium program during Intel’s joining Intel and the
golden era, Dham did something
which was least expected, he
best thing that happened
resigned! As he has famously said, to me was leaving
“The best thing that happened to me Intel…I decided to step
was joining Intel and the best thing out to experience the
that happened to me was leaving
Intel…I decided to step out to thrill of building start-
experience the thrill of building start- ups and experience
ups and experience what turned what turned out to be
out to be most exhilarating and
most exhilarating and
growing experience of my career.”
After leaving Intel, the former DCEite growing experience of
joined an eight year old start-up my career.”
called NexGen that was trying to
build an Intel software compatible
microprocessor but with a proprietary Bus and chipsets. NexGen
was soon bought over by Intel’s competitor Advanced Micro Devices
for $800m.
He then headed a nascent start-up, Silicon Spice, which

was involved in building a multi-channel VOIP technology for the
emerging voice industry based on the Internet protocol. It was
eventually taken over by Broadcom in 2000 for $1.2 Billion and Dham
once again began to explore new terrains. According to him, “I felt
that it was a payback time, having been educated for a mere $3 per
month at DCE, I was eager to give back my service and experience
to the budding engineers and entrepreneurs in India. I initially set up
a cross-border incubator where we incubated four chip/ hardware
companies for Indian and global markets. Discovering that India was
not yet ready for product and technology driven start-ups, in 2006
I founded a cross-border India-focused venture fund, NEA-IndoUS
Ventures (co-branded initially with New Enterprise Associates), to
invest in start-ups to address the needs of India’s growing consumer
class.” The firm was later rebranded as IndoUS Venture Partners
and focussed on investing in early stage Indian companies across
sectors including mobile technology, telecom, knowledge process
outsourcing, on-line commerce, etc. Presently, he is involved as the
Executive Managing Director of the Company.
FAVOURITE QUOTES
“You know, if you are here in Silicon Valley 10 to 15 years
and you have not stepped out and done a start-up, there's
something wrong with you,” - Wharton
“Speed was God for us when we designed Pentium. All

we did was to build the fastest BMW or Lamborghini
equivalent of a chip, and you were a hero. Now, it’s more
like building an efficient Prius or a Nano. It may not go
very fast but consumes less power,” Economic Times,
Nov 16, 2010.
“To stay globally competitive the nation must do better

at steering its youth toward engineering careers,” Wall
Street Journal .
“There is nothing except maybe Excel spreadsheets that

you can’t do on a cell phone....The ubiquitous device
that you won’t leave home without is the cell phone,”
Venturebeat July 3, 2008)
Dham’s journey has not been without its own share of ups
and downs. “I have continuously taken risks in my career and in the
process reinvented myself many times. I recount many setbacks on
the way to invention of Intel’s flash technology, ramp-up of Intel’s 386
microprocessor, a setback in i486 ramp due to late discovery of a
bug and recall of Pentium Processor due to a rare bug. Before tasting
success at NexGen and Silicon Spice, we experienced many hurdles.

Even as a Venture Capitalist, we are surrounded with many failures
amidst some
great successes.
In fact, there was
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
no success that I • Discover your passion and pursue it
recall that had relentlessly. Don’t be afraid to fail,
not stepped failure is just a stepping stone to
through many
setbacks before,” success.
he said, adding
“Professional success for me has meant building a compelling
product, technology, or a start-up. I attribute my success to my ability
to ‘connect the dots’ in developing a competitive business strategy,
building a world-class team, and putting in a laser-like focus on
executing that strategy for winning in the marketplace.”
Durga D. Agrawal
President & CEO, Piping Technology & Products, Inc.
Agrawal is the President and CEO of Piping Technology &

Products, Inc. along with its subsidiaries: Sweco Fab, U.S. Bellows,
Fronek Anchor/Darling Enterprises Inc., and Pipe Shields Inc. He also
serves as member of the Board of Directors of Friedman Industries.
He was selected as the 2001 US Small Business Person of the Year
for the State of Texas by the U.S. Small Business Administration,
honoured as the Entrepreneur of the Year by the Asian Chamber of
Commerce of Houston in 2006, in 2010 he was awarded the Lifetime
Achievement Award by the Cullen College of Engineering, University
of Houston and recently in 2011, for his immigrant achievement,
Agrawal was bestowed with the Arrival Award by the University of
Houston Law Center Immigration Clinic.
Agrawal is the founding president of the Indo-American

Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston and India House, Inc.
He received a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from
Delhi College of Engineering and Master’s and Doctorate degree in
Industrial Engineering from the University of Houston. He is a member
of the University of Houston’s Industrial Engineering Advisory Board,
and University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering Leadership
Board. He is an active member of ITAC (Industry Trade Advisory
Committee) which is an integral link between industry and the United
States Government, and jointly administered by the Department of
Commerce and the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In
August 2009, Governor Rick Perry appointed Agrawal as member to
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Prof. Bhuvenesh Goswami

Professor, Clemson University, USA
“Success in life can be defined in a number of ways.

It is the personal satisfaction that one gets in a
job well done is what success is. It has always been
my goal in life to do the best and not worry about
the outcome; however, outcome always have
repercussions. Nonetheless, to keep an open mind
regarding the achievement of goals no matter how
trivial, has to be a part of success. High position,
financial success and material possessions alone
do not justify the meaning of success.”
Bhuvnesh C Goswami’s family shares a very special bond

with Delhi Polytechnic, which was later renamed as Delhi College of
Engineering (DCE) and is now Delhi Technological University (DTU)
-- Goswami and his three brothers (elder brother Lokesh, younger
one Yogi and youngest one Tushar Kant) are graduates of the same
illustrious institution.
Goswami was born in Bannu, Pakistan but his family relocated

to Delhi after the partition of India. His early schooling was at the Vedic
Sanskrit Agricultural Higher Secondary School, Khera Garhi, Delhi,
where his father, Goswami Govardhan Lal Shastri, taught Sanskrit.
Lokesh and Bhuevnesh studied together up until eighth grade
after which the former joined Delhi Polytechnic Technical Higher
Secondary School, Kashmere Gate, Delhi, in 1951 and subsequently
got admission in Chemical Engineering at Delhi Polytechnic.
After school, Bhuevnesh enrolled in the Physics honors at

Delhi University but also applied for admission at Delhi Polytechnic.
He was accepted in the Textile Engineering branch, but he wasn’t
too keen to join the discipline. “Just before the classes were to begin
I was called by the Registrar of Delhi University who convinced
me that there was a great demand for all kinds of engineers and
technologists and especially textile technologists as nearly 30% of
India’s foreign exchange earnings came from export of textiles. And
then there was also the lure of a refugee scholarship for engineering
students which was substantial for the times we attended Delhi
Polytechnic. In addition, the fees at Delhi Polytechnic were only Rs.
7 per month. My father borrowed enough money to pay for fees for
my brother and myself when we started attending Delhi Polytechnic
in 1955. In later years we were only able to pay the fees when the
scholarship money arrived which was always late. There were quite
a few of the students with us who were just as financially challenged
as we were,” recalled Goswami.
The first year of college was tough but also fun-filled.

Goswami was quite active in athletics and sports and in 1956 when
the National Cadet Corps, Engineering Division, was established at
DP, he was amongst the first ones to join the NCC. The other activity
in which most students participated were the annual functions where
the student groups would stage dramatic acts and show off singing
and comic talents. “In 1957, after the proposition made by the
students body to the college administration, a scholarship and award
program was instituted at the polytechnic. Because of the nature

of the campus, which was compact and small size of the student
population, it gave the opportunity for all of us to mingle and get to
know each other, and gave a good feeling of being a part of Delhi
Polytechnic Community,” added Goswami. Some of the friendships
forged during college days have stayed with him even after 50 years.
Post college, Goswami found a job in a Textile Mill at a

handsome salary but he was more keen to pursue further studies.
In India, only Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute (VJTI), Bombay
University offered master’s degree programme in Textile Engineering
and admitted only one candidate on scholarship for it, which usually
went to their own graduate student. Goswami applied to both VJTI
and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States
and was admitted to both. However, MIT indicated that it could not
offer scholarship for the first semester but could consider after he
had enrolled for the first semester. Lacking the funds to travel to the
US and pay for the first year of studies, Goswami turned it down
and joined VJIT, where he was able to secure the scholarship and
completed his master’s in 1963. In the same year he was awarded
the Commonwealth Scholarship for further studies at the University
of Manchester, in England. That year there were four candidates
from Delhi Polytechnic out of a total of 40 scholarships awarded
from through-out India. Upon receiving his PhD in Textile Technology
from Manchester University in 1966, Goswami returned to India and
started looking for a job where he could utilize his qualifications and
training. “It was a disappointment, though. I was hired by Calico
Chemicals and Plastics for the start-up of the first polyester tire cord
plant in India in 1967. At this time I received an offer from a US based
university for a teaching and research position which I accepted and
I have not regretted it ever since,” he remarked.
Goswami joined Clemson University as a Visit Lecturer in

1967. He left Clemson in 1969, to join The Textile Research Institute
(TRI) in Princeton, where he stayed until 1975. In 1975, Goswami
joined The University of Tennessee (where in 1983, he started The
Nonwoven’s Course). In 1984, he rejoined Clemson University where
he was remained until his retirement in May 2006, as a Distinguished
Alumni Professor. He is currently an Emeritus Professor and is
actively involved in the activities of the School of Materials Science
and Engineering.
During his teaching and research career over the past forty
years, he directed the research of numerous masters and Ph.D.
students whose work culminated in many publications in refereed
journals. He moreover, jointly holds a number of patents on nonwoven
structures for use in high temperature applications. He has published
book chapters and articles in encyclopedias on nonwovens. He is
co-editor of ‘Texts on Textiles’. “One of the things that impressed me
the most about the prevailing attitudes at an American university was
the academic freedom afforded to
MESSAGE TO YOUTH the faculty. Ever since I joined
Clemson University in 1967, I had
My motto in life has been the privilege of collaborating with
to ‘be true to myself, stay scientists and engineers from
focused and never give around the world. I collaborated
up’, which is exactly what with the Indian Institutes on a
number of research projects and
I tell my children, grand executed developments projects
and great-grandchildren through UNIDO in India. I was
and which is what I would fortunate to have a number of
emphasize to the current Indian students who worked with
me while studying for their
enrollees of DTU. Master’s and PhD degrees,” he
remarked.
Goswami is past President of The Fiber Society, where he

also served as Secretary/ Terasurer, and currently he is serving as
Treasurer. He is past President of the Textile Engineering Div. of
A.S.M.E. and Chairman of Gordon Research Conferences on Fiber
Science. He served on the INDA Technical Advisory Committee
for a number of years. He is on the Editorial Board of a number of
refereed journals. He is the recipient of the ASTM Harold DeWitt
Smith Medal and Awards of the D-13 Committee. In October, 2005,
he was conferred the Docteur Honoris Causa, by the University of
Haut Alsace, Mulhouse, France. “Success in life can be defined in a
number of ways. It is the personal satisfaction that one gets in a job
well done is what success is. It has always been my goal in life to do
the best and not worry about the outcome; however, outcome always
have repercussions. Nonetheless, to keep an open mind regarding
the achievement of goals no matter how trivial, has to be a part of
success. High position, financial success and material possessions
alone do not justify the meaning of success,” he concluded.
Ajoy Choudhury
Principal Partner, Ajoy Choudhury and Associates
The principal partner of Ajoy Choudhury and Associates –

(ACA), Ajoy Choudhury, has been in private practice since 1961. He
studied physics and then architecture at Delhi Polytechnic-School of
Architecture, graduating in 1958. He then worked with the famous
modernist architect Mr. Gio Ponti in Milan on an Italian Government
scholarship. He was the founder off and the principal design partner
in the highly regarded but now dissolved firm, The Design Group,
from 1961 to1991. ACA, established in 1991, is an Architecture and
Urban Design practice and has been involved in several large-scale
planning and architectural projects in India and abroad.
Their work has been published in several professional books

and journals. Their critically acclaimed projects include Yamuna
Apartments – Delhi, Hotel Mughal Sheraton – Agra, Janakpuri District
Centre – Delhi, Hotel Taj Bengal - Kolkata, Indian Embassy - Kuwait,
Delhi College of Engineering – Badli and Royal Ensign Housing –
Jaipur.
Choudhury has moreover, been a professor of architecture at the

School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. He has been the recipient
of several national and international awards including the first Aga
Khan award for Architecture in 1980, the Indian Institute of Architects
Gold Medal for lifetime achievement in 2008 and the A+D Spectrum
Foundation’s Golden Architect award for lifetime achievement in 2011.
Promod Haque
Managing Director, Norwest Venture Partners
“Success in the corporate world is working

together with team members to achieve goals and
plans in the face of competition and adversity.
Goals and plans are not financial in nature but
product, marketing and sales related. Once you
achieve these goals and plans, financial rewards
might follow but not always.”
What do Apigee, Appnomic Systems, Cyan, FireEye,

Persistent Systems (BSE & NSE: PERSISTENT), Sulekha, Veveo,
Virtela and Yatra.com have in common? They all have been funded
by Northwest Venture Partners (NVP), a US based leading investment
company with Promod Haque as its managing partner, who was
named as the No. 1 Venture Capitalist by Forbes in 2004, based on
his performance over the previous decade.
Haque was born to a civil servant father, shortly after

independence and did his schooling from St. Columbus School,
New Delhi. Besides Delhi College of Engineering (DCE), he was
accepted for admission at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi
and IIT Kanpur but chose the former because it offered him a seat in
a subject of his choice - Electrical Engineering. According to Haque,
“My experience at DCE was very fruitful. I learned the value of hard
work, collaboration as well as the need to compete with other very
qualified and motivated students.” A life altering and spiritual incident
also took place with Haque during his college days. “I happened to
voluntarily attend a Church service in New Delhi on a weekend. At
the conclusion of the service, I decided to become an ardent follower
of Jesus Christ. It became a big turning point in my life and lead to
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that continues till today. It
reinforced the desire to work harder at my vocation and to help others
in need. It is one of the driving factors in my life that encourages me
to be involved in non-profit work today,” he reminisced.
Haque graduated from DCE in 1969 and went to work as a

Sales Engineer for Siemens India Ltd. After working for three years
and having saved some money, he decided to apply for an M.S.E.E.
program at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA.
With his savings and a $ 4500 loan from his father, he left India in
September 1972 and landed in Chicago, USA.
Post masters, he was offered research assistantship at

Northwestern University as well as admission in a Ph.D. programme.
“My professor and advisor at Northwestern University, the late Dr. John
Jacobs was a great mentor and advisor. Prior to joining academia,
he had worked for many years in an engineering and product
development role at General Electric Medical Systems in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. He encouraged me during my Ph.D. programme to stay
product focused in my research and thesis and guided me to look for
a job in the medical imaging industry upon my graduation,” he added.
FAVOURITE QUOTE
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing
of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything”, From the Bible
Haque resumed his career as a Director of a laboratory for EMI

Medical Inc, which had revolutionized the medical imaging industry
with the invention and development of the CT scanner. At EMI his
job entailed advance development of a whole body CT scanner as
well as working with leading edge medical institutions in the U.S.
in a product marketing capacity. During this time, he also had an
opportunity to work with Mr. Godfrey Hounsfield, the only engineer
to be conferred the Noble Prize in Medicine for the invention of
CT scanner. He moreover, enrolled for an MBA programme at the
Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University on a part
time basis.
In 1981, he left EMI to join as a Chief Operating Officer of a

start-up in Southern California, which was involved in developing a
low cost CT scanner for use in community hospitals in the U.S. and
hospitals in emerging economies like India, China and Latin America.
He was recruited as the CEO of a start up in Minnesota, US in 1983
that was applying 3-D computer graphics techniques to visualization
of CT and MRI images and spent next five years in furthering it from
a start-up to a small public company that was subsequently acquired
by a large public company. “At this juncture, I evaluated my skill sets,
my experience base and my career goals.
After having spent about 15 years in Sales, Product

Development, Marketing, COO and CEO positions in a few
companies, I realized that I had acquired a great deal of operational
experience both in large and in smaller start-ups companies and was
ready to try my hand at being a Venture Capitalist. I contacted a few
Venture firms and Norwest was interested in pursuing my candidacy.
I started as a Consultant with Norwest in November 1989 and joined
them full-time as investment personnel in November 1990 and as
they say the rest is history,” he informed.
Today, NVP is a global institution, managing in excess of $

3.5M in capital and investments in US, Israel, India and China.
Haque has invested in more than 60 companies since he began his
venture career, producing nearly $30B in exit values to date. More
than 20 of his portfolio companies have gone public and nearly 35
have been acquired (or have
gone public and been
acquired). He was ranked as a MESSAGE TO YOUTH
top investor on the annual • Think big and stick with
Forbes Midas List for nine the vision. There will
years. In 2006, Haque was
be many obstacles but
presented with a Global
Leadership award from persevere- Onwards and
NASSCOM, and he was Upwards
recently honored with the 2011
SV Forum Visionary Award
based on his outstanding achievements and contributions to the
technology industry. According to him, “Success in the corporate
world is working together with team members to achieve goals and
plans in the face of competition and adversity. Goals and plans are
not financial in nature but product, marketing and sales related. Once
you achieve these goals and plans, financial rewards might follow
but not always.”
In terms of investments, Haque has been focusing on a wide

variety of sectors including systems and IT infrastructure, software
and services. “We are at an interesting cross road in the world today.
The global economies are all intertwined. We look for entrepreneurs
who have disruptive ideas that have a unique and sustainable
value proposition that addresses a large market opportunity. The
entrepreneurs also need to be coachable and have prior relevant
domain experience. Entrepreneurs in India have a great opportunity
to engage in innovation - of services and products. There has never
been a better environment for this and we need to make the best of
these opportunities,” he remarked.
Sanjiv Ahuja
Chairman and CEO of LightSquared
“I have always looked at success as the ability to

make a significant difference. As long as we are
making things better and positively impacting
the lives of those around us, to me that is what
success has been and still is. I have always believed
that a stable and happy family life provides the
foundation for a successful career. For me, the
real inspiration comes from my parents. Their
confidence and belief in me as a child was what
instilled the feeling of self-confidence and ability
to achieve career milestones.”
Sanjiv Ahuja’s parents moved from Jalandhar, Punjab to

Delhi when he was barely a year old. After completing his schooling
he decided to study engineering. “In our days, there was not much
choice as to what we studied in college. Being good in studies,
I was given two choices by my father - either to be a doctor or an
engineer. I chose engineering because I enjoyed math and physics.
Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) was the obvious choice over any
other institution as it was much closer to home, and due to my family
situation I had to be a day scholar,” he informed. Ahuja joined the
Electrical Engineering programme of DCE in early 1970s.
The initial days at DCE were quiet tough for Ahuja who was
awestruck by a huge campus and an equally huge courseware. “My
initial days at DCE were highly intimidating; it was a much larger
campus than I was used to. The structure of the program and course
work were a transition that took a while to get used to. However, the
amount of freedom we experienced was a lot more than the high-
school days and it made our initial college days were both intimidating
and exhilarating,” he said, adding, “Learning to navigate this new
world and succeeding in such a tough programme gave me the
confidence to take on the challenges that I have faced over the
course of my career and in life for that matter. While many of the
challenges I have dealt with and decisions I have made over the
years have been daunting, my experience at DCE taught me that I
would get through them and make the right choices for my company,
my employees and my family.”
“While many of the challenges I have dealt with and

decisions I have made over the years have been daunting,
my experience at DCE taught me that I would get through
them and make the right choices for my company, my
employees and my family.”
After finishing his engineering degree, Ahuja went to US

to undertake a Master’s degree at Columbia University, where he
specialized in data communications and pursued it as a career.
His first job happened with IBM as a software engineer in 1979.
From 1987 to1990 he managed IBM’s strategy for transaction
processing, and from 1990 to 1994 he was responsible for IBM’s
distributed network and systems business, leading IBM into the

telecommunications software market globally. According to him, “I
spent the formative years of my career at IBM. Most of my significant
career breakthroughs happened there as I was given opportunities to
turn around several businesses, as well as start many new business
lines. The lessons learnt there have stayed with me throughout my
career, whether as the President of Telcordia, the CEO of Orange, or
later as an entrepreneur; the foundation of my business career was
laid at IBM.
Post IBM, he served as President of Telcordia Technologies

(formerly Bellcore), one of the world’s largest provider of operations
support systems, network software and consulting and engineering
services to the telecommunications industry, where he was responsible
for growing Telcordia into a global entity with more than 40 percent of
its sales coming from outside of North America. He next assignment
came from Comstellar Technologies, a technology company that
funded several businesses including Leapstone Systems and Mesh
Networks, as its Chief Executive Officer. From 2004-2007, he was
with Orange as its CEO, during
MESSAGE TO YOUTH which he served as a member
• As we achieve career of the board of Orange SA and
milestones or achieve of France Telecom’s Group
Management Committee. Under
what might be perceived his leadership, Orange increased
as material success, it is the number of countries in which
imperative that we give it operates from 17 to 23 and
more than doubled the number
back to society. I would of its mobile customers from 48
implore the today’s youth million to more than 100 million
to pursue their passions subscribers globally.
and be relentless in their
In September 2007, few
commitment and drive months after quitting Orange,
to achieve your goals. Ahuja joined hands with like-
While you are pursuing minded telecommunication
executives to form Augere with
your career, maintain a vision to provide broadband
a value system that you access for all and deliver
yourself can be proud of. affordable wireless broadband
to developing markets such
as India and Bangladesh. He
is presently the Chairman and CEO of US based LightSquared, a

company that is developing a wholesale-only nationwide 4G Long
Term Evolution (LTE) wireless broadband communications network
integrated with satellite coverage. LightSquared is the result
of Harbinger Capital Partners acquisition in March, 2010 of satellite
operator SkyTerra Communications. Ahuja partnered with Harbinger
Capital Partners Chief Executive Officer Philip A. Falcone in creating
LightSquared. “I have always looked at success as the ability to
make a significant difference. As long as we are making things better
and positively impacting the lives of those around us, to me that is
what success has been and still is. I have always believed that a
stable and happy family life provides the foundation for a successful
career. For me, the real inspiration comes from my parents. Their
confidence and belief in me as a child was what instilled the feeling of
self-confidence and ability to achieve career milestones,” remarked
Ahuja.
A. K. Purwaha
CMD, Engineers India Limited
Currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of

Engineers India Limited, A.K. Purwaha did his Electrical Engineering
from Delhi College of Engineering. He has more than 32 years of
extensive experience in Oil and Gas Sector. Purwaha started his
career with ONGC, almost at the inception of Bombay High in Drilling
Business Group and worked in Bombay High. He joined GAIL (India)
Limited in 1985 and has served the company in various disciplines
like Cross country Pipelines for gas distribution, operation and
maintenance of Gas Pipeline systems, project management for gas
based LPG recovery plants.
Purwaha also functioned as Managing Director of Mahanagar

Gas Limited for five years. During his tenure, the company increased
the supply of natural gas to domestic, commercial, industrial
consumers as well as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to a large
number of vehicles in Mumbai.
As Director (Business Development), GAIL (India) Ltd since

November 2006, Purwaha took a number of key initiatives to carry
forward the organization's objectives. Purwaha had been Director-
in-Charge of Company's new business initiatives - within the country

and abroad, development of new projects, strategy and planning
and petrochemical plant at Pata (UP). He was also the in-charge
Director for company's joint venture -Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer
Ltd., Assam. Purwaha has travelled extensively in connection with
professional and business activities and has presented many papers
related to oil and gas sector including CNG applications in various
forums globally.
Ashwani Kumar Datt

CMD, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
Shri Ashwani Kumar Datt is Chairman & Managing Director

of Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). He
graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Delhi College of
Engineering in 1972. He joined BEL at Bangalore in January 1973
and has seen the company grow from a single Unit to multiple Units
and Strategic Business Units.
In May 1973, he was assigned to the team which set up the

second unit of BEL at Gaziabad.He succeeded in indigenisation of
major subsystems,bringing in significant strategic self reliance and
cost advantage.he was responsible for establishing the ISO 9000
system in BEL gaziabad.He was amongst the first Lead Assessors
for ISO 9000 Quality System and senior Assessors for CII Business
excelent award.
As General Manager of the Military Radar Strategic Business

Unit (SBU) at BEL-Bangalore, he succeeded in obtaining major
orders from the Indian Army and successfully met the increased
expectations of the customers for spares and product support for
a very large population of Radars deployed all across the country
and achieved a record turnover growth of almost Rs.1 crore per
employee.
He has extensive experience in Development & Engineering,

Production, Quality Assurance and installation / commissioning of
complex Radar & Communication Systems. Before his elevation as
CMD in May 2009, he was Director (Other Units) of BEL and headed
8 of the 9 Units of BEL located at Ghaziabad, Panchkula, Navi
Mumbai, Kotdwara, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Machilipatnam.
He also had the additional responsibility of managing BELOP, Pune,
a subsidiary of BEL, as Director-in-charge.
As CMD of BEL, he has achieved new milestones in terms

of growth of order book and profitability with enhanced thrust on
focus areas such as new product development, offset business,
diversification and contract manufacturing.
During several assignments, he has received intensive

training in India and abroad on Project Management, Technology
Transfer and Quality Management Systems. He has travelled abroad
widely on several key business assignments.
Prof. Yogi Goswami

John & Naida Ramil Professor & Director, Clean Energy
Research Center, University of South Florida
Prof. Yogi Goswami is the John & Naida Ramil Professor and
the Director of the Clean Energy Research Center at the University
of South Florida. He is also a Co-founder and the Chief Science &
Technology Advisor to SunBorne Energy.
Prof. Goswami is the Editor-in-Chief of the Solar Energy

journal, and Advances in Solar Energy: Annual Review of Research
and Development. Within the field of Renewable Energy he has
published as an author or editor 16 books, 14 book chapters, 6
conference proceedings and more than 200 refereed technical
papers. He also holds 16 patents. Some of his inventions have been
commercialized and are available worldwide.
Prof. Goswami has served as the President of the International

Solar Energy Society (ISES), a Governor of ASME-International,
Senior Vice President of ASME and President of the International
Association for Solar Energy Education.
Prof. Goswami is a recipient of the Farrington Daniels Award

from ISES (Highest award of ISES), Frank Kreith Energy award and
medal from ASME (Highest Energy award of ASME), John Yellott
Award for Solar Energy from ASME and the Charles Greely Abbott
award (Highest award of the American Solar Energy Society) and

Hoyt Clark Hottel award of the ASES, and more than 50 awards and
certificates from major engineering and scientific societies for his
work in renewable energy.
Prof. Goswami has served as an advisor and given testimonies

on energy policy and the transition to renewable energy to the US
Congress and various Governments around the world.
Ashok Kumar Puri

Former CMD, BHEL
Ashok Kumar Puri is the former Chairman-cum-Managing

Director (CMD) of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), a Navratna
Public Sector Enterprises. BHEL, a nearly US $ 2 billion Corporation,
listed on the major Stock Exchanges in India, is one of the largest
power plant engineering and equipment manufacturing company in
the world.
An Electrical Engineer from Delhi College of Engineering

(DCE) and MBA in Marketing and Finance from University of Delhi,
Puri joined BHEL in 1976 after a brief stint in the private sector. In his
over 35 years of professional experience, Puri has had diversified
and versatile experience and has made significant contribution in key
functions like Corporate Management, International and Domestic
Marketing, Strategic Planning, Manufacturing etc.
During his stint as Head of domestic Power Business, Puri

was instrumental in securing an all-time high order booking in 2003-
04. During his two year tenure, order booking exceeded aggregate
of the preceding five years. His strategic initiatives resulted in BHEL
retaining its market leadership staving off stiff global competition
particularly from China. Russia, Korea, Czech Republic etc.
As Head of BHEL's manufacturing division at Bangalore,

Puri spearheaded the introduction and assimilation of state-of-the-
art technology for Controls & Instrumentation in record time. The
unit also achieved highest ever Turnover and Cash Inflow during the
same period. As Head of Strategic Planning, he moreover, guided
the development of Corporate Vision and also the Corporate Plan of
BHEL.
The former DCEite is also credited with market research

and techno-economic studies for company's diversification and
expansion efforts, resulting in the introduction of Gas Turbines in
BHEL.
As a result of a number of new initiatives under his stewardship

in International Operations Division, there was a phenomenal
sevenfold increase in export business in a short span of two years.
Puri was was conferred the prestigious Eminent Engineer Award for
the year 2004 by the Institution of Engineers (India).

Ashok K. Baweja
Former Chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
Ashok K. Baweja joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

as a Management Trainee in 1972 and stands apart as the only officer
from within, who rose from the ranks to occupy the highest post of
Chairman in December 2004.
Baweja has worked in manufacturing and production

planning in the Helicopter and Engine Divisions. While at the
Engine Division, besides managing a large variety of aero-engines,
he visualized the business potential of Industrial Marine and Gas
Turbines, which have since then become a full-fledged Division of
HAL. As General Manager (Marketing) at HAL, Corporate Office, he
promoted Company's business interest in many countries. He was
the General Manager of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Project
and then of the Helicopter Division, before his appointment to HAL's
Board in September 1998, as Director (Design & Development).
The former DCEite was the longest serving Director of

the Design Complex, and his thrust on indigenous development
had vitalized the Design Complex with a number of prestigious
programmes. The ALH (Dhruv) was certified by both military and
civil regulatory authorities and deliveries to customers in India and
abroad commenced. Dhruv has become HAL's star product in all
International air shows since 2003.
Under his captaincy, HAL has been on a solid financial wicket

with the order book position at an all-time high. HAL is now a $ 2
billion Company doubling its turnover in three years from 2004-05
when it crossed the $ 1 billion mark. Baweja is President Elect of
Aeronautical Society of India and Fellow of Aeronautical Society, UK.
Sharad Sharma
Former CEO, Yahoo India R&D
“While I do care for success, that’s not how I

decide what to do next. I optimize for learning
potential. This ensures that I have fun doing what
I am doing. It allows me to take risks. Success is
just an occasional by-product in this game. If it
comes it’s a bonus. If it doesn’t, I have still enjoyed
the experience. When I die, I want people to
remember me as a good person – somebody who
gave back more than he got.”
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how
far they can go” – seem to be the mantra for Sharad Sharma, former
CEO of Yahoo! India R&D, who considers only two of his six major
career journeys as absolute success but all of them a great learning
experience!
Sharma was born in a middle class family where he was

encouraged to think independently and have a progressive
worldview. He was drawn to engineering by his uncle (father’s
younger brother), who would often explain the mechanics of different
machinery to young Sharma by taking things apart for him. “One of
my fondest memories is when he showed me how a scooter works
by taking it almost completely apart. In later years, I started tinkering
with electronics. So by the time I finished 12th, it was clear to me that
I wanted to be an engineer,” informed Sharma.
Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) emerged as his preferred

choice for engineering due a strange reason. Sharma had high
myopia, which was much more than what was permitted under the
UPSC eligibility norms that most engineering institutions followed
whereas, DCE did not have any medical tests at the time of admission.
He joined Electrical Engineering at DCE in the year 1982. “I had a
blast at college especially in the first year. I escaped most of the
ragging by using my Hindu College student card, where I had initially
secured admission in Philosophy Honours, as a back up option. By
the time the seniors realized my trick, ragging had ended. Due to a
street theatre related brawl with the police at Connaught Place (a
long story in itself), I briefly got involved with SFI. So I can say that I
have been a serious communist, though for barely few months, in my
younger days,” he recalled.
At DCE, Dr. Kundu, then head of Electrical and Electronics

Department encouraged Sharma to be part of IEEE Student Chapter,
who subsequently went on to become its Student Chairman. “We
raised money from corporates to start an IEEE Microcomputer
Centre. This initiative taught me a lot. I am also really proud of our
final year project: News Information Retrieval Using an Expert System
(a precursor of web search of today). If I remember correctly, we had
a tie for the best project award. Ranjiv Kumar was the real hero of this
project whereas, Praveen Sharma, Vikram Gandotra and I were the
lesser contributors,” he added.
Just five days before his 7th semester exam, Sharma was hit
by a DTC bus and suffered serious fracture. His friends and faculty
members from DCE stood beside him in his moment of distress. “The
love, affection and support I received from my friends and family has
made this period the most cherished part of my life. It made sure
that I emerged stronger than before. This experience has changed
my outlook to life. Since then our core group of fiends has stayed
in touch and many friendships have grown closer over the years,”
he remarked. Sharma was still recovering from the accident, when
he graduated and joined the Software R&D of DCM Data Products.
“The R&D center at that time was headed by Dr. Joe Cleetus, a
wonderful visionary. He believed in the power of Indian engineers
to be at the leading edge of the Unix revolution that was just getting
underway. I started as a system software R&D engineer not because
it was cool but because I enjoyed programming and could learn a lot
about computers. I have always sought out opportunities that let me
learn by being outside my comfort zone. Luckily this mantra has also
turned out to be a recipe for professional success. The three years
that I spent there have shaped my career since,” he added.
It was followed by a four-year stint as Product Development

Director at Ivy Systems.
Next assignment came with Lucent Technologies, where

Sharma held various managerial positions during his seven years
with the company. In 2001, Sharma co-founded Teltier Technologies,
a New Jersey based wireless infrastructure start-up that became
the leader in the Presence and Availability Management space and
is now part of Cisco. He was also India General Manager and Vice
President Product Ops at Symantec (earlier VERITAS) from March
2004 - April 2006 and spent next one year as an Operating Partner at
Private Equity.
“I have taken many risks in my career. For instance, I started

Teltier when there was ‘blood on the floor’ due to the dotcom
collapse. Everybody called it a career suicide. Instead it turned to
be the best learning experience I could ask for, apart from giving me
some professional and financial success,” he reminisced.
In April 2007, Sharma was asked to join as the Chief Executive

Officer and SVP-India R&D at Yahoo. “In 2007, Yahoo was going
through a change. Jerry Yang was to step in as a CEO. He had been
a big believer of emerging markets and created this as a new

geography. I was asked to join to co-lead this region and had
responsibility for engineering and products. I was excited about this
“The love, affection and support I received from my

friends and family has made this period the most cherished
part of my life. It made sure that I emerged stronger than
before. This experience has changed my outlook to life.
Since then our core group of friends has stayed in touch
and many friendships have grown closer over the years.”
as I felt that Yahoo could be transformed under Jerry. The overall

transformation of Yahoo did not happen for various reasons but we
were able to make headway in several emerging markets. When
Carol Bartz came in as the new CEO in 2009, there was a reversal of
sorts and the company become more US centric. In retrospect this
has been a mistake. Today, the non-US assets of Yahoo are perhaps
more valuable the US geography,” he opined.
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
• Set people for success
° Even when their definition of success is
different from yours
• Give more than you take
° Commons are important; collaboration is
cooperation plus amplification
• Say what you mean, do what you say
° Speed of trust depends on this
• Deliver fast error recovery
° This is more important than failure avoidance
• Make things up, make them happen
° It about action and outcomes after all!
Sharma quit Yahoo in March 2009 and since then has been
donning three different hats. He is currently the CEO of BrandSigma
Inc., a stealth mode computational marketing startup; on board of
Indian Angel Network. He is also a co-founder of India Innovation
Fund and is a part of its Investment Committee; and is furthermore
an Executive Council Member of NASSCOM that allows him to follow
his passion for growing the software product ecosystem in India.
According to Sharma, “Amongst the six significant career

journeys that I have had, I regard only two as unqualified successes.
Two of the remaining four have been unmitigated failures. While I do
care for success, that’s not how I decide what to do next. I optimize
for learning potential. This ensures that I have fun doing what I am
doing. It allows me to take risks. Success is just an occasional by-
product in this game. If it comes it’s a bonus. If it doesn’t, I have still
enjoyed the experience. When I die, I want people to remember me
as a good person – somebody who gave back more than he got.”
C. Y. Pal
Non-Executive Chairman, Cadbury India
“I believe that the definition of success changes

and matures with time. In the active work life
it is more about professional achievements and
with growing years it takes on a much wider and
deeper meaning of achievements beyond work,
encompassing family and society at large. My
strength has been my good values and ethics.
I attribute my success to clarity in strategic
thinking and prioritising, sincerity and total
commitment to work, ability to motivate people
and above all the grace from above.”
When the going gets tough, the tough gets going! This adage
proves true in the case of C Y Pal, former Chairman of Cadbury’s
India, who braved against a turbulent childhood to not only educate
himself but also become one of the most respected business leaders
of the Country.
Pal was born in Quetta in Pakistan and lost his father when he
was merely eight years old. He travelled to India, after the partition,
with his two elder brothers (elder most being only 15) and ailing
mother in a goods train, witnessing the horrors of riots and found
refuge in a camp in Delhi. “We all had to live in a small, one room
house. My brothers sacrificed a lot for me. They worked and
supported my education. The partition related memories were
horrible but a great toughening experience for me,” recalled Pal.
After matriculation, Pal joined

“I joined engineering Hansraj College of University of Delhi
simply because it for a yearlong programme in Prep-
Science, which he topped and was
seemed to offer good
able to secure admission in the one
job prospects and year Pre-Engineering course at Delhi
given my financial Polytechnic, which was later known as
circumstances Delhi Delhi College of Engineering and is now
Delhi Technological University. In the
Polytechnic was an following year in 1954, he was admitted
affordable choice.” to the four-year degree programme
in engineering at the same institute.
According to Pal, “I joined engineering
simply because it seemed to offer good job prospects and given my
financial circumstances Delhi Polytechnic was an affordable choice.”
However, life at the Polytechnic was no bed of roses for him. Besides
the daily commute of over 25 kms, which was both physically and
mentally exhausting, Pal had to deal with rigorous course work. “Life
at DCE was more hard work and less fun for me, said Pal, adding,
“However, the ambience at college was studious and the faculty was
great. We had many excellent teachers including Mr. Bhimrao, Mr.
Harbaksh Singh and Mrs Majumdar. The thoroughness of professors
and the lot of homework we got, combined with my tiring personal
circumstances laid the foundation of hard work and committed work
ethos in me, which proved immensely useful in my later years.”
Pal graduated with a distinction and decided to take up a job

immediately to support family earnings. He however, found it difficult
to choose between joining DCE as a lecturer and taking up a job offer
at Telco, Jamshedpur as Trainee Industrial Engineer at a monthly
stipend of Rs 150 for a year before being absorbed as an Assistant
Technical Engineer. On his brother’s encouragement, he joined
Telco, which according to Pal, “turned out to be the right decision
in retrospect because my greater competence, as I discovered later,
was in doing things and getting things done rather than teaching.”
Shortly after completing his training, Pal spotted an

advertisement for the post of Industrial Engineering at Hindustan
Lever Ltd (HLL), which is now known as Hindustan Unilever Limited
(HUL) and was selected after a competitive selection process. Next
17 years at HLL proved to be both exciting and challenging for Pal
and also saw him climbing the corporate ladder. “HLL provided the
varied experience of running a business including manufacturing,
finance, marketing, purchasing, advertising et al, which I thoroughly
enjoyed,” he informed.
Meanwhile, in the late 70s, Cadbury India was looking to

replace its Technical Director, after a merger with Schweppes and
zeroed down on Pal through a head hunter. That proved to be a
turning point in Pal’s career. “At Cadburys, I was able to introduce
modern managerial practices like taking in bright management
trainees and groom them for future roles. In the factories, I aided in
improving the efficiency and productivity by bringing in systems and
controls as per international standards,” said Pal, who became the
first Indian Managing Director of Cadbury’s in 1983, adding, “It was
a real challenge to deal with conservative managers in the business
and to bring in attitudinal and cultural change but I was able to
achieve it with my good man management skills and patience. I am
glad to say that I was reasonably successful in transforming the
company, which stands tall today amongst the top companies in
India, in terms of the excellent management and talented manpower.”
The turnover of
Cadbury’s grew from a small FAVOURITE QUOTE
30 crore business to Rs 800 “Business is 20% strategy
crores in 1997, when Pal
retired as the Chairman-cum- and 80% managing people.”
MD at the age of 60. “I believe
that the definition of success changes and matures with time. In the
active work life it is more about professional achievements and with
growing years it takes on a much wider and deeper meaning of
achievements beyond work, encompassing family and society at
large. My strength has been my
MESSAGE TO YOUTH good values and ethics. I attribute
• Think big but with my success to clarity in strategic
your feet firmly on the thinking and prioritising, sincerity
and total commitment to work,
ground. ability to motivate people and
• Clarity in thought, above all the grace from above,”
positive attitude and remarked Pal, who has been
commitment to work, inspired by varied people
including Mr. T.Thomas, Chairman
backed by good inter- of HLL, Sir Adrian Cadbury, ex-
personal skills and Chairman of Cadbury Schweppes
ethical values is the and his own elder brother by virtue
key to real success. of his spirit of sacrifice, humility
and helpfulness.
Pal continues to be the Non-Executive Chairman of the

Company and regularly chair the board meetings, besides being
associated with Aptech Ltd as its Non-Executive Vice Chairman;
Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of United Breweries
Ltd; Director, Shriram Pistons & Rings, Delhi and Executive Chairman
of Renfro India, an American JV promoted by him and managed by
his son.
Arun Kumar Puri

Former Chief Engineer
Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power
“Do the best you can do. Be proud of yourself,

but remember, there is no indispensable man.”
Arun Kumar Puri was born on 2nd May, 1944 at Ferozepure

city in Punjab. His grand parents were living in Lahore and he did his
schooling at Ferozepure city, Ambala Cantt. He passed matric from
Punjab University in 1959. He did his Intermediate from DAV College,
Amritsar in 1961. “Engineering was a very lucrative field at that time.
Those with an engineering degree were considered extremely
intelligent spices. As Delhi Polytechnic has always been a premier
institute since its inception, every person used to dream how to get
admission in this institute. I was lucky to get admission in 1961,
Electrical Engineering,” said Puri. His overall experience at Delhi
Polytechnic was amazing and he still remembers it. The theoretical
and practical experience of his stay in the college helped him in his
service career including the field service.
He joined Central Water

MESSAGE TO YOUTH Power Commission
• We must always regard to (CPWC) /Central
institutes from where we get our Electricity Authority
(CEA) under Ministry
education and also our teachers of Power in 1965.
as these two play an important After holding various
role in transforming one’s life. posts, he retired as
• What we are today are because Chief Engineer in May
2004, after completing
the blessings of our parents, 39 years of service in
teachers and the importance of the power sector. He
the Institute in our society. was associated with
electrical design of
thermal power stations,
various five year plans, resources of SEBs, power supply position,
generating capacity addition program, techno-economic clearance
of power projects, power survey granting recognition to training
institutes. He was selected for training in USA for 10 weeks in 1982
and again for 5 weeks in 1986 in Generation Planning Programme.
“Success in one’s life can be attributed to doing your work

without any monetary expectations. My wife Shashi Prabha and
children are one of my mentors,” informed Puri. “Do the best you can
do. Be proud of yourself, but remember, there is no indispensable
man,” he added. His wife has played a major role in his life. Also his
daughter Rinki and Son Girish have played important role in Puri’s
life for achieving success and happiness.
Sanjay Nayar
CEO KKR Group (Former CEO CITIBANK Asia)
“Success to me is being able to do what you enjoy

while maintaining a work life balance. As long
as you have a passion for what you do, nothing
else will come in your way.”
In this day and age, when people change their jobs at the
drop of hat, Sanjay Nayar is sort of an exception, having spent almost
24 years at Citigroup, before joining Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co
(KKR) in 2009. “My career had no pre-decided course. Staying with
one company for the majority of my career, instead of switching jobs
frequently led me to gain immense experience while rising to lead
one of the biggest finance institutions in the country. I just focused on
working hard and delivering my best and everything else took its
own course and results followed, said Nayar.
Nayar was born in Mumbai

“I think hard but had to switch schools frequently
work has been the because of his father’s transferable job
cornerstone of my in Indian Railways. According to him,
this introduced him to different cultures
career. If you work and diverse kind of people, which helped
hard, stay committed him in his professional life as he moved
and disciplined, across markets. Like most of the talented
everything else will youngsters in those days, engineering
emerged as the preferred career choice
fall in place.” for Nayar as well. “For me engineering
was a disciplined stream that offered
bright career prospects. Also, a number of my friends were joining
engineering. Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) was one of
the better institutes and the fact that you needed 90%+ in PCM
(aggregate of Physics, Chemistry, Maths) to seek admission, ensured
that you were with the best students in the country,” he informed.
Nayar had a memorable time at DCE and made some incredible
friends. Recollections of the DCE canteen, playing bridge and tennis
for the college, time spent in the laboratories and workshop as well
as bonding with the faculty members, still come to his mind. “DCE
instilled in me a high degree of analytic rigour. Beyond this, team work
and managing a great balance between work and fun are some of
the things that I learnt at college and still apply to my life,” he added.
After college, Nayar worked for a year with Engineers India

Ltd (EIL) before joining Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
for an MBA programme. He joined Citigroup after this in 1985 and
rest as they say is history! At Citigroup, from 1985 to 1994, he held
various positions across the Corporate Bank and the Transaction
Bank at Citibank India, including the Head of Corporate Finance and
Capital Market.
The period between the year 1996 to 2002 saw him serving
as the as the Head of Emerging Markets Sales business at Salomon
Smith Barney in New York. He also worked as the Area Head of
Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka at Citi Markets & Banking at
Citigroup, Inc. from October 2002 to November 2008 before rising as
the CEO of Citi’s Indian and South Asian operations and as a member
of Citigroup’s Asia Executive Operating Committee and Global
Senior Leadership Committee.
Mr. Nayar has also been the Deputy Chairman of the Indian
Banks’ Association (IBA), Chairman of the Foreign Banks’ Committee
of the IBA, a member of the Board of USIBC, Co-Chairman of
the Banking Committee for the Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and Co-Chairman of the Habitat for
Humanity India Builds campaign. He has also participated in various
financial sector reform committees set up by the Indian government
and domestic regulators, such
as the Infrastructure Committee MESSAGE TO YOUTH
in 2008, and currently serves • Enjoy your time at
on the Committee by Reserve
college without losing
Bank of India to build a Centre
for Advanced Financial Learning focus on your education
(CAFL). “I think hard work has goals. Hard work
been the cornerstone of my balanced with some fun
career. If you work hard, stay
committed and disciplined,
will always bring out
everything else will fall in place,” great results.
he remarked.
Nayar joined KKR as its CEO/ Country Head of India Operations

in early 2009. KKR is a leading global alternative asset manager. The
core of the Firm's franchise is sponsoring and managing funds that
make private equity investments in North America, Europe, and Asia.
The DCEite is also on the board of large NGOs including Habitat for
Humanity, Pratham and Grameen Capital.
“Success to me is being able to do what you enjoy while

maintaining a work life balance. As long as you have a passion for
what you do, nothing else will come in your way,” shared Nayar, who
finds support from his IIM-A batchmate wife Falguni Nayar, Managing
Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital, who ensures that they take out
time for the family even while growing up in her own career.
Srikant Gokhale
Former CEO, The Mobile Store, ESSAR Group
“Success has both quantitative and qualitative

elements. I measure success in qualitative sense.
For me performing a job to the best of one’s ability
is success. Following one’s dream and making
a difference is success. Success is not about self
but shared by making difference in others life
by inspiring people, providing them know how,
teaching them and spreading knowledge.”
Had it not been a last minute intervention by a close friend,

who explained the logistics involved in doing engineering over
medicine, Srikant Gokhale would have happily studied medical
science at Maulana Azad Medical College and become a doctor. “It
is quite interesting that sometime you go against your own conviction
to find your true calling. She told me that after doing Medical for over
5 years you get a stipend of Rs 800 whereas, if you do a four-year
Engineering programme, you will get a minimum salary of Rs 1200
and both are equally respectable profession. The sheer economics
changed my views and made me switch to Engineering,” said
Gokhale. He joined mechanical engineering at DCE since, “it was
the next best choice (to IITs) and was considered highly reputed at
that time”, and learnt the true essence of team-work at the institute.
According to him, “My batch-mates were caring, selfless and always
willing to help others. I still remember first election of my life for the
position of class representative, in the second year at DCE. The win
made me more confident and gave boost to my ability to lead and
win hearts.”
Besides working hard, learning to work and winning as a

team, Gokhale learnt an important lesson of “thinking beyond the
obvious” during his college days. “This is something only an
engineering course teaches, about the infinite possibilities and
problem solving. All these learning have helped me in reaching this
far. If one wants to be successful in retail, it is all about team work.
You cannot take things for granted and you need to constantly
challenge the status quo by looking into realms of possibilities each
day,” he added.
Post DCE, Gokhale “As a CEO you are expected

joined the coveted Indian
Institute of Management to make right decision and not
Ahemdabad (IIM-A) for a necessarily the popular one.”
management degree. “The
two years at IIM-A provided the much needed perspective on how to
handle challenging business situations and taught that that life is all
about constant learning. With so many great people around, I learnt
the value of humility and respecting the perspective of others. In real
life there are no right answers, some are just more appropriate than
others depending upon the situation and that was the learning,” he
said.
The first job for Gokhale happened at Bajaj Auto, which was
followed by a stint in the strategic planning department of Kirloskar.
Alghanim Industries soon followed, where he worked as senior
analyst and rose to become the CEO of the largest retail operation
in the Middle East. For the DCEite, the turning point came when he
proposed setting up a sourcing office under the private label in China,
little realizing that it would become one of the most successful private
label under the brand name Wansa in the whole of Middle East. The
other breakthrough happened when he was made the Managing
Director of Retail operation in Kuwait. Gokhale did the arduous task
of turning around an unproductive business in mere six months and
making it one of the highest profitable ventures for the company. “It
was also a tough time since I had to let go around 1500 people for
no fault of theirs, as a part of restructuring process. There were many
lonely moments. As a CEO you are expected to make right decision
and not necessarily the popular one. As a leader you know whatever
you decide, the chances of your decision going wrong are much
higher (usually 4 out of 10 decisions are successful) than going right
but still you have to make a judgement. A good leader minimises the
error of those judgement by proactive actions” he opined.
All along his career, Gokhale dared to venture out of his

comfort zone, explored and learnt. The person for whom “impossible
is nothing’ became the mantra, once again decided to chart a new
course and initiated a start-up in India to set up large format retail
stores under the brand name Xcite. It was later sold to Essar group,
which also invited him to come on board as the CEO for their Retail
group that included the largest retail organisation in India ‘The
Mobile Store’ with 1400 stores in 200 cities and employee strength
of 5000. “It was a challenging task to manage such a complex
organisation. We established new system, processes and strategy
and encouraged participation at store level in important decisions
of the company. In order to improve the communication with stores,
we created a CEO blog, “Store Ki Suno” so that store people can
participate in key decision making as well as talk directly to CEO
without going through layers,” informed Gokhale. This initiative was
awarded the most innovative project in Essar.
According to Gokhale, it was his bias for action, belief in self,

highest level of integrity and courage to tread the unknown terrain
that enabled him to succeed in life. “What inspired me in life was
discovering the unknown and realizing that I know little. It makes me

feel humble and eager to learn. I still feel the best is yet to come. It’s
the choices you make in life that determine your destiny, therefore
the crux lies in choosing well,” he remarked.
FAVOURITE QUOTES
“When you want something with all your heart and
believe in yourself. All the universe conspire in helping
you to achieve it.”- The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less

travelled by, and that has made all the difference. …”-
The road not taken, Robert Frost
Defining success, Gokhale said, “Success has both

quantitative and qualitative elements. I measure success in qualitative
sense. For me
performing a job to MESSAGE TO YOUTH
the best of one’s • Dream big: as we never know our
ability is success.
Following one’s potential at the beginning
dream and making a • Believe-in oneself: Despite all
difference is success. odds you will succeed
Success is not about
• Take ownership of whatever you
self but shared by
making difference in do. Do not pay lip service, it will
others life by inspiring hurt
people, providing • Do it from your heart as whatever
them know how,
teaching them and
you do with passion will show;
s p r e a d i n g life attracts life
knowledge. Success • Differentiate and excel in whatever
is also about giving you do: try to be yourself.
back and contributing
to larger causes in • Evolve as change is the only
your own way back to constant.
society. Success • You all have power to become
means to fail many
Iconic.
times and rise on
each occasion.” And
of course, like most successful people in history, Gokhale was able

to rise to the top only because of a supporting family. He explained,
“My wife has played a very important role in my life. Without her
support I wouldn’t have reached this far. We were like rolling stones,
living at times in places where we did not even know the language. It
was tough to manage but my family took it in stride and openly
accepted new place, culture and people.”
Gokhale has decided to devote rest of his life in teaching

management students and doing global research on Iconic Retail in
collaboration with IIM-A. “This is my way of giving back to society, the
knowledge and experience I have gained through my life. There have
been highly challenging situations in life, where despite best of efforts
things did not work desired way. During such situations, I worked
harder with a sense of positivity that there would be a ray of light
after a dark night and that is exactly what happened. I just prepared
myself for next step without bothering about the consequence and
doing too much analysis. I just took the plunge,” he concluded.
Karnal Singh
Director of Police, Mizoram
Known as the tough cop, Karnal Singh belongs to the 1979

batch of Electrical & Electronics Engineering of Delhi College of
Engineering. He subsequently did his Master’s in Technology in
Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in
1981 and later undertook an LLB programme at University of Goa.
Shortly after completing his engineering Singh found his true calling
in civil services and joined the Indian Police Services, 1984 batch.
During his long association with the police services, he has

handled several important cases and held responsible positions. Till
recent past he was a Joint Commissioner with Delhi Police. Currently
he is posted in Mizoram as Director of Police of the Northern Range.
Surya Kant
President, TCS North America
“Motivating and bringing the best out of my

team is a part of my life. I try to keep them
motivated by leading from the front. You can do
it best by trying and being a role model. Further,
I try to reflect on my experiences to see how I can
make their job easier. I see my job as similar to that
of a music conductor in a symphony orchestra.
I need to ensure that each team member brings
out his/ her best in keeping with the team agenda.
I am successful if my people are successful.”
Quest for learning drives Surya Kant, the President for North
America, UK & Europe for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to look
forward to and tackle new challenges at work, even after 30 years of
service in the company.
Born in a middle-class business family in Delhi, Kant showed

an inclination for learning new things right from a young age. He
was deeply interested in Maths and Science and decided to study
Electrical Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering (DCE). “DCE
was a natural choice as I wanted to do engineering and DCE has
always had a pre-eminent place in engineering education in India,”
informed Kant.
DCE was located at Kashmiri Gate in those days and being

away from the campuses of Delhi University offered its own merits
and demerits. For some, it lacked the liveliness of a huge campus
life, but to others it provided a place where they could focus better on
academics. “I was at DCE from 1971 to 1976. In 1974 the Electrical
Engineering Department started the specialization in Electronics and
that provided me an opportunity to study the latest in Electronics.
The arrival of a TDC-312 computer in 1975 was a big event. The
dedication and rigor of numerous professors including then Head of
Electrical Engineering Department, Prof. R S Shukla and Principal of
the college, Prof. R.C. Narayanan helped me immensely in my quest
for learning and excellence and helped me to graduate at the top of
my class. I am highly proud of the EPI Gold Medal that I received for
my meritorious performance in college,” he added.
The interest in computers prompted Kant to do his Master’s in

Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Computer Technology
from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi and here again Kant
topped his class. In 1978 he joined TCS through campus placement.
FAVOURITE QUOTES
If you enjoy your ‘work’, it becomes ‘play’. If you do not
enjoy your ‘play’, it becomes ‘work’.
All barriers exist in our minds and overcoming these
barriers is perhaps the biggest challenge, after which,
nothing remains impossible.
During his stint of more than 30 year at TCS, Kant has held
numerous roles and responsibilities. Through 2006, he served
as head of North India Operations in New Delhi, a role in which I
managed many of TCS’ key customer relationships and grew the
regional delivery centre substantially. Prior to this, he worked as
the head of TCS’ operations in Japan and the United Kingdom,
respectively.
Infact, he was instrumental in starting the company’s

operations in Tokyo, Japan in 1987 (he even learnt to speak Japanese
for it), and in the early nineties ran the TCS operations in the UK. He
also worked in the areas of project management, software quality
assurance and delivery center management. Kant’s efforts in these
areas significantly contributed to TCS achieving the distinction of
being the first organization in the world to be assessed at enterprise
CMMi® Level 5 and PCMM® Level 5, an indication of the best in
class. He is also credited for initiating the Employee Satisfaction
Survey in TCS, a survey that has been very well received and is now
recognized as a best practice across the entire Tata Group.
In his current role as the Company’s President for North

America, UK & Europe, revenue from North America has almost
quadrupled to more than $4 billion/year. In addition, the North
America employee base has more than doubled from 8,900 to 22,000.
Throughout his tenure, North America has maintained its position as
the largest market for TCS, consistently providing more than half of
the company’s global revenues. Today, customers of TCS include
56 of the top 100 Fortune 500 companies. Speaking about his tryst
with TCS, Kant remarked, “When I joined TCS we were 200 people
in all, today TCS has over 215,000 people from 77 nationalities and
has operations in over 55 countries. Working at TCS has given me a
great number of opportunities to learn new things, meet people from
various backgrounds and travel the world. I have been fortunate to
see the evolution of the Indian IT industry from its nascent stage to
where it is today and play a small part in this evolution. I also got an
opportunity to live in different parts of the world — the US, the UK,
New Zealand, Japan and India — which has contributed in helping
me to grow as an individual.”
The former DCEite is also involved with number of other

associations and organizations in varied capacities. He is the
Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s India Business
Forum, which represents the interests of Indian businesses that have
operations in the United States and also part of the board of directors
for the IT Services Board of TechAmerica, the largest technology
trade association in the United States, and the advisory board of
British-American Business. While in India, he has served on the
advisory bodies of number of educational institutions including IIT
Delhi and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. He was
recognized by the IIT Delhi Alumni Association as ‘Distinguished
Alumnus’ in 2004 and more recently in 2011, he was acknowledged
by Consulting Magazine as one of the ‘Top 25 Consultants.’
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
• In the midst of a busy work schedule and incessant
travelling, it is important to be fit and healthy. To me,
fitness has two dimensions - physical and mental. To
take care of physical fitness, I take long walks or go to
the gym whenever possible. When it comes to mental
fitness, my curiosity and the eagerness to learn all
that is new proves to be of help.
• You must look for opportunities to give back to the
society. I do my bit for the society, for example,
leading a group of around 150 TCSers every year in
the Walk for Hope for Breast Cancer at New Jersey.
I also give talks at various Universities and speak to
students whenever I get a chance as I believe that the
gift of knowledge multiplies when shared.
Besides other attributes, Kant is hugely popular in his

organization and beyond for his managerial skills and leadership
qualities. “It is important to be organized when one has a responsible
job. For me, each day presents its own opportunities and challenges.
I prepare a to-do list every morning and also ensure that I do the
necessary preparation for every interaction or meeting,” he said,
adding, “Motivating and bringing the best out of my team is a part of
my life. I try to keep them motivated by leading from the front. You
can do it best by trying and being a role model. Further, I try to reflect
on my experiences to see how I can make their job easier. I see my
job as similar to that of a music conductor in a symphony orchestra.
I need to ensure that each team member brings out his/ her best
in keeping with the team agenda. I am successful if my people are
successful.”
Arun Jain
Chairman, Polaris Software
“Success to me is the integrity of the purpose

and contributing to it. When one forgets the sense
of time and gets fully immersed in contributing
to building high performance, it is a success.”
Born in a family of 10 children, Arun Jain did his schooling

from government schools in Delhi. He lost a year after his high school
preparing for pre-medical exams. At this juncture, his elder brother,
who he considers as his coach and mentor, encouraged him to drop
medicine and join ‘where his heart desired’, i.e. engineering.
“I got admissions in both Banaras Hindu University-IT and

Delhi College of Engineering (DCE). Latter was my apparent choice
because of the location and reputation of the college. It also saved
my hostel expenses. We had good fun in the first year at college and
even indulged in occasional mass bunking,” recalled Jain, adding,
“At DCE, I learnt to make choices independently. The six-month
training programme was just wonderful. I learnt almost the entire
computer science curriculum in three months at National Informatics
Centre under Dr. Vijayaditya and three months at DCM data products.
It was a phenomenal work experience.” Jain pursued his B.Sc.
Engineering in Electronics from 1978–1983 at the coveted institute.
In 1983 itself he got

FAVOURITE QUOTE a lucrative job offer from
“If you can dream it, you can Telco but his heart was
do it”. The dreaming is most in entrepreneurship even
though he had no financial
important. standing. “I also had a green
card to go to USA. But I
decided to stay back and started International Information System
as the first company,” he informed. In 1986, he partnered with like-
minded individuals to promote Nucleus Software which was into
developing banking software products. After being involved with it
as a Director for several years, Jain moved on to Chennai and parted
ways to establish Polaris Software Lab Ltd in 1993, which is now a
global software house providing quality and customized information
technology (IT) solutions to several multinational clients across 20
countries, generating an annual revenue of around $300 million. He
is presently involved as the chairman and CEO of the company and
is looking forward to taking it to newer heights.
“Success to me is the integrity of the purpose and contributing

to it. When one forgets the sense of time and gets fully immersed in
contributing to building high performance, it is a success,” concluded
Jain, who was conferred “ICICI Venture-CII Connect 2006
Entrepreneur Award” for his significant contribution towards

developing Tamil Nadu as a centre of Information, Communications
& Technology (ICT)
Excellence. He is MESSAGE TO YOUTH
moreover, the proud
recipient of ‘Indo-
• Five things are important in
ASEAN Business life:
Initiative Award-2008’, 1) PASSION – Attention to
which was bestowed in details
Singapore in
recognition of his 2) HUMILITY – Constantly
business initiative in the learning and with the
region for the curiosity of a child
Information Technology
3) INTEGRITY – Deliver more
category. Jain is
furthermore, a member than what you promise
of National Association 4) RESPECT – Listen to others
of Software and Service and
C o m p a n i e s
(NASSCOM), on the
5) FUN, FUN & FUN – Have
Board of Madras Stock fun
Exchange Ltd, a
member of Advisory Council of Software Technology Parks of India
(STPI) and a key member in the State Level IT Task Force in Tamil
Nadu, India. He has also served as Chairman of Tamil Nadu State
Council, Confederation of Indian Industry - Southern Region during
2003 - 2004, Chairman of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce -
Tamil Nadu Branch during 2001 – 2002 and on the Board of Xavier's
Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, India.
Anil Sardana
Managing Director, Tata Powers
“I think persistence and hard work always pays.

My definition of success is to keep at it till you
get it right. I will attribute my success to the fact
that I am passionate about creating performing
teams. I have had many role models and mentors
in my life, who have taught me valuable lessons
on commitment and sincerity.”
With over 30 years of experience in energy and telecom

sector, Anil Sardana, currently the Managing Director of Tata Power,
has been there, done that. Born in New Delhi, Sardana did his
schooling from Mumbai and Delhi. In 1975, he joined Delhi College
of Engineering (DCE), for his higher studies. “DCE is one of the
renowned institutes in Delhi and since I always wanted to pursue
engineering, I consider myself fortunate to have got admission at
DCE,” he said. “Those were the carefree days,” Sardana reminisced,
adding, “Spending time with friends on campus, with little to worry
about the outside world. I cherish the simple moments of college
life, especially those of being in the hostel, participating in activities
related to Electrical Engineering Society and becoming the General
Secretary of College Association.”
After completing his engineering from DCE, Sardana worked

for about seven months before joining National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC) as Management Trainee in 1980 and gradually
rising to the level of Senior Manager. He assumed the charge of Vice
President, Business Development & Value-added services; COO-
Coal Washeries, BSES in 1994. The turning point of his life came
when he got an offer to become the Founding Managing Director of
NDPL, a Tata Power subsidiary in Delhi, in July 2002. Sardana is
credited for giving a dramatic turnaround to NDPL, enabling it to
achieve benchmark performance standards — including setting a
world record in ‘Reduction of Aggregate Technical and Commercial
Losses’. Under his guidance, NDPL was bestowed the prestigious
Prime Minister’s ‘Silver National Award for Meritorious Performance’
for two consecutive years—2004-2005 and 2005-2006—in Power
Distribution. He became the Executive Director on the Board of Tata
Power in 2007, where he was responsible for the Strategy and
Business Development functions of the Company.
Another major challenge

came for Sardana in the year “DCE is one of the
2007 itself, when he was given renowned institutes in Delhi
with the responsibility of
spearheading Tata Teleservices and since I always wanted
Limited (TTSL) and Tata to pursue engineering, I
Teleservices (Maharashtra) consider myself fortunate
Limited, as its Managing Director. to have got admission at
This was an entirely new sector
for Sardana. “One of the DCE,”
important lessons that I learned at DCE was that nothing was

impossible and that one should never stop learning in life’s diverse
situation until you stop living. Having worked for more than 25 years
in power sector, I moved to Telecom for a few years to get further
experience in marketing and managing retail business which was
highly fulfilling. It was a thought through decision but many people
did caution me on how telecom was different from power. Today, I am
happy that I took that decision and gained a lot from that experience
due to my hunger for learning and courage to explore new territories,”
he informed.
During his three

FAVOURITE QUOTE and a half years stint,
“There are no secrets to success. the Tata Tele group of
companies grew from
It is the result of preparation, strength to strength
hard work, learning from failure”, increasing a consumer
Colin L. Powell famous American base from 14 million
Statesman and General of Army- customers in 2007
to over 85 million
customers in more
than 450,000 towns and villages across the country, by January
2011. Some of the key milestones include pan–India operations for
CDMA brand Tata Indicom; tie-up with NTT DOCOMO, one of the
world’s leading mobile operators; and the transition of Tata Tele to a
dual platform with the launch of GSM services in the country under
the brand name Tata DOCOMO. TATA DOCOMO rolled out services
across 18 Circles in record time and went on to add Next Gen,
3G-network in 9 circles as the fastest launch amongst all operators,
besides introducing several innovative schemes like ‘Pay per use &
per second billing.’ Sardana’s contribution to the telecom sector was
well appreciated and recognized and he was conferred the Telecom
CEO of the Year Award 2010 by three sector forums, namely tele.net;
Voice & Data and IMAI.
“I think persistence and hard work always pays. My definition

of success is to keep at it till you get it right. I will attribute my success
to the fact that I am passionate about creating performing teams.
I have had many role models and mentors in my life, who have
taught me valuable lessons on commitment and sincerity,” remarked
Sardana.
This DCEite, who also holds a postgraduate degree in Cost

Accountancy from ICWA and has attended Top Management
Program at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, came
back to Tata Power in February 2011, this time as its Managing
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
• ‘Follow your passion’ and have a ‘dream’. Everything
you want should be yours - the type of work you want;
the relationships you need; the social, mental, and
aesthetic stimulation that will make you happy and
fulfilled; the money you require for the lifestyle that
is appropriate to you and any requirement that you
may (or may not) have for achievement or service to
others. If you don’t aim for it all, you’ll never get it all.
To aim for it requires that you know what you want.
Director. “Tata Power has a great legacy and is fast moving ahead.
With the ever increasing competition in the power sector, it’s even
more imperative for a leader to create a culture of trust, openness,
transparency and empowerment to retain and attract good talent.
Tata Power today is poised for a significant growth as India’s largest
Integrated Private Power utility in the midst of a high growing industry.
The industry is facing major challenge in power distribution and thus
Tata Power’s endeavour is to imbibe transformation management so
that the customer side of business can be made state-of-the-art. I
look forward to growing the company to newer heights and building
a performing and engaging team”, confided Sardana.
Janak Bhasin
Former Chairman, Central Electricity Authority
“Studying at Delhi Polytechnic was a superfine

experience. We had dedicated staff and I
particularly recall my association with project
design professor, who liked my project so much
that he requested me to keep it with the institute
itself. Our motto was ‘Work is Worship’ and
it became my guiding light in the upcoming
professional life. The college proved to be a
good training ground to tackle the challenges of
various jobs in our future lives.”
All his life Janak Bhasin has been lighting up lives, literally.
During his stint of over 33 years with Central Electrical Authority
(CEA), earlier known as Central Water and Power Commission,
Bhaisn has contributed in taking electricity to some of the remotest
corners of the country including Manipur, has played a pivotal role
in the establishment of Badarpur Power Station and was even
responsible for setting up the Thermal Power Personal Training
Institute, to mention some.
Bhasin was born in Lahore but moved to Murad Nagar, Uttar

Pradesh after the partition. During his school days, Bhasin actively
participated in the science exhibitions and showcased various
engineering models. He appeared for matriculation examination of
Punjab University as Government of India had provided some
schools for refugees in Delhi, where he briefly stayed with some
relatives, and secured 80% marks. He joined the Pre-Engineering
course of two years at Delhi Polytechnic, which was later known as
Delhi College of Engineering and is now Delhi Technological
University because the college timings suited the train timings for
Murad Nagar, where his parents lived. Bhasin cleared the Pre-
Engineering course with a first division and was admitted to the
senior classes, which at that time was known as the National Diploma
course and was equivalent to a degree programme of three years.
“Studying at Delhi Polytechnic was a superfine experience. We had
dedicated staff and I particularly recall my association with project
design professor, who liked my project so much that he requested
me to keep it with the institute itself. Our motto was ‘Work is Worship’
and it became my guiding light in the upcoming professional life. The
college proved to be a good training ground to tackle the challenges
of various jobs in our future lives,” recalled Bhasin.
Year 1957 saw Bhasin

joining the CEA as a Technical
FAVOURITE QUOTE
Assistant, where he gradually rose “Strive on and on.”
to the position of Chairman by the
time he retired in May 1991. “After being selected as a Technical
Assistant, I appeared for Engineering Service Examination and
was able to get Class-II posting in the Power Wing of CEA. Here,
apart from electrification of Manipur, I got an opportunity to work at
Uttar Pradesh Electricity Board, where I contributed in construction,
commissioning, operation and maintenance fields,” he informed.
An important milestone in Bhasin’s career came when he was

entrusted with the responsibility of setting up Thermal Power Training
Institute at Badarpur. “I was selected on the basis of an all-India
competition by UPSC and it put me at several ranks higher than my
seniors. The task allotted to me
MESSAGE TO YOUTH was setting up a Thermal Power
Personal Training Institute that
Think for the Country first included a hostel and 200MW
before taking any action. Thermal Unit simulator.
Thereafter, I was promoted as
Chief Engineer and was
instrumental in establishing computerised load dispatch centre at
Mumbai, the headquarters of western Regional Electricity board.
From Bombay I shifted to Narmada Control Authority, first as a
Member-Power, then as Chairman-Organisation. I played a key role
in clearing the tenders for the Narmada Sadar Sarovar Dam and the
connected power station,” he added.
For Bhasin, success always meant achieving his targets and

completing assigned task with full sincerity. He is now enjoying his
retirement life.
Satish Kumar
Director (Electrical), DMRC
“There have been many instances of taking risks

in my professional life in Railways, Defence &
DMRC to contribute to development within
laid down rules and regulations but professional
approach, dedication and perseverance have
helped me.”
The only child of his parents, Satish Kumar lost his father
when he was barely four years old. His mother brought him to Delhi
after the partition from Pakistan and Kumar did his schooling from
Government High School, Outram Lines, Kingsway Camp.
As a student Kumar was always interested in Management

and Engineering and found his inspiration in one of his maternal
uncles, who was also an engineer by profession. Since his family
couldn’t afford to send him outside Delhi, Kumar considers
himself fortunate to get admitted to the B.E. Electrical Engineering
programme at Delhi Polytechnic (later Delhi College of Engineering
and now Delhi Technological University) in 1961. “Joining Delhi
Polytechnic was a turning point in my life since my family wasn’t in a
position to send me outside Delhi or put me in a hostel, for studies.
I had an excellent experience during my four years at the college.
As a day scholar I could do engineering on scholarship of Rs. 100
per month without burdening my family. In 1960s, modern gadgets,
computers and internet were not available. Engineering studies were
primarily imparted through lessons by devoted teachers, practicals
and solution of problems taught in classrooms. Everyone had to
work hard to complete assignments without modern aids. Emphasis
on other activities was limited, though engineering societies were
elected every year. In 1964 I was fortunate to be elected as President
of Electrical Engineering Society
FAVOURITE QUOTE and had the opportunity to
Work is Worship organize few symposiums,
which was something that was
Aham Karomi, Na Chintan
recently introduced at that time,”
Aham Karomi! (Work I do, reminisced Kumar, who was also
not that I do it) felicitated as Best Boy of Electrical
Engineering Department in 1964.
During those days, the message of ‘work is worship’ was

prominently displayed at visible locations of the institute and it acted as
a motivation to many people like Kumar. “Work dedicatedly, honestly
and do your job with professional competence and perseverance
are some of the important characteristics I have imbibed during my
college life. These traits have helped me in my professional career as
well,” he added. After graduating, Kumar served as Lecturer at DCE
itself for two years. Thereafter, he joined Indian Railways through
UPSC Engineering Services Examination – IRSEE and served in
various capacities in Indian Railways and was fortunate to occupy
positions where contribution was on modern technologies. For over

five years he also served as Joint Secretary (Ordnance Factories),
Ministry of Defense overseeing 39 factories. During postings from
1988 to 1998, he got the opportunity to contribute significantly in
the implementation and absorption of modern technologies. Kumar
was also associated with challenging and time bound project of
Electrification of Ring Railway in Delhi before ASIAD 1982 and in
planning of MRTS in Delhi in 1973-76.
In 1997 Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) was set with

E. Sreedharan as its Managing Director, a known technocrat, who
had led the construction of 800 km network of Railways in Konkan.
In early 1998 Kumar, who was greatly impressed and inspired by
Sreedharan, was working as Advisor/ OSD (Railway Electrification)
in Railway Board when he applied for the post of Director (Rolling
Stock, Electrical, Signalling & Telecommunication) and was selected
against a stiff competition. He was given the charge of looking after
four key departments of the organization - rolling stock, electrical,
ventilation and air conditioning, signaling and telecommunication
and operations till completion of Phase-I of the project. Kumar
was moreover, responsible for the conceptualization, planning and
procurement of world class energy efficient trains, modern signaling
system and provision of ventilation system to NFPA standards and
designing of 25 kV ac rigid OHE in a confined tunnel diameter
of 5.7 m, done for the first time in the world. “As the In-charge of
Delhi Metro’s Operations and Maintenance (O&M) wing, Phase-I till
2005, I had the opportunity of setting up a lean but effective O&M
organization. This has helped DMRC to make operational profits,”
informed Kumar, who finds his inspiration in Bhagvad Gita besides
Sreedharan.
Impressed by the work carried out in the Phase-I of the

project, the Government decided to retain the same team to complete
Phase-II and set up Phase-III of the Metro. As a result, Kumar, who
was due to retire few years back, has got an extension till March
2013. He is furthermore, a nominee of Govt. of India on the Boards of
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. and Chennai Metro Rail
Corporation Ltd. to assist them in setting up of modern Metros. “Delhi
Metro has given me the platform to conceptualize and choose
modern technologies and implement them. This has helped/
contributed in setting up a world class Metro to a time bound
programme within budget in India by Indians within Government
rules and regulations. It has also shown that Indians can implement
given the leadership of person like Shri E. Sreedharan and one can
work within the environment to produce results, once dedication,
integrity & professional competence of team is there,” he remarked,
adding, “There have been many instances of taking risks in my
professional life in Railways,
MESSAGE TO YOUTH Defence & DMRC to
• Professional competence, contribute to development
within laid down rules and
integrity, dedication regulations but professional
and perseverance have approach, dedication and
helped me in enriching perseverance have helped
me.” Kumar has been
my professional life and felicitated by the ‘Eminent
serving for the benefit of Engineer’s Award’ by the
society. Youngsters can Institution of Engineers and
excel in their profession by Technology, United
Kingdom’s Delhi Branch in
dedication, perseverance the year 2008.
and lead India towards a
developed nation Kumar’s future
plans include contributing
• Dr. A P J Kalam has said, to the development of
“Developed nation is the Metros and in Research
second vision of India after and Development of new
achieving the first vision technologies in association
with technical institutions
as Independent India. like his alma mater which
Technology is the tool to is now Delhi Technological
achieve the same.” University, Indian Institutes of
Technology, for the benefit of
the society.
Satish K. Vij
President, Indian Buildings Congress
Former Member, Engineering/Railway Board
“Success is through an act, service,

achievement that gives self-satisfaction. My
success is in providing satisfying services that
have strengthened the nation and its polity
at large. My first loyalty has not been for the
Railways but towards the nation. I aspire
for a powerful India and all those who have
done India proud have been my inspiration at
different point of times.”

Satish K Vij was born and brought up in Delhi along with five
siblings and was raised with high moral values. “My father taught us
that even if an enemy seeks your advice and you decide to give it,
then it has to be the right advice, as you would use for yourself,”
said Vij.
Vij chose engineering for his higher education as it was the

most promising field in those days. He had an option to study at
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi but it was mandatory to
stay at the institute’s hostel, which his father couldn’t afford hence,
Delhi Polytechnic, which was later renamed as Delhi College of
Engineering and is now Delhi Technological University, emerged
as the next best option for him for pursuing B.Sc. Engineering
as a day scholar. “We had the opportunity to study under several
great teachers including Mr. R. Narayanan, Mr. R.C. Narayanan, Mr.
Vazirani (who is now in Los Angles),
Favourite Quote Late Mr. Arun Kumar, Mr. Palta, Mr.
Grover and Mr. Puri, to mention
“Ask not what the some. I had the most fun loving,
Country should give you friendly classmates and I still relish
but say what you shall the time spent with them, especially
during an all India educational tour
give to the Country.”
we undertook in our 3rd year and at
the survey camp in Badli. Presently,
about 40% of my classmates are in US. Around 15 years back we
formed our Association of 1969 Batch of Civil Engineering, which I
am currently presiding, and it gives away four scholarships every year
to the meritorious students,” informed Vij, who cheekily remembers
the Women’s Polytechnic behind the college complex as another
attraction during his college days.
“However, college life was not just about fun and it also
entailed serious studies, in depth understanding of the core subjects
and participation in extra-curricular activities, which are all very
essential in getting ahead in life,” he added. After graduation, the first
assignment for Vij came from a construction company M/s. Dewan
Chand, B.A, which at that time was constructing an additional block
at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Soon after Engineers India Ltd
happened and it provided him a much bigger design experience in
industrial structures. Vij simultaneously appeared for the Engineering
Services exam of UPSC and was selected for CWPC in his first
attempt and for Railways in his subsequent attempt. After being
persuaded by Mr. G. N. Pandey, former Chairman of Railway Board,

Vij joined Railways. “Meanwhile many of my classmates had moved
to USA for higher studies and even though a person of average
means, I had the confidence to excel in studies abroad and tried for
admission in select premiere institutions of America. I got selected at
the Cornell University, an Ivy League institution and that too with a
scholarship and thus nothing could deter me from pursuing my
master’s at Cornell University,” he recalled.
Feeling homesick,
Vij soon returned to MESSAGE TO YOUTH
India after his master’s • Acquire and spread
and resumed his job at knowledge. Add to India’s
Railways. Over the years he
was involved with various strength through your own
departments of Railways strength and of those around
and was posted in some you.
of the remotest corners
of the country, apart from
• Self-pity and criticism across
working in Iraq for four board in our Country is too
years on a high speed high. Instead of spreading
Railway Construction. Vij environment of helplessness,
held various positions in
Railways including that have the guts to take right
of Executive Chairman actions at opportune moment
of Indian Railways Land and lead by setting good
Development Authority examples.
and part-time Chairman
of Rail Vikas Nigam and
Konkan Railway Corporation and gradually rose to become the
Chairman of the Railways Board. He is credited for introducing
several new technologies in Indian railways and is also known to
have raised his voice in event of wrongdoings. “I was particularly
known as a bold, practical man, quick decision maker and a man of
actions,” he said.
Vij enjoys the distinction of being the first Railway man to

have become President of Indian Buildings Congress, where besides
increasing technical activities, he was able to start work man training
at the job sites. He was also a Director on the board of Delhi Metro
Rail Corporation, apart from being an advisor and member of several
national and international institutions. Presently, Vij is presiding
over an NGO ‘The Strategy Group’, which is involved in developing

green sustainable infrastructure. He is also involved in providing
consultancy services related to railways.
Vij has always placed service to the nation above anything

and everything. According to him, “Success is through an act,
service, achievement that gives self-satisfaction. My success is in
providing satisfying services that have strengthened the nation and
its polity at large. My first loyalty has not been for the Railways but
towards the nation. I aspire for a powerful India and all those who
have done India proud have been my inspiration at different point of
times.”
Ashok Khurana
Member Engineering, DDA
“As Member Engineer in DDA, my vision is to

make Delhi an even better city to live in, a Delhi
that takes care of its heritage, while meeting
emerging and future demands of the people and
meeting the requirements of the economically
poor. I have been instrumental in bringing out
policies for achieving this and I am working on
housing schemes for the economic weaker sections
and towards making Delhi a slum free city and
making available more and better housing
schemes by DDA.”
From ever since he can recall, Ashok Khurana wanted to be

a civil engineer, “to contribute to nation building and to create assets
that are useful to people and meet their aspiration.”
When he was admitted to the Civil Engineering programme

of Delhi College of engineering in 1974, Khurana was ecstatic – here
was a college which had the best faculty, was known for its rigour and
best of it all, his parents could afford it. “Whatever I have achieved
today has been possible because of the strong foundation that was
laid in DCE. The memories of college days will stay forever with me--
the classes, making drawings under the watchful eyes of the faculty
and our attempt at introducing semester system at college which
even landed us in Jail!,” he recollected.
After graduation Khurana joined Desein Consulting Engineers

and worked in the power sector for the Talcher and Kothagudem
thermal power stations. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Engineers
India Limited and worked on the launch of Mathura refinery. These
exposures in the private sector gave him the experience of designing
and working of large sized industrial structures. Subsequently,
Khurana was able to get through the UPSC Central Engineering
Services, which gave him an opportunity to join the Central Public
Works Department as Assistant Executive Engineer. “I cannot forget
my first posting in South Block, India Gate and other ‘VIP’ areas.
The buildings were built during the British Raj and their first major
renovation took place when I was there, taking care of the broken
fountains around India Gate and of replacing the stone – sometimes
more than 20 tonnes to take care of the seepage and other problems
that had developed,” he informed.
On promotion he was posted in Guwahati as Surveyor of

Works, where he was involved in designing and planning for a range
of structures and clients in the North Eastern region, a challenging
geography prone to earthquakes. He extended his expertise to
several departments including the Border Security Force and Central
Reserve Police Force, providing them with office spaces, housing,
water supply and road links in remote and at that time, insurgency
affected areas.
“My posting in Pune in late 1980s again was an occasion

to learn and meet the needs of various institutions such as VSNL
Earth Satellite Station, Central Customs and Excise, Income Tax,
the Central Water and Power Research Station, National Textile

Corporation, CRPF and others. One exciting challenge was the
designing and construction of the P5 containment laboratory for the
National Institute of Virology, Pune. At that time I tried to introduce a
computerised project management system to keep track of project
progress. Realising the importance of management in my area of work,
I armed myself with an
Advanced Diploma MESSAGE TO YOUTH
in Management from
IGNOU,” he said. • Civil engineering is multi-
sectoral and involves taking
Few years into account various factors
down the lane, as
such as the needs of the people
Superintending
Engineer in Delhi, he and their aspirations, traffic
was involved in the management, judicious use of
construction of state scarce resources and exhibiting
bhawans (houses)
such as Bihar Bhawan
leadership behaviour and being
and Andaman and a team player. There are several
Nicobar Bhawan, the challenges ahead for civil
residential quarters engineers: How can construction
in RK Puram and
the Supreme Court and infrastructure be more
Lawyers Chambers. sustainable? How can natural
As Surveyor of Works, resource use be minimised?
he was a member of
How can construction products
building committees
of various institutions be more environment friendly
such as All India with a low carbon footprint?
Institute of Medical How can the demands of the
Sciences, Jawaharlal
Nehru University,
future generations be met so
Indian Institute of that growth sustains, there is an
Technology, Delhi and impact on poverty reduction and
Jamia Milia Islamia there is shelter for all?
University, guiding
them on better and • There is no substitute for hard
modern construction. work and for having an approach
On deputation to of continuous learning and
Delhi Tourism, the
aspiring.
main tasks that he
accomplished were the Sriniwas Puri flyover and the Moolchand

Underpass that used innovative technology. The Garden of Five
Senses was another milestone in his career. “Based on my experience
in the Sriniwas Puri flyover, I developed a manual on flyover
maintenance and wrote a paper on the work, which was awarded the
best paper award by the Indian Road Congress in 2011,” he added.
As Chief Engineer posted in Western Zone, he tried to deliver

better designed buildings then privately constructed to clients such
as the Regional Training Institute (RTI) of the Comptroller and Auditor
General, Dena Bank and Canara Bank, NITIE, etc. The RTI building
was also adjudged as the best building by CPWD last year. The work
in Gujarat spanned from Kachchh to Diu and included construction
of bridges over rivers and creeks in addition to buildings. The former
DCEite was also awarded the Eminent Engineers Award by the Delhi
Chapter of the Institute of Engineers.
Khurana is presently active as Member Engineering in Delhi

Development Authority (DDA). “As Member Engineer in DDA, my
vision is to make Delhi an even better city to live in, a Delhi that takes
care of its heritage, while meeting emerging and future demands of
the people and meeting the requirements of the economically poor. I
have been instrumental in bringing out policies for achieving this and
I am working on housing schemes for the economic weaker sections
and towards making Delhi a slum free city and making available
more and better housing schemes by DDA. I am also focusing
on options for meeting domestic water requirements and sewage
management with Delhi Jal Board. Other projects that will add on to
the natural capital of Delhi include the Yamuna Biodiversity Park and
rejuvenation of a few forests in Delhi,” he signed off.
Raj Jain
MD and CEO, Bharti Walmart
Raj Jain is a business leader whose career spans 27 years

across diverse assignments. He is presently the President Walmart
India and also oversees Walmart’s joint venture with Bharti Enterprises
Limited for wholesale cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain
management operations in India.
He joined Walmart in Shanghai as President of Emerging

Markets for Walmart International in May 2006. He spearheaded
Walmart’s entry into India and relocated back to India in 2007 to
head the JV as President and MD.
Prior to joining Walmart, Jain was Regional Head, Marketing

& Supply Chain for the Asia Pacific region at Whirlpool Corporation
in Shanghai. During his 10 years at Whirlpool he also served as
Managing Director and CEO of Whirlpool of India Ltd.
After receiving his Engineering Degree from Delhi College of

Engineering, Jain joined Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL). He was the
youngest Factory Manager in HLL and also one of the very few to
move to a sales and marketing leadership role in a unique cross-
functional career move. His successful and distinctive career in HLL
in India and Unilever- U.K. included several key managerial positions
that won him many awards for innovation, excellence, achievements
in category growth, cost management etc.
Jain moreover, holds an Executive MBA degree from the

Kellogg School of Business. He is a keen golfer and avid traveller.
Dr. Krishan Kumar

Director, Maruti Udyog Ltd.
Dr. Kumar holds B.E. (Mechanical), University of Delhi, Delhi,

India; M.SC. (Engineering), Council of National Academic Awards,
UK, and Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India.
Dr. Krishan Kumar started his career in Maruti-Suzuki India

Limited in 1985 as a Senior Deputy General Manager, responsible
for setting up of six joint venture companies. He was posted to
Engineering Division as General Manager in 1987 and was made
responsible for engineering, quality assurance, parts inspection,
and after sales service. He was appointed as Chief General Manager
(Engineering & Quality Assurance) in 1990. He worked as a Director
for the period 1992-2003 and as an Advisor from 2003‐2007. Prior to
joining Maruti-Suzuki, Dr. Kumar worked in Indian Railways in many
senior positions (1962-1985).
Dr. Kumar was responsible for setting up of Joint Ventures to

accelerate the pace of localization of components for Maruti-Suzuki
vehicles and to bring in new technology in the country from 1985-
1987. These joint ventures contributed to a localization content of
24 % of the total value of the vehicle and were established in areas
where technology was of critical nature and assistance was needed
from Japanese companies.
N. Sivasailam, IAS
Managing Director
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
N. Sivasailam is a 1982 graduate in Mechanical Engineering

from Delhi College of Engineering. He further pursued his post-
graduation in Business Management from Faculty of Management
Studies, University of Delhi and also in Social Policy and
Administration from London School of Economics in 1999. He also
has a Post Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights Law
(PGDIPRL)-2010 to his credit. In 1985, he aced the UPSC exams and
made a successful entry into Indian Administrative Service. Currently,
he is the Managing Director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
He is widely known for public service and has won many accolades
on this front.
Satpal Goel
Management Consultant
“Success is not only when you earn lots of money,

but success is one when you have least and you
live for others. Living for yourself is one way of
life, but living for others is nearer to God.”
Satpal Goel was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and came to

India after the partition at the age of 16. He secured 80% marks in
class 10th and stood first in Delhi in his intermediate science. Being
a good student, Goel was able to get through the Banaras Hindu
University and Roorkee Engineering College (which is now IIT-
Roorkee) but couldn't afford to be a hosteller in BHU and civil
engineering was the only branch available at Roorkee Engineering
College. Since he was keen to do a degree in Electrical Engineering,
the next best option for him in North India was Delhi Polytechnic,
which later became Delhi College of Engineering and is now Delhi
Technological University. “During the interview at Delhi Polytechnic, I
was asked only one question? What surname your family uses and I
answered father uses Goel, elder brother uses Gupta and younger
brother uses Aggarwal and Prof. S.C Jain, then principal of Delhi
Polytechnic, selected me,” recalled Goel.
Belonging to lower middle class family, Goel walked to

campus at Kashmere Gate during initial days, till his father brought
him a bicycle. “Delhi Polytechnic had a sound academic environment
at that time. One of the Head of Department (HoD), Prof. S.P. Luthra
later became a director at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and
the HoD of Electrical Engineering, Prof. R.C. Ranga eventually
became the principal of DCE. One of the most important things that
I learnt at the institute was discipline. The pedagogy however, was
largely theoretical, he said, adding with a smile, “I also learnt about
transistor and black hole here.” Goel is still actively involved with his
alma mater and is a frequent visitor
to the institute. He encouraged the Favourite Quote
establishment of Delhi School of “Garibon ki sunno, woh
Management at DTU few years ago tumhari sunega…Tum
and even contributed Rs 1 lakh
to the University. “In my opinion,
ek paisa doge, woh dus
alumni of the college should come lakh dega,” Excerpts
forward and fund research activities from a song
and provide scholarships to the
needy students,” he remarked.
Just after finishing engineering, Goel had an opportunity to

undergo training at Bhakra Nangal Dam project, where he was
involved in transmission process. In 1957, he got a break in a large

engineering company, which had an employee base of 35000-40000,
and worked his way to become a general manager in 1964. In 1968,
he joined the World Bank in Washington as consultant for capital
goods (heavy engineering) and worked with them for about seven
years. In between, he also went to Indian Institute of Management,
Ahemdabad for a management course and also visited Harvard
Business School in 1974 for an International Senior Management
Programme. According to Goel, “An important decision I took during
this time was to leave my previous company, when they refused me
to be on study leave and go ahead with my higher educational
pursuits. It also paved the way for my joining the World Bank as a
consultant.”
MESSAGE TO YOUTH At World Bank, Goel

encountered the toughest
India is going to be one of situation of his life. “I was working
the greatest countries of on a project in Korea in World
the world. In next twenty Bank and found that 4 dollars on
years or so, either India project were not on merits, but
or China may become otherwise looking at the whole
project, I found the flexibility of
superpower and may leave project was misconceived. But I
USA behind. There is a didn’t know that the project was
huge possibility of reverse promoted by the President of
brain drain in the coming World Bank-Robert Macramara
year. and the President of South
Korea. I criticized the project and
suggested that it was not going
to work. But since it was promoted by two presidents, I was asked
to change the reports, which I refused. This brought an end to my
career with the World Bank. Sometimes, I regret of being so strong
headed at that time and refusing to change the report. I would have
been working at a very high post, if I would have agreed to it. But at
the end of the day, I am glad to have followed my heart and treaded
the path of righteousness,” he informed.
Later Goel worked as a Management Consultant in India and

came across Mr. Regis Doussossoy, based in France, and got an
opportunity to work with him. Goel felt that Doussossoy was God
sent to him. “God does send someone to help us in the moment of
crisis. Doussossoy is very humble man. I am still in touch with him
and can never forget him,” he said. Goel also happened to meet
one of his ex-colleagues, a Dean at a Business School of USA who
offered him to become a visiting faculty at his university. Goel still
teaches ‘BRIC (Brazil Russia India China) in the economy’ subject as
an adjunct faculty member there.
Goel finds inspiration from his father and has two important
things from him – honesty and hardwork. He also has a very spiritual
take on success. “Success is not only when you earn lots of money,
but success is one when you have least and you live for others. Living
for yourself is one way of life, but living for others is nearer to God,”
he concluded.
Dr. O. P. Grover
Former Professor & HOD, Deptt. of Mech. Engg.
Delhi College of Engineering
“Success is a mental satisfaction of the work

which I have done. I was outstanding at my first
job and as a teacher also. Whenever, I have met
old students they remember many of my sentences
which I used to speak and the way I taught.”
Born in a village in District Layal Pur (now in Pakistan) on 18th

July, 1933, O.P Grover’s father was a teacher in that village school.
He along with my parents migrated to Jallundhar on 4th November
1947 in the refugee camp after travelling for four days in a relief train.
His father was given the job of teacher in Chak Sherawala Tehsil
Muktsar in March 1948 and he joined the 10th class in Khalsa High
School, Muktsar and started studying taking the help of class fellows
for various books.
His father as a teacher had an appreciation for Engineers and

wanted him to be an Engineer. After passing F.Sc. (xii), he could not
join any Engineering College because of financial difficulties so he
continued his studies for B.A. and then M.Sc. and then he got
admission in Delhi Polytechnic in 1953. As expenses in education
were minimum (inclusive of hostel expenses). The hostel had no
fans till Grover passed in 1957. The Institute ground was being used
for various tournaments. Later the Institute took on rent Hockey/
Football, Tennis playgrounds at the present site of ISBT, adjoining St.
Stephan college playground. “The life in the college was a regular
hardwork. I was absent for two days in second year and was told by
one of teachers in final year that I was absent for two days. The
hostel life was also enjoyable as I participated in Badminton, Table
Tennis and Volleyball. I had record of long jump of 17’-2½” [5.24m],”
reminisced Grover.

“Success is a FAVOURITE QUOTES
mental satisfaction of the “Safety should not be by
work which I have done. I
was outstanding at my first accident”.
job and as a teacher also. “If you do not blow your own
Whenever, I have met old trumpet, none else will do for
students they remember
many of my sentences which
you”.
I used to speak and the way I
taught. When I taught, I rarely took attendance but absentees were
minimum. I missed only four classes in my entire career as a teacher.
I revised ‘Machine Design’ by Maleeve and Hartman in SI units. I
have added short questions at the end of each chapter. I can boast
by saying that these practical questions do not exist in any book in
the whole world till today,” said Grover. As an expert in UPSC and
NTPC, his fellow expert Prof. H.B. Mathur of IIT complimented him by
saying “I never repeat my questions while conducting interviews”.
He held the position of HOD Mechanical Engineering and

Dean of Faculty of Technology and member of Academic Council of
University of Delhi. He has been member of Expert Committee on
Energy (Ministry of HRD). He was member of Board of Studies in
Production Engineering, Punjab University and Mechanical
Engineering, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He has been expert
member of various Selection Committees of DRDO, NTPC, UPSC,
Punjab University, Regional Engg. College, Kurukshetra.
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
a) There are six golden words : I admit I made a mistake
b) There are five golden words : You did a good job
c) There are four golden words : What is your opinion
d) There are three golden words : If you please
e) There are two golden words : Thank you
f) The least important word : I
He has been awarded Distinguished Alumina by Delhi

College of Engineering, Eminent Engineers award by Institution of
Engineers and is Fellow member of Institution of Engineers. He has
been responsible for setting up of ITM Gurgaon and Lingya Institute
of Technology & Management, Faridabad as founder Director. He
is the member of Academic Council of Advisory Board of Lingya
University. He was also responsible for starting Maharaja Agrasen
Institute of Technology in 1999 and working as Dean (Academic).
According to Grover, With God’s Grace, his family had fully

supported him at all times of his success.
P. K. Adlakha
Founder and Managing Director
Adlakha Associates Pvt. Ltd.
Promod Adlakha is Founder and Managing Director of

Adlakha Associates Pvt. Ltd. Delhi, an Architectural and Engineering
Consultancy firm with over four decades of experience. He is a
graduate in civil engineering of 1971 from Delhi College of Engineering
(DCE).
With more than 20 awards and recognitions to his credit,

Adlakha is an expert in innovative technologies for low cost housing.
His low cost housing works have been featured and appreciated by
various technical journals, magazines and media. He has moreover,
presented/ written over 50 Technical Papers at National and
International forums.
Adlakha is also a former Advisor to NCR Planning Board,

former Member of Governing Council of Indian Buildings Congress,
Member Expert Group on Appropriate technologies for sustainable
buildings in Developing Countries and Member of PAC, Ministry of
Housing, Government of India, Member Advisory Board Construction
Industry Development Council setup by Planning Commission,
Government of India.
He is a Member of Technical Committee National Building

Code and member of various committees of Bureau of Indian
Standards, International Council of consultants. He has been
associated with various professional institutions and associations
including International Forum of Interior Designers & Architects,
Institution of Engineers, Indian Concrete Institute, Association
of consulting Civil Engineers, All India Association for Housing
Development, Indian Council of Arbitration, Confederation of
construction practices, INSDAG, NAFEN, Institution of Valuers. He
has been the General Secretary DCE’s Alumini Association from
1987 to 2004.
Prof. Vinod Mahna

Former Joint Secretary
Government of India
“You have to dream big but putting your

dreams into action holds the magic wand. If you
strategize incisively today, the world will be
your oyster tomorrow.”
Vinod Mahna joined B.Sc. (Mechanical Engineering)

programme in 1964 at Delhi Polytechnic, which was later rechristened
as Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) and is now Delhi Technological
University (DTU). His batchmates included the likes of Rajesh Soin,
Devender Garg, Vinod Mehra, Yashvir Kumar, to name a few, who
had some sterling professional achievements to their credit in later
years.
After graduating, Mahna joined the National Sugar Institute

(Government of India) as Technical Officer. However, divine fortune
brought Mahna back to his alma mater when he joined as a
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering in the year 1972 under Prof. R.C.
Narayanan as the Principal. Mahna his completed M.Sc. (Mechanical
Engineering) in first class with distinction and later on earned his
Ph. D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of
Technology-Delhi, under the Quality Improvement Programme of the
Government of India, on a sabbatical from DCE.
In December 1990, a landmark event happened in the annals

of DCE when Prof. P.B. Sharma took over the reins of DCE as its
Principal at a very young age. An abiding professional and personal
association was forged between Prof Sharma and Mahna that
continues till date. “He brought to the fore his youthful exuberance
and an irrepressible zeal to guide DCE to new glory. A committed and
efficacious team comprising Prof. Y.V.S.R Sastry, Prof. O.P. Grover,
Prof. A.K. Sinha, Prof. J.K. Das and myself, under Prof. Sharma,
worked with evangelistic zeal to raise DCE to newer heights and
achieved extraordinary success,” informed Mahna
Subsequently, he was elevated to the post of Professor of

Mechanical Engineering in DCE after getting selected by the Union
Public Service Commission (UPSC). Later on, Mahna also assumed
the responsibility as Dean (Undergraduate) and was among the
premier dramatis personae for a multitude of academic and
administrative functions. In the year 1999, Mahna was appointed by
the Lt. Governor of Delhi to officiate as Principal of Indira Gandhi
Institute of Technology (then Mahila Institute of Technology) in the
Kashmere Gate campus.
After an association of over 35 years with DCE, Prof Mahna

switched to a new stream of professional career when he joined the
UPSC (a constitutional body under the Article 315 of the Constitution
of India) as Director (Examination Reforms) at the level of Joint

Secretary to the Government of India in the year 2000 and worked
there till his retirement on superannuation in the year 2008.
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
I consider it a part of my bounden duty to implore the
present students of Delhi Technological University to have
total espirit de corps for your university. This university
enjoys tremendous brand equity across the world and
should soon be ensconced among the very best. Further,
have supreme confidence in your ability and strive to
achieve the extraordinary. In the contemporary world
which is replete with opportunities, outstanding caliber
is the prerequisite to romp home the winner. You have to
dream big but putting your dreams into action holds the
magic wand. If you strategize incisively today, the world
will be your oyster tomorrow. Great stay at DTU! All the
best and God Bless!
Mahna’s present professional expertise is germane to

pedagogy, educational administration, spreadsheet and project
management softwares.
Ashok Sarin
Former Additional Director General,
CPWD & Former Member (Engineering), DDA
“The glorious years of 1964 to 1969 are

unforgettable, formidable years of my life. The
classmates are very dear and special despite the
fact that all of them are not in touch. I distinctly
remember the faculty, who were totally dedicated
and simply brilliant.”
Ashok Sarin completed his civil engineering from Delhi

Polytechnic in 1969. The institute was later renamed as Delhi College
of Engineering (DCE) and is now Delhi Technological University
(DTU). “The glorious years of 1964 to 1969 are unforgettable,
formidable years of my life. The classmates are very dear and special
despite the fact that all of them are not in touch. I distinctly remember
the faculty, who were totally dedicated and simply brilliant. To name
a few, Mr. Palta, Mr. Sharma of Mathematics, Mr. Dubey, Mr. Desai,
Mr. Puri of Chemistry, Mr. Agrawal of Mechanical Drawing, Mr. Grover,
Mr. Sastry of Mechanical, Mr. Doshi, Mr. R C Narayanan of Electrical
Engineering, Mr. R. Naryanan, Mr. Ramaswamy, Mr. Pahwa, Mr. Arun
Kumar, Mr. Vazirani, Mr. Patel, Mr. Chandola and Mr. Wani of Civil
Engineering department, are the academicians who turned us into
professionals ready to be launched in our future careers,” said Sarin.
College life was tough as students were loaded with lots of
assignments but “it prepared us to face the future,” he added.
Post college, Sarin joined

Central Water Commission MESSAGE TO YOUTH
after appearing in a competitive I appeal to all ex-alumni
exam in 1970 and subsequently and the present faculty
inCentral Public Works
members & students to
Department (CPWD) on the
basis of 1971 Engineering contribute to in every
Services Examination. After a capacity to keep DCE and
long and fruitful career, Sarin now DTUs, flag flying high
superannuated in 2006 as
Additional Director General
forever.
CPWD/ Engineer Member Delhi
Development Authority (DDA). He was appointed as Advisor DDA
primarily for Commonwealth Projects of DDA that he continued
till June 2011. “My initial assignment in Arunachal Pradesh for
construction of Roads and Bridges in the virgin tribal areas got me
Lt. Governor’s Silver Medal. Similarly Schools, Hospitals, Roads,
Buildings, Hydel, Flyover projects etc., throughout my life span
gave me rich experience in all the fields of engineering and enabled
me to contribute to the nation’s development. My prominent role
in Commonwealth Games 2010 held in Delhi, for Athlete’s Village
Sirifort and Yamuna Sports Complex were of unique significance,” he
informed.
Sarin along with his batchmates of 1969 Civil Engineering

started a unique scheme in 2001 of giving scholarships of Rs 1000
per month to four students annually, one each of the four year stream.
The amount has now been increased to Rs 2000 per month from
2011. “A revolving fund has been created and scholarship is granted
on the interest earned of the principal amount. No external financial
help is taken for it. Our batch mates need kudos for contributing
towards this noble cause,” he remarked.
R. S. Kalsi
Executive Officer (SPD, SND and Logistics)
Maruti Suzuki
“I believe in doing my best and take the challenges

of life as they come. Put all your energy and
resources behind what you want to achieve. I
think success comes from doing your work with
happiness in daily life, and not the other way
round.”
In his sixth standard, Randhir Singh Kalsi had the option to

choose between Sanskrit and Wood Craft as a subject. His fascination
for tools and machinery draw him towards later and became the
foundation for his interest in mechanical engineering. Post high
school, Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) emerged as a natural
choice for Kalsi due to its high reputation, locational advantage and
strong mechanical engineering department with professors like Mr.
PL Ballani, Dr YVSR Shastri and Dr Sachdeva, to name a few.
“Initial days at DCE were highly interesting. There was a new

found freedom from school uniforms and strict timings. But that
was short lived. Soon, we realised that the routine was much more
excruciating than school with all those long lab hours and heavy
burden of assignments. The Makhan Lal Teeka Ram Sweet Shop,
Chholey Bhaturey and juice shops outside the DCE campus were
our favourite hangouts apart from the college canteen. The scariest
subject was Engineering Mechanics. Even all those studious, school
toppers had a tough time clearing it in the first attempt. However, by
third year, we got fairly seasoned. I remember one experience when
some of us skipped a test and were happily playing cricket. Suddenly,
the principal reached the field. All of us managed to scatter here and
there except the enthusiastic batsman. The Principal sternly asked
him, ‘Why are you not attending
FAVOURITE QUOTE classes?’ The innocent - and,
“To see things in the seed of course, ingenious reply was,
....that is Genius,” Lao Tsu ‘Sir, I just came in and saw all
my friends playing here. So
While an ordinary person I just joined them!’ Anyway,
sees the seed just as a tiny our bat was gone and soon
entity, it takes a genius became a decoration piece in
to see a fully grown tree the principal’s office and stayed
there till the end of the semester,”
in that tiny seed which recollected Kalsi. He further
over a period of time is said, “The overall experience
going to give shade, fruits, at DCE was very enriching.
The biggest lesson learnt at
environment protection and the college was that no task is
much more. One should see unachievable if you break it into
the potential of the idea and small pieces and work with full
not judge by the current dedication to achieve it. Despite
a high focus on academics,
situation alone. we got rich exposure through
Engifest (annual cultural festival of the college), sports events and

other activities during our college days.”
Kalsi also fondly remembers the presence of simians at the

college campus. “I wonder why the placement companies ignored
those poor fellows. They could have qualified in most of the interviews.
They had attended as many classes and struggled with as many
assignments as their two legged counterparts!” he added jokingly.
Kalsi found campus

placement in TELCO in 1981, MESSAGE TO YOUTH
which was considered as • Avoid short cuts and
the Mecca for mechanical focus on hard work.
engineers in those days. At
the end of the training, he was
Taking new initiatives
sent to the Tata Management and having a mind-set of
Training Centre for a month plenty is very important.
long course that provided him If your direction is right
valuable insights into various
aspects of management. and intentions are good,
Three years later, he joined no force on earth can
Maruti Suzuki. Next 16 stop you from succeeding
years were spent working
in areas of Component
in your mission. Work
Evaluation and Testing, Quality without the fear of failure.
Assurance, Vehicle Inspection,
Development of Supplier
Quality Systems etc. He also underwent specialised training in
Quality Management and Production Management at Japan besides
undertaking short-term management courses at Indian Institute
of Management (IIM) Kolkota, IIM Bangalore, Indian School of
Business, Hyderabad, Management Development Institute, Gurgaon
and leadership development training in Europe.
In the year 2000, Kalsi got a career defining opportunity to

head the new business initiatives of Maruti viz. Maruti Insurance,
Maruti Finance, True Value. He however, had his own apprehensions.
“I had been a hard core engineer all along and had no experience in
handling commercial assignments. My colleagues and friends also
advised me against accepting this assignment as it was a totally new
area and my career could have got jeopardised if it had not taken off.
However, I took the risk and accepted the challenge. Then Managing
Director of Maruti, Mr. Jagdish Khattar also assured me and provided

his full support to take these projects forward, which turned out to
be the highly successful new business streams. Working on the new
initiatives gave me a lot of confidence and enhanced my risk taking
capability. Subsequently, I was made the commercial business head
and then the all India sales head of Maruti,” informed Kalsi.
The DCEite gives a lot of credit to his seniors and team

members for his success and considers Dr Krishan Kumar, a senior
alumnus of DCE as his mentor. “I am tempted to use the phrase
from Steven Covey – ‘My thanks to all those who always saw more in
me than I could see myself.’ I believe in doing my best and take the
challenges of life as they come. Put all your energy and resources
behind what you want to achieve. I think success comes from doing
your work with happiness in daily life, and not the other way round,”
he added.
Prof. M. G. Syal
Professor, Michigan State University
Matt Syal serves as a Professor of Construction Management

in the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan
State University. He did his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering in 1979
from Delhi College of Engineering, India, M.S. in BEM in 1982 from
the School of Planning and Architecture, India, M.S. in Architectural
Engineering in 1986 from University of Kansas, USA. He received
his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Construction Engineering and
Management) from Penn State University, USA, in 1992. Prior to
joining the academic world in 1988, he worked as an estimator and
project manager for a general contracting firm in the Boston area
and earlier, with construction companies in India, Middle East and
Africa.
Syal has conducted research and published extensively

in the areas of Construction Project Management, Housing, and
Sustainable Built Environment. He has been involved in over 45
research projects funded by the industry, U.S. State and National
government agencies, foundations and international agencies. He
has published over 80 refereed/ professional papers and 40 project
reports/ monographs. Syal has won several recognitions for his
teaching and research including ‘National Outstanding Educator
of the Year’ award by the Home Builders Institute of USA and

Outstanding Paper of the Year award by Emerald Publishing, U.K.
He has served as an advisor/ consultant/ trainer to over 25 industry,
academic, international, and government organizations in the USA,
India, U.K., Canada, Nepal, Korea, Hong Kong, Qatar, Malaysia,
Cyprus, Egypt, United Nations, etc.
Ravinder Kumar Rehani

Former MD, PNB Asset Management Company, Ltd.
Ravinder Kumar Rehani did his Bachelor of Textile Technology

from Delhi Polytechnic (now Delhi Technological University) in
1965. He moreover, holds an MBA Faculty of Management Studies,
University of Delhi.
After a brief stint with a textile group at Ahmedabad for a year,

Rehani worked with DCM Group from 1966 to 1977, mainly with
Central Laboratory/ R&D. During this assignment he even published/
presented several papers in Textile conferences.
In 1977 he joined Punjab National Bank (PNB) where he held

some important positions over the years including that of Chief of
Merchant Banking, Managing Director of PNB Asset Management
Co Ltd and Principal Staff College. In addition, he headed various
zonal offices of the bank and retired from a very senior management
position in 2004. Post-retirement Rehani is settled in Chandigarh. He
is an avid player of Golf.
S. M. Mahajan
Former Executive Director, BHEL
“One vital thing that I learnt at DCE was never

say die approach and the courage to carve one’s
own path.”
S M Mahajan largely did his schooling from Delhi before

joining the B.E. Mechanical Engineering programme at Delhi College
of Engineering (DCE). According to Mahajan, “Engineering was a
sought after career option, those days. After finishing my higher
secondary I had an option to join Textiles Engineering at an Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) and Mechanical Engineering at DCE. As
Mechanical Engineering was a sadabahar (evergreen) discipline, I
landed in DCE.” He graduated in the year 1970. “One vital thing that
I learnt at DCE was never say die approach and the courage to carve
one’s own path,” he added.
In the same year, Mahajan joined the Bhopal Unit of Bharat

Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and was worked in the area of the
fabrication of medium/ large sized fabricated items for Thermal,
Hydro and Nuclear Turbines and other Industrial Products, for
the next few years. Year 1976 saw him transferred to the Nuclear
Products Division in Delhi of the company, where he was responsible
for developing manufacturing base in BHEL units for Nuclear Reactor
Island Components and work on BARC’s R-5 (Dhruva), NAPP
and FBTR Reactor items. From 1981 to 1986, he was involved in
Corporate Engineering and Product Development of new products
and systems in various BHEL units including non-conventional/
renewable energy sources like solar, wind etc. He was subsequently
responsible for upgrading existing and inducting new manufacturing
technologies, machine tools and equipment for various BHEL units
manufacturing equipment for
power plants and other
products. From 2002 to 2006,
“Engineering was a sought
he headed the Investment after career option, those
Planning function enabling days. After finishing my
capacity augmentation of BHEL higher secondary I had
from 6000MW to 15000 MW of
power generation and other an option to join Textiles
products with an investment of Engineering at an Indian
about Rs. 4500 Crores. Institute of Technology
(IIT) and Mechanical
He additionally looked
after operations monitoring
Engineering at DCE. As
of BHEL Units and Material Mechanical Engineering
Management function. In was a sadabahar (evergreen)
between, he also did his MBA discipline, I landed in DCE.”
from IIT Delhi in 1982-84, which
was followed by short-term management courses at Indian Institute

of Management, Lucknow and Havard University, United States.
Before retiring from the organization in 2009 as Executive

Director, BHEL Haridwar, Mahajan was the head of the plant for
three years looking after all aspects of plant operations, such as
Production, Material management, Planning, Manpower, Finance
etc., and brought in several process/ productivity improvements and
capital investment to double the manufacturing capacity of the unit
for power plant Equipment. “During my long association of 39 years
with BHEL, I got many opportunities to join other companies but I
stayed with BHEL as the level of job satisfaction was high. My career
growth was consistent and satisfying and I earned a good reputation
and name. I do not have any regrets in life,” he remarked.
Mahajan has been

MESSAGE TO YOUTH actively associated with
• Young India is Indian Welding Society, a
non-profit Society for welding
intelligent, computer professionals and was its
savvy and fast moving. President for three years. He
My advice to them is -- was furthermore, a Member of
learn the fundamentals National Group of Department of
IT on Industrial Automation and
and keep your feet CII Manufacturing Technology
firmly on ground. Don’t Committee. Presently, he is
forget the struggle active as an advisor (Power
& Manufacturing Technology)
your forefathers have
and non-functional Director of
made to give you this few private companies, helping
environment. them in business development
in Power and Manufacturing
Process Improvements.
“Success, according to me, is doing things differently and in the
manner you feel is right. Self-satisfaction is highly important,” he
informed.
Jayant Ratti
President & CEO, TechJect Inc.
Ratti completed his B.E. Electronics & Communication

from Delhi College of Engineering in 2006. He did M.S. Electrical &
Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008 and
Ph.D. in Robotics from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta in
2011. He is founding member of TechJect Inc, an American owned,
Georgia startup Corporation dealing with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs), Defense, Surveillance and Consumer / Commercial Robotics
and Automation. He has Designed and developed Designed and
developed a micro embedded framework for a miniature video
reconnaissance flying robot. The avionics suite comprised FPGA/
DSP multi-processor architecture, MEMS inertial sensing, WiFi
telemetry, GPS and Cameras.
He has received first Prize in Robotics Innovation Conference

and Competition (RICC), in collaboration with IEEE Technologies
for Practical Robot Applications (TePRA) conference, April 10– 12,
Boston—”Hybrid UGVMAVSystem for maximum mobility”, Best
Poster Award—Georgia Tech Research and Innovation Conference,
Atlanta—”Morphing Micro Aerial Vehicle with Quad Hybrid Energy
Efficient Mechatronics” , Best B.E. Project Award — University of
Delhi, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Project , Most Innovative Design
Award — International Aerial Robotics Competition, AUVSI, USA ,
Department of Defense (DoD), Aeronautics Board — R&D Grant for

Micro & Mini UAVs , Exceptional Performance Award (4 projects)
— Hyundai Motors, Industrial Robotics & Automation , First Prize
— Open Hardware Competition, Delhi College of Engineering,
University of Delhi and First Prize — Open Robotics Competition,
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. In addition he has obtained four
patents in field of his research.
Dr. Goldie Gabrani

Whole Time Director, Hythro Power Corporation Ltd.
Goldie Gabrani was born to simple but well educated parents.

Her parents always believed that the best gift they can give to their
children is - Education. She has completed a Doctorate in Engineering.
She has not limited her passion for education to achieving higher
education degrees and teaching, but has taken it a step further by
becoming an entrepreneur in the field of education. She is currently
the strength behind the Tecpro Group’s foray into Education and Skill
Development. Her practical research orientation, several years of
experience of working with the engineering college, IT & healthcare
industry, contribution towards her husband’s business and ability to
create several industrial products (microprocessor based) which are
running successfully in the industry are key reflectors of her being
the ideal balance of Academics and Industry.
She has a very special relationship with engineering studies

and especially, DCE. After completing her BE (1984) and ME (1990)
from DCE she went onto complete her Ph.D (2002), also from DCE.
Further, she was in academics for over 20 years and became HOD
Computer Engineering and Information Technology Departments at
DCE. Her whole family, including her husband and both children are
engineering graduates. Interestingly, her husband and son are also
alumni of DCE. Theirs is probably the only family in the annals of DCE
where both the parents and son that is two consecutive generations
are the college’s alumni.
Her stay at DCE first as a student at Kashmere Gate campus

and then as a faculty member at Bawana campus has left her
with special memories. She still warmly recollects her typical day
as a student. Boarding the bus with a student pass (Rs. 12.50 in
those times) to reach ISBT for the college, inaugurating each day
with a samosa and a cup of tea at college canteen, dodging the
monkeys after the classes, playing carrom in the girls common room
and sometimes ending the day rather spiritually, through a visit to
the nearby church. Some of her other memories include going to
Chandni Chowk with her college friends, visiting nearby Hanuman
Mandir and participating in an election campaign in which a girl
student of her batch stood for the student union president position.
As a Faculty at the new Bawana campus she recollects being a ‘A
student of the student’, while remembering how much she learned
from the fresh approach, innovativeness and creativity of DCE’s
bright and intelligent students.
Apart from her fondness for DCE, she has special respect
for the visionary perspective of the college since her student days.
Though the computer revolution took its birth within India in 1985,
DCE due to its forward looking approach had already started
providing training and exposure to students in the domain of
computer hardware, software and also microprocessors, specifically
Intel. She recalls that DCE was probably the first college in India
to take advantage of the worldwide boom of computer systems.
To leverage this boom in computer technologies, she undertook
her specialization in microprocessors. She has loving memories of
spending hours in the laboratories of the college, doing experiments,
practical research and developing innovative softwares and products.
One of the other aspects for which she is grateful to her professors
is inculcating the ‘never say die’ spirit within her. She attributes the
discipline and persistence that she has developed over the years
to the DCE professors and its rigorous academic systems. At the
same time DCE has given her life-long friends and also richness and
diversity of experiences. At DCE her confidence increased by leaps
and bounds.
As a faculty she believed in teaching beyond the classrooms

by inculcating values and developing strong moral foundations
among her students. She involved herself in developing experiments,
teaching new technologies beyond curriculum, consulting,
researching, participating in conferences, publishing journals and has
also adapted an international book. She has been an expert member

on various panels of both government and private organizations.
At the same time, since 1990 when her husband embarked

on an entrepreneurial path, she has actively participated in every
business decision and been party to the pains and pleasures of his
entrepreneurial journey. All these small experiences had already
developed her into a quasi-entrepreneur and helped her to easily
adapt from the world of academics to corporate.
After 21 years in academics, she joined her husband’s

entrepreneurial venture viz. Tecpro group in the year 2007, wherein
Tecpro group grew 10 times from Rs. 300 crores to about Rs. 3000
crores what it is today. The group today has about 2000 employees.
Earlier she was a Whole Time Director in the group’s flagship
company, Tecpro Systems Limited and is currently a Whole Time
Director in Hythro Power Corporation Limited. Hythro is focusing on
4 segments of electrical projects with high growth potential namely
Transmission and Distribution lines, Substations, Railway Overhead
Electrification and Electrical Balance of Plant (eBoP).
She is working towards a cohesive approach of taking her

group to achieve greater heights and also doing some thing by which
society can be benefited. Her passion for education and learning still
continues to dominate her life in every sphere.
She has been actively contributing towards the development

of a Training and Research Center being developed through a
partnership of Industry and Academia. As part of one of her pioneering
efforts, the group has recently tied up with IGNOU and Haryana Govt.
to offer One Year Diploma in Power Transmission and Distribution.
She is also contributing in designing an integrated curriculum for
national level skill development programmes in the Power sector.
Further, she has incorporated a trust by the name of Divine

Asian Education Trust which is developing a sprawling campus of
around 30 acres and diversifying the group into world class education
and research. She has dedicated her past life to quality education
and hopes to continue doing that for the rest of her life, through such
initiatives.
Arun Goyal, IAS

Minister (Economic and Commercial)
at Embassy of India, Tokyo
Arun Goyal, Minister (Economic and Commercial) at Embassy

of India, Tokyo is a distinguished Electrical Engineering graduate
of the 1980 batch of Delhi College of Engineering. After a splendid
stay at DCE, he went on to pursue a management programme at
the Indian Institute of Management, Ahemdabad and later Glasgow
Caledonian University and finally opted for the coveted Indian
Administrative Services.
Goyal was the Chairman and Managing Director of Delhi

Transco Ltd from June 2004 – March 2006, where he was Head of
Transmission utility for Delhi. He was also Special Secretary (Power)
in Government of Delhi after which he was the Director, Financial
Intelligence Unit, India from March 2006–October 2010. In his current
profile, Goyal is involved in promoting India-Japan economic and
commercial relations.
Vivek Priyadarshi
Suprintendent of Police, CBI
“My engineering background and knowledge of

law have been highly useful in discharging my
duties in CBI especially in view of the fact that
I have always got to investigate crucial cases
involving technical and complex issues.”
Vivek Priyadarshi hails from a literary family. His father Shri

Chandra Bhanu Arya was a lecturer of Hindi Language in Government
of Haryana and was felicitated by Haryana Sahitya Academy for
his works. His mother Smt. Kanta Devi too was a teacher of Hindi.
Hence, it may come as a surprise to many that Priyadarshi holds an
M.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering
(DCE) and is currently Superintendent of Police with Anti-Corruption
Branch of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Delhi.
Priyadarshi was born at Hisar in Haryana and did his schooling

from Halwasia Vidya Vihar, Bhiwani. During his school days, he
actively participated and won prizes in debates, school orchestra,
science exhibitions, Samarth Bal Sansad (School Parliament), sports
competitions etc, besides performing well academically. He stood
first in the Class Xth Board and secured second rank in AISSCE
(Class XIIth exams) in the entire city. He took admission at the Punjab
Engineering College, Chandigarh, which was a preferred choice for
students in Haryana. According to Priyadarshi, “Engineering was the
profession where I could make best use of my scientific and logical
temper along with the creativity and ingenuity, which were my forte.
After passing out as an engineering graduate, I realized this profession
has the capacity to bring tangible changes in the society, it gives a
sense of satisfaction and feeling of pride.”
After completing his

“DCE, which is now Bachelor’s in Engineering
Delhi Technological (B.E.), Priyadarshi worked
at M/s Escorts Ltd. for a
University (DTU) emerged year before realizing that for
as the obvious choice for excelling in academics or
pursuing my master’s as it pursuing his dream of working
had excellent faculty and in Engineering Services/ Civil
Services, he required further
infrastructure for Thermal education. He planned to opt
Engineering.” for Mechanical Engineering as
one optional subject in Civil
Services and needed to hone
his skills in the said subject and was moreover, keen to undertake
in-depth study of Thermal Engineering. “DCE, which is now Delhi
Technological University (DTU) emerged as the obvious choice for
pursuing my master’s as it had excellent faculty and infrastructure
for Thermal Engineering,” he added. Priyadarshi joined the Master’s
in Engineering (M.E.) programme in Mechanical Engineering with

specialization in Thermal Engineering in the year 1994.
From a classroom size of 75 in his B.E. days to a small group

of 8-10 students in M.E., the initial days at DCE provided quite a
different kind of academic experience to him. “We were a small and
close knit group, for whom room of the concerned faculty members
doubled up as class rooms. It resulted into meaningful interactions
with the faculty and was fun, but at the same time the studies were
highly demanding as all the students received personalised attention
and nobody could hide behind the crowd on any day. The present
Vice Chancellor of DTU, Prof. P.B. Sharma also taught us one subject,
during my M.E. days,” recollected Priyadarshi. He also shares
another interesting anecdote from his DCE days. “My M.E. thesis was
regarding optimisation of heat transfer in boiling environment inside
a pipe, by using numerical method / multiple iterations using lattice
search methodology. I wrote a program in ‘C’ for this and the program
involved number of loops/ iterations. The personal computers in the
lab were ‘PC-AT’ or ‘PC-386’, the best configurations available those
days. However, the numbers of iterations / loops were so many, that
at times, I remember, I used to compile/ run the program and by
the time the output/ result came, I was back from the canteen after
having refreshments,” he said.
While being at DCE, he also started preparing for Civil

Services Examination wherein he opted for Mechanical Engineering
and Anthropology as optional subjects. Anthropology and General
Studies were entirely different territories for him. Handling the
academic requirements at DCE along with these studies trained him
in multi-tasking, which has proved to be really useful in his life. In
1996, he got through Indian Engineering Services Examination and
was posted at Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) as Assistant
Works Manager, where he got training in Armament Technology,
Ordnance production technologies and management issues at
National Academy of Defence Production, Ministry of Defense,
Nagpur. He cracked the prestigious Civil Services Examination in
1997 and was allocated CBI, which was one of his preferred choices.
“I opted for Civil Services because of the varied social recognition,
opportunities, challenges and experiences it provides,” he added.
After joining CBI, he found that knowledge of Law could

be further useful for effective working in the Bureau and he took
admission in the LLB programme of Delhi University in 2001, classes

for which was held in the evenings. “My engineering background
and knowledge of law have been highly useful in discharging my
duties in CBI especially in view of the fact that I have always got to
investigate crucial cases involving technical and complex issues. It
was perhaps due to the engineering background that I started my
career with investigating corruption in defence deals of very technical
nature and then got to investigate fraud in setting up of certain steel
plants, etc. Later I have been associated with investigations of many
important cases in which technical issues were involved, including
the well-known 2G Spectrum case,” he informed.
Few days down the lane, in the year 2006, Priyadarshi was
offered a plum job in corporate sector and he decided to take it up.
“However, few days before being relieved from CBI, I relooked at my
career objectives and overall life goals, and decided to continue in
CBI. This decision proved to be a turning point in my career. I am
now heading the investigations into one of the most important cases
ever investigated by CBI. It has been the best experience in my life,”
he said adding, “Now I plan to continue serving the nation through
my contribution in CBI, to fight against corruption and to help achieve
equitable distribution of the fruits of development.”
Success for this former

“I opted for Civil Services DCEite is a state of mind. “It is
because of the varied very subjective and I have not
yet quantified any measure for
social recognition, success for myself. I consider
opportunities, challenges ‘achievement’ to be different from
and experiences it ‘success’. I am still on my way to
get ‘success’. Whatever I have
provides.” achieved, I owe it to my parents
especially for my wonderful
bringing up and to my wife for letting me pursue my professional
dreams with relentless patience and faith. I have always looked for
inspiration among my friends, colleagues, seniors, etc. and have
found many inspiring stories around me,” remarked Priyadarshi,
whose only regret in life is that he has not been able to pursue his
interests of sports and photography due to demanding professional
life. “Over last few weeks, nevertheless, I have been trying to take
time out from my schedule for these interests too,” he concluded.
Dr. Pawan Kumar Sharma, IAS

District Collector & Magistrate (IAS)
Chhindwara, MP
“The only reason of success is one’s belief in self

and sincere effort. Sometimes when you are
trying something, where numbers or percentages
are against you, it happens that you start
losing focus and self-doubt arises. This is where
self-belief is required, which carries you in bad
times and once that’s over, success is yours.”
Pawan Kumar Sharma perhaps is among the few or may be

the only one to have done his graduation, post-graduation and even
doctorate from Delhi College of Engineering (DCE). What is even
more surprising is that after attaining highest level of education in
engineering he went on to join the coveted Indian Administrative
Services (IAS).
Right from his school days in Delhi, Sharma has been an

all-rounder be it academics, sports or extra-curricular activities,
he actively participated and won laurels in all. He was a head boy
during his school days, the ‘Best School Boy’ for four years and
a proud recipient of Shourya Padak Gold Medal’-1989 and ‘Born
Mathematician Award'-1990 from Ramanujam Society of Born
Mathematicians. He was moreover, the CBSE topper in Class XII
Board Examination' 1990 securing 98.67% in PCM (aggregate of
Physics, Chemistry, Maths).
Being a Delhiite, DCE came as a natural choice to him and

he joined the Mechanical Engineering programme in the year 1990.
Recalling his college days, Sharma said, “Although I was from Delhi, I
took a room in East Hostel (Room No. 3), where I spent nine important
years of my life completing all these degrees and also preparing for
the civil services. Ragging in hostel in those days was quiet notorious
though, at the end of the day, those who ragged the most turned out to
be the most helpful and loving seniors, who protected you, gave you
treats and even gave free books (which passed on for generations).
I miss playing cricket in the college playground and night cricket
in tennis court. We used to spend several nights, not preparing for
exams but discussing the college life, in-house politics and of course
fairer sex! We used to have fabulous parties after job placements
with sometimes three to four parties in a given night. Even copying
the assignments was so much fun during college days.”
At DCE also Sharma was keenly involved in various activities.

He was a Coordinator - Cultural Society, Member - Editorial Board
College Magazine, President - Mathematical Society, Chief Editor –
College Magazine ‘TECHNARC’ and even the college President for
the year 1993-1994, besides being an active participant in Creative
Writing, Debates, Quiz competitions, Cricket matches and Dramatics.
He was particularly adept at organizing various events at the college
be it Blood Donation Camp, Fresher’s Night, Kavi Sammelan,
Mechanical Engineering Seminar, Hindi Debate, Cricket Tournament,
Fund Raising for Marathwada earthquake victims or Engifest – the

annual cultural extravaganza of DCE. “I was lucky to be active in
social and public life. I learnt many lessons on working as a team,
leading a team and motivating team members.
Without team
support, I could not have “I was lucky to be active
achieved even an iota of what I in social and public life.
have actually achieved in DCE. I learnt many lessons on
I got the maximum support from
working as a team, leading
fellow students, faculty members
and Principal of the college, Prof. a team and motivating
P.B. Sharma. It may come as a team members. Without
surprise that in my IAS interview, team support, I could not
I gave my hobby as ‘organizing’.
The interview board was amazed
have achieved even an iota
and told me that they had of what I have actually
never heard of such a hobby. I achieved in DCE. I got the
answered that I can organize any maximum support from
event at any place from minimum
resources in the optimum fellow students, faculty
possible way anywhere,” members and Principal
informed Sharma. However, of the college, Prof. P.B.
participation in all these activities
Sharma. It may come as
did not let academics take a back
seat for this brilliant DCEite who a surprise that in my IAS
completed his graduation with a interview, I gave my hobby
distinction and was conferred the as ‘organizing.”
‘Lt. Governor's Gold Medal'-1994’
and even the President of India,
Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal'-1994 for being the best
student of University of Delhi. Subsequently, Sharma did his Master’s
in Engineering in Production & Industrial Engineering in 1996 and
decided to give Civil Services a shot.

In 1998 he was able to get through both Indian Civil Account
Service and Indian Forest Service and in consequent year he was
selected for the IAS, Madhya Pradesh Cadre. He started his career
journey in the year 2000 as Assistant Collector in Mandla and went
on to hold various responsibilities including that of Chief Executive
Officer, Zila Panchayat, Deputy Secretary (Finance & Forest),
Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, and so on.
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
Many of us make a mistake in choosing our career.
Frankly speaking nobody is to be blamed for it. At the age
of 20-21, one is not certain about his/ her actual interest.
Insecurity or sometimes the rat race decides the career
for us. However, I believe and would suggest that one
should choose a career strictly on the basis of one’s own
interest whether he wants to pursue MBA/ academics/
public service/ core engineering, etc., rather than going
by the parental or peer pressure or what is in trend.
Since May 2010 he is the District Collector & Magistrate

in Chhindwara. During his decade long career, he has taken new
initiatives and introduced notable reforms in the area of Slum
Development, Solid Waste Management, Family Planning, Road
encroachment, City development, providing drinking water to all
and organizing Rozgar Mela to facilitate employment opportunities
for both girls and boys coming from rural background, to mention
prominent ones. Sharing his secret for success, Sharma remarked,
“The only reason of success is one’s belief in self and sincere effort.
Sometimes when you are trying something, where numbers or
percentages are against you, it happens that you start losing focus
and self-doubt arises. This is where self-belief is required, which
carries you in bad times and once that’s over, success is yours.”
Bhishma Kumar Chugh

Special Advisor
Innovative Technologies & Systems, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
(Former Director General, CPWD)
Bhishma Kumar Chugh has served as the former Director

General (Works) of Central Public Works Department (CPWD),
India’s apex civil engineering organization. He meticulously worked
for shaping the country for the Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010.
He is an engineering graduate from Delhi College of Engineering.
He has secured 4th and 7th positions in the Engineering Services
Examination conducted by UPSC in 1972 in 1st attempt. He is
recipient of Gold Medal in Madhya Pradesh Board of Higher
Secondary Education in 1967 Exams.
Chugh retired from a Secretary equivalent post having

jurisdiction of works over 10 Additional DGs and 58 Chief Engineer
level officers of Civil, Electrical & Mechanical and Architecture &
Horticulture wings. Government housing office accommodation
& raising of institutional buildings are priority sectors in CPWD for
various Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations. Works of more than
20 Central Ministries and 150 departments/organizations etc. are
being handled by C.P.W.D. The important projects handled during
his one year tenure have been preparatory works for commonwealth
Games 2010 (10 stadia, improvement of ITPO as well as Central
Vista up to India Gate etc.), Completion of Tsunami Rehabilitation

Project, Construction of Border Roads and Fencing of Indo-Pak,
Indo-Bangladesh Border, ITBP Roads on Indo-Chinese Border etc.
As DG, CPWD he worked as Chief Technical Advisor to Government
of India on related matters.
Chugh is an Special Advisor Innovative Technologies

& Systems ,Govt. of NCT of Delhi, he is advising the Govt. on
infrastructural projects in PWD as well as Irrigation & Flood
Department. he has received IRC Medal for the best technical
paper on construction of Punjabi Bagh Flyover in the IRC Session
in Bangalore in 1996 and IBC award for best constructed building
in the county – Administrative Block in Delhi College of Engineering
Bawana Road in 1998. He has been recently awarded Eminent
Engineers Award 2009 by the Institution of Engineers recently.
Chugh is a Member of various professional bodies like

Indian Science congress, Institution of Engineers, Indian Buildings
Congress, Indian Roads, Congress, Indian Institution of Bridge
Engineers. Vice President of Kendriya Sachivalaya Hindi Parishad &
Immediate Past President of IBC.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma

MD, One97 Comm
“I learnt that there’s no shortcut to success. Only

sheer hardwork will get you where you want to
be. Moreover, it’s important to love what you
do and work towards your goal with great focus
and determination.”
Vijay Shekhar Sharma was born and brought up in a relatively

small town, Aligarh but that didn’t deter this young boy from dreaming
and aiming big. He joined, in his own words, “the best college for
engineering in Delhi,” Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) when he
was barely 15, under a special permission and since then there has
been no looking back for him. “I was now in the Capital of the country
where big decisions are made and I wanted to be a part of the action!
It was an amazing experience to be a fresher in DCE. I got to learn
so much from my seniors and professors. I also did a lot of self-
studying to get ahead. I was always passionate about Engineering
and I ensured to get as much information on all the topics, as
possible,” Sharma recollected. It was also here that Sharma learnt
some valuable lessons in life, which he finds immensely beneficial
today, while running his own company and mentoring young people.
“I learnt that there’s no shortcut to success. Only sheer hardwork
will get you where you want to be. Moreover, it’s important to love
what you do and work towards your goal with great focus and
determination,” he informed.
The first engineer in his family, Sharma started his maiden

enterprise Indiasite.net, a search engine that he later sold off, while
still being an undergraduate student at DCE. Post college, Sharma
took up some brief assignments including one at Lotus Interworks
in New Jersey, while working towards his ultimate aim. Assured of
having saved enough money for his dream project, Sharma quit his
job at Lotus when he was just two months into completing a year at
the company. According to him, “Being with the organisation for a
year would have enabled me to get stock options. Also, given my
background, becoming an entrepreneur meant losing other things
like a stable job with its many social benefits and being seen as an
eligible bachelor. But I didn’t really care about all that. When I felt
I had saved enough capital for my seed fund, I just decided to go
ahead.”
Year 2000 saw the birth of One97, a people search company.

“India’s early telecom years saw the birth of the missed-call
phenomenon to save on talk-time costs. I had a mobile phone and
used to get missed calls, but had no clue about the caller’s identity.
So I started One97 to enable consumers to find the name of the
person who was calling by simply messaging the number to 197.

Over the years, we’ve diversified into offering services to consumers
such as music, enabling better network utilisation through services
such as customer analytics, and offering cost reduction in enterprise
delivery systems, with a 1000 strong employee base,” informed
Sharma, who has been bestowed with Exemplary Leader Award by
Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards 2011. One97 Communications
Limited is confident of generating a revenue of 250 crore in revenue,
this fiscal year and aims to make a billion dollar annually by 2015.
“A business is supposedly about making money, but actually,

a business is more about ideas. Businesses flow from great ideas. I
realised early on that compared to the internet, there’s much more
opportunity in telecom. Its eco-system is far bigger than the internet
market in India. Here are many applications of it, and it impacts a
large segment of people. It’s both exciting as well as challenging
to cater to these different needs. For
example, when we built applications for
“A business is
the rural market, we consciously decided
to offer it in the local dialect. For that, we supposedly about
selected village leaders or the sarpanch making money, but
to record the content. I want to make actually, a business
sure that whatever is there on the internet is more about ideas.
should have a mobile phone application
Businesses flow from
as well,” remarked the proud recipient
of the ‘Mobile Entrepreneur of the Year’– great ideas.”
WATAwards-2011 by WATBlog.
The challenges faced in establishing his enterprise, prompted

Sharma to initiate One97 Mobility Fund in 2010, with a view to help
first generation entrepreneurs, who do not have access to capital
or the experience of running a company, by funding their start-ups.
“All of us who have done so know that in the first two years of your
business, you don’t make money. So we have invested in early stage
companies that Venture Capitalist don’t typically look at,” he added.
Sharma has a rather unusual take on success. He believes that

success comes about in two ways — one, when you have nothing to
lose and two, when you have everything to lose. “In my case, it was a
mixture of both. When a founder is at the helm of affairs, things move
fast. It is unfair to expect an outsider to run the company the way
you imagined it. The thrill is in building the business. I certainly don’t
want to live just an investor’s life. And that is why, I admire people
like Steve Jobs, Sunil Bharti Mittal and Rupert Murdoch for still being
actively involved in operations,” opined the proud recipient of the
‘Mobile Entrepreneur of the Year’– WATAwards-2011 by WATBlog,
who finds his contentment in seeing that the people he works with
feel satisfied at the end of the day and come back energized the next
day. Sharma revealed, “The biggest honour for me is to going back
to my hometown, where I grew up dreaming big and see how proud
my folks are of whatever little I have achieved. For me, however, there
are miles to go before I sleep!”
Sanjay Diwan
Vice-President Marketing, IMI Mobiles
“In today’s era, success is not just about

hardwork but also smart approach. Success is
enjoying what you are doing and being satisfied
with what you have achieved. However, it does
not mean that you stop aspiring because success
is continuing journey in life with changing goals
along the way, just like the intermediate wins
all the time which are the battles and there is
always the larger war to be won.”
The most important thing Sanjay Diwan has learned in his

life is that learning never stops. This gentleman from Delhi believes
that everyday life offers new experiences and one should learn from
those as well as people around to evolve into a better professional
and human being.
Eldest of the three siblings, Diwan did his schooling from

Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi. He had an option to join Chemical
Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur and Civil/
Textile Engineering in IIT Delhi but his inclination to study Electronics
Engineering brought him to Delhi College of Engineering (DCE), in
the year 1976. “The five years at college was a special time of life. We
made friends in a new environment and had so many wonderful
moments, whether it was ‘ragging’ where you get to know your
seniors; fad to watch first day, first show of movies sitting in the front
row, which was priced at 65 paise in Chankaya; exploring the Dara
Shikoh’s prison behind Old Library Block to the tight schedules of
weekly tests, it was a period of bliss and learning,” recollected Diwan.
Two of the most important lessons he learnt during his time in college
were - Perseverance and Tenacity to remain focused on one goals till
you get there and to be a team player as well as leader while working
in a group.
Post-DCE, Diwan got an

FAVOURITE QUOTES opportunity to work with some of
“The will to win, the desire the biggest names in the industry
to succeed, the urge to including Philips India, Taylor
reach your full potential… Instruments, Unisys, Avaya, AGC
Networks, Birla and Tata. At Tatas,
these are the keys that he has been with Tata Infotech
will unlock the door to and Tata Telecom. “It has been a
personal excellence,” satisfying experience all through.
Working for over nine years at
Eddie Robinson, American Tatas, I realized the importance of
Basket Professional. building trust and ethics in work
“The greatest danger for life,” he said, adding, “My belief
most of us is not that we in business is about ‘engaging
with and enriching people’, with
aim too high and we miss people being your peers, teams,
it, but we aim too low and seniors, customers, stake-
reach it,” Michelangelo holders, infact everyone you
interact with. One has to simply
connect with them rightfully, with mutual trust. That is my principle

mantra for success and satisfaction.”
The turning point in Diwan’s career came when after almost a

decade of professional life he decided to go back to school and
enrolled for a part-time MBA programme at Faculty of Management
Studies, Delhi University in 1990. “After considerable years of work
experience one gets out of touch with class-room education and
starts presuming that he/ she knows it all. Rather than acquiring, you
start sharing your knowledge. It was a challenging and trying period
for me. Today, in the hindsight, upgrading my knowledge and skills
with an MBA was one of the best decisions I have made and it helped
me develop my professional and business acumen in a much
different way. After completing my MBA, I got a break to lead Launch
of Global Brand PCs in India as a National Business Leader from
earlier being a Regional Sales Manager,” informed Diwan. His quest
for learning once again took him back to pursue an advanced
management programme in 2004, this time at Indian School of
Business, Hyderabad.
Diwan joined the AGC

Networks Ltd as Director
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
Sales in April 2010 and was • Stay focussed on what you
soon promoted as its Vice want to achieve and love
President. In January 2011 yourself and enjoy what
joined IMI Mobiles as its Vice-
President Marketing. He is you do. Keep humility,
moreover, an Advisory Board simplicity, adaptability at
Member with Chief Marketing the core of your values
Officers Council Worldwide, and you will always be
Patron and Advisory Board
Member for Asia, CMO Asia successful in your pursuits.
and Vice President, OSPAI, All the best.
BPO Industry Platform.
According to this former DCEite, “In today’s era, success

is not just about hardwork but also smart approach. Success is
enjoying what you are doing and being satisfied with what you have
achieved. However, it does not mean that you stop aspiring because
success is continuing journey in life with changing goals along the
way, just like the intermediate wins all the time which are the battles
and there is always the larger war to be won.”
Aakash Sinha
CEO, Omnipresent Robot Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
“I think being an engineer is essentially being

an inventor and innovator of new technology. It
is truly amazing how engineers/scientists have
changed our lives in the past century and even
bigger changes are happening in this century. It
is one of the most satisfying feelings to see the
world using one of your innovations.”
Thomas Edison, the inventor of over 1500 inventions and

of course the light bulb has been an inspiration for many, including
Aakash Sinha. “I think being an engineer is essentially being an
inventor and innovator of new technology. It is truly amazing how
engineers/scientists have changed our lives in the past century
and even bigger changes are happening in this century. It is one
of the most satisfying feelings to see the world using one of your
innovations,” said Sinha, who hails from a family of lawyers. He
chose to study at Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) because of its
good reputation and high ranking among engineering institutions in
India. Another attraction was indeed its prime location as being in
Delhi it was well connected to industry and government institutions.
Sinha joined B.E. Electrical Engineering at DCE in 1997.
“DCE years were some of the best years in my life. The most
special part of the DCE years were the bonds of lifelong friendships
that we formed here. I found most of my close buddies and even my
life partner at DCE,” smiled Sinha, adding, “One of the key things
that I learnt at DCE was how to break challenging problems into
smaller pieces and solve the pieces one at a time. This also lies at the
heart of engineering in general, for example when you are designing
a complex unmanned robot, at first the task may seem insurmountable
but when you break it into several parts - machine perception,
kinematics, decision making, communications and algorithms sub-
modules, it suddenly becomes more manageable. When sub
modules are further split into simpler tasks, the problem, which at
first appeared impossible, becomes much more solvable. This
invaluable lesson learnt at DCE helps me both in my professional
and personal life.”
After DCE, Sinha

pursued his MS in Robotics “DCE years were some of the
at Carnegie Mellon best years in my life. The most
University, US and got an
opportunity to work on a
special part of the DCE years
number of robots were the bonds of lifelong
including iRobot Roomba, friendships that we formed
UGCV Spinner at NREC, here. I found most of my close
MARS2020 Jeep, Perceptor,
Ford F250 (DARPA Robotics buddies and even my life
Grand Challenge), Yamaha partner at DCE.”
RMAX UAV, Packbot and
R-Gator UGV. He was also the key algorithms and software engineer
for iRobot Packbot (was even awarded iRobot Outstanding Employee
Rock Award 2008) and for US Department of Defense, DARPA
Robotics Grand Challenge, besides being involved with Lockheed
Martin. However, the call of swadesh soon got on to Sinha and he
left a six figure salaried job, rejected an employment offer of $350K in
Korea and gave up a flourishing career in US to come back to India
and start Omnipresent Robot Technologies Pvt Ltd, a defense robot
company in May 2009. “Entrepreneurship is like love, it is about
following your heart and like love it has its own risks and dividends,
but the journey itself is very satisfying.
When I started Omnipresent,

FAVOURITE several people told me how crazy and
QUOTE silly I was to take such a big risk, yet I
think it was one of the best decisions I
“Stand up, be bold, be
had taken in my life, the satisfaction of
strong. Take the whole doing what I love, contributing to the
responsibility on your success of my country and potential
own shoulders, and to grow without bounds is full-filling
to my soul. A word of caution for the
know that you are the youngsters though, when you take
creator of your own risk in life, have the capacity to digest
destiny. All the strength failures and move on without any
and succor you want regrets,” he remarked.
is within yourselves.
Therefore, make your The first year at Omnipresent
was tough, six months went by
own future,” Swami without any sales or paychecks,
Vivekananda but then Sinha got a break through
DRDO to design a ground robot
prototype and Omnipresent became the first indigenous company
to have supplied military ground robots to Indian defense and now
has offices in India and Philadelphia, US. Since then, Sinha and his
team has been working for ISRO and multiple DRDO labs and are
now diversifying into home robots and education.
“We believe that the robotics industry is the next disruptive

technology and would experience the same growth as was seen by
cellphones, Internet and PC in the last two decades. We are still a
small company but see ourselves at the verge of immense growth
and continued service to our nation and world,” he added. Sinha has
also been bestowed with the ‘Outstanding Contribution in Science
and Technology Award’ by All Journalist Association, India, 2010
and has over 15 international publications related Robotics to his
credit.
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
My dear innovators and builders of tomorrow - chase
your dreams, persevere in adversity and perform your
actions with courage and total devotion, unimaginable
success awaits you!
Sinha attributes his success to perseverance, a bit of luck

and valuable guidance and support from his father. According to
him, “Success often comes after passing through multiple failures.
The key is to constantly keep on executing your actions with full
devotion and with proper vision and guidance. Besides my father,
Dr. Raj Reddy at Carnegie Mellon University has been my mentor
throughout my career.”
Adarsh Sakhuja
President, CliffDew Management Consultants
“Success is not a destination but a journey. There

have been a number of influencers during my
academic and professional life. I believe that at
the end it is the sincerity of the purpose which is
responsible for the success. The greatest mentor
is always within us and we always get different
strokes of inspiration from people we deal with
every day.”
Although Adarsh Sakhuja hails from a family of engineers,

with his father and two elder brothers (both from Delhi Polytechnic/
Delhi College of Engineering {DCE}), being in the same profession,
engineering was not his preferred choice for higher education. He
was rather interested in studying pure sciences. However, he later
felt attracted towards engineering and was motivated by the elders in
the family as well to opt for the same. “With a good score in my
Higher Secondary, getting admission in DCE was easy and the
natural next step. Since I was focussed on studies, I was able to avail
merit scholarship throughout the five-year course. However, it was
not just studies for me and I too had my share of fun and participated
in a number of extracurricular activities during my college life. The
Kashmiri Gate campus of DCE had a very notable neighbour -
Women’s Polytechnic. It motivated us to take regular walks around
that campus,” he said amusingly, adding, “DCE taught us many
important lessons. It was enriching to witness was the sincerity of
purpose and the spirit of competition that prevailed in the campus,
both amongst the students and the teachers. The dedication with
which all our teachers worked, including Late Professor Gurbaksh
Singh, Dr. O.P. Grover, and Prof. Sachdev, to name a few, had a
lasting impact on us.” He studied Mechanical Engineering at DCE
from 1969-1974.
A testimony to the
sound grounding of DCE
“DCE taught us many important
was evident when seven lessons. It was enriching to witness
students of Sakhuja’s was the sincerity of purpose and the
batch, including him, spirit of competition that prevailed
were selected in the
first campus selection in the campus, both amongst the
outside IITs by Larsen students and the teachers.”
& Toubro (L&T), one of
the largest engineering
companies. Although he had other offers as well, Sakhuja joined L&T
in July 1974 and his next 32 years were spent in Projects Execution,
Marketing of Capital and Industrial Products and Business Process
Consultancy and Internal Audit, among other areas. He meanwhile,
also did his MBA part-time from Faculty of Management Studies,
Delhi University during the years 1979-1982 and later undertook
a Management Development Programme at Indian Institute of
Management, Ahemdabad in 1989.
In September 2006, he became the Joint General Manager in

the same company and moved on to the new domain of Corporate
Risk Management and Internal Controls. In January 2010 he assumed
the responsibilities of Head-Corporate Risk Management & Internal
Controls at L&T. After being with the company for almost 37 years,
Sakhuja decided to go independent and in December 2011
established CliffDew Management Consultants that offers services in
the areas of Business Process Improvement, Risk Management and
Internal Audit & Training. “The life has been fair to me. While I had
acquired considerable experience in the line function of Sales and
Marketing, I wanted to broaden my experience and see the overall
picture of the business and therefore, I made a very unusual change
of function late in my career to Internal and Operations Audit and
then to Risk Management and Internal Control. This has helped me
to take a holistic view of a business organisation and given me the
confidence to launch my own Management Consultancy, after
working with L&T for 37 years,” he informed.
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
• I believe that the whole universe and our lives
are guided by one common principle - A place for
everything and everything in its place. A time for
everything and everything in its time.
Besides being active as the President of CliffDew, Sakhuja is

also a visiting faculty at several business schools and is involved in
mentoring young minds. “Success for me is having a clear perception
of what is the ultimate objective behind whatever I do and then putting
in my best and honest efforts to achieve it, though always with a
sense of detachment. Success is not a destination but a journey.
There have been a number of influencers during my academic and
professional life. I believe that at the end it is the sincerity of the
purpose which is responsible for the success. The greatest mentor
is always within us and we always get different strokes of inspiration
from people we deal with every day,” he added.
Amit Khatri, IAS
“Success is achievement of some hard goals by

a mix of luck and hardwork. My experiences
at DCE inculcated in me time management,
perseverance and honed up my soft skills, which
assisted me in cracking the exam and I am sure
they will be useful in my upcoming bureaucratic
career as well. I aim to bring a humane face to
administration which is essential in current era
of rising public dissatisfaction and unrest.”
From Engineering to Civil Services, Amit Khatri may have

chosen the road less travelled but nothing deterred this young lad from
Sonepat from realizing his dreams. The only child of postgraduate
parents, Khatri decided to pursue engineering as he wanted to be
abreast with the latest technological developments. He chose Delhi
College of Engineering (DCE) based on its reputation, feedback and
enviable facilities. “Life at DCE was fun-filled and enjoyable, courtesy
good friends and admirable facilities on offer. I was a regular in the
college library and gained a lot of knowledge there. In fact, I will
attribute my improved general knowledge and interest in current
affairs to the DCE library, I think that’s where I developed a strong
interest in E-Governance and strategic affairs. I also learnt prioritizing
at DCE,” he reminisced.
At the threshold of
FAVOURITE QUOTE graduation, when his peers
‘Keep Walking’ since times were busy seeking attractive
placements or chasing the
may be tough but to give up CAT for an MBA degree, Khatri
is cowardice. decided to do something that
would enable him to “bring
a greater extent of technocracy in the Indian bureaucracy, in tune
with global trends”, i.e. join Indian Administrative Services (IAS). “I
had different priorities. Multi-million packages didn’t appeal me; I
rather liked the variety of challenges offered through a career in civil
services, along with an opportunity to interact with the masses and
deriving unparalleled satisfaction from ameliorating their problems,”
he said, adding, “My decision to go for IAS instead of an IIM was
both a major risk as well as a turning point in my life. But I have no
regrets, as I think the opportunities here are unmatchable.”
Khatri faced a momentary set-back when he couldn’t clear

the prestigious exam in his first attempt and felt demoralized, but
it only made him emotionally stronger. “My family and friends have
been my pillar of strength and used to motivate me in tough times.
My parents have been my true inspiration because of their hard
work and sacrificial attitude,” he revealed. In his second attempt,
Khatri was able to secure 269th rank and was selected for Indian
Revenue Services (IT) and finally in his third attempt, during the year
2010, he was able to clear the civil services examination with an

admirable rank of 11. “According to me, success is achievement of
some hard goals by a mix of luck and hardwork. My experiences at
DCE inculcated in me time management, perseverance and honed
up my soft skills, which assisted me in cracking the exam and I am
sure they will be useful in my upcoming bureaucratic career as well.
I aim to bring a humane face to administration which is essential
in current era of rising public dissatisfaction and unrest,” said the
unassuming DCEite, who is presently undergoing his IAS training
at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Administration Academy, Mussourie.
With socially-conscious youngsters like him, the Country is definitely
in safer hands.
Anil Kapuria
Chief Operating Officer, The Stride Center
“The sooner one has a dream, the sooner passion

to realize it grows. Nothing can match this
passion. Decisions may seem important looking
back in the past, but at the time when they were
made they appeared as the only choice. Discover
intersection, define dream and pursue it with
the passion to compete with the best and the
brightest, is the biggest lesson I have learnt.”
Anil Kapuria’s mother was the founding principal of two

schools in New Delhi. One of it is now a senior secondary school
for girls. The other one was started by her in tents on occupied land
at Aurangzeb road. Children of the families residing in the servant’s
quarters of the nearby Luyten’s bungalows studied there, most of
whom couldn’t afford to study in a school otherwise. His mother
and two sisters ran this middle school for 40 years, and over 8,000
students graduated in this period. As a young boy, Kapuria noticed
how education transformed the lives of many of them who studied
there and empowered people. And today, after a successful career
in the US and surviving a rare form of blood cancer, Kapuria has
gone back to education to do his bid for society by devoting himself
to mentoring young minds and providing assistance to non-profit
social enterprises. “Harvard Business School alumni association of
San Francisco’s Community Program gave me opportunities to work
with non-profit social ventures. My intersection now includes non-
profit social ventures involved in transforming one life at a time with
technology education to bring people out of poverty. At present, I
am happy being the Chief Operating Officer of The Stride Center and
loving this opportunity to scale it nationwide in the US,” said Kapuria.
Born in Kanpur,
Kapuria was always “If you want to succeed, double
encouraged by his your failure rate.”
parents to dream
beyond his lower-
middle class background. Being good at mathematics, it wasn’t
difficult for him to find acceptance in every engineering institute he
applied to, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and
Delhi College of Engineering (DCE), making it a tough choice for
him. In those days IIT Delhi’s labs for Chemical Engineering were
at DCE. A family friend was an assistant professor at DCE and his
advice convinced Kapuria to join DCE. Rest as they say, is history!
“I joined the college in 1965. DCE taught me the system to succeed
through the fear of failure. The first failure I encountered in my life was
when I got a compartment in Humanities in the first year of college.
I hated English at that time, to this date I cannot use right side of my
brain to enjoy English poetry. I had to repeat my humanities exam.
The fear of failure set into me, I was determined to not fail and I did
not. Later on, I realized failures tell us our limits and encourages one
to push those limits and grow. Many years later, during my visit to
IBM’s world headquarter near New York, I saw a quote from IBM’s
founder, Thomas J. Watson, Sr., “If you want to succeed, double
your failure rate.” So true and yet so simple, this is how system to
succeed is built. I learnt this important lesson at DCE, but realized
later,” reminisced Kapuria.
Life after DCE was interspersed with lifelong learning,

technology and entrepreneurship for Kapuria. He did his MS in
Computer Science from University of Birmingham Learning in 1971-
72 and much later business management at Harvard Business
School. The major breakthrough in career came when he got an
opportunity to work as a Software Engineer with Tandem Computers,
one of the hottest start-ups of its time, which has now merged into
Hewlett Packard. “Here I learnt that
being at right time and right place,
FAVOURITE and ability to take risks and persist
QUOTES on it, is really the heart of Silicon
“Money chases success, Valley. Its culture is unique and
success never chases welcomes the best and the brightest
money,” is what I say to from the world over,” he added. The
entrepreneurship bug soon caught
my daughters. up with Kapuria and led to the
“If you want to establishment of Silicon Valley
succeed, double your Technology India Limited, which he
failure rate,” Thomas was able to develop as India’s largest
J. Watson, Sr., founder electronic manufacturing
organization that had arisen to export
of IBM. 50% of all computer hardware
exports. “However, the scam
involving Harshad Mehta destroyed the dream of taking it public on
Mumbai stock exchange to raise capital and it became a struggle
after that to sustain the venture,” informed Kapuria, who was
conferred with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Silicon
Valley’s largest Indian organization for the pioneering initiative to
build technology outsourcing between India and Silicon Valley in
early 90s and the Largest Exporter of the year award from Government
of India.
In the middle of this fiasco, Kapuria was diagnosed with a rare

form of blood cancer. Fortunately, the doctors at Stanford Medical
Center were able to cure him by transplanting stem cells from his
sister, but it became a life-altering event for him. “In my post stem cell
transplant life, today, I define success in spiritual terms as how many
lives I can touch and help them move out of poverty in America’s inner
cities through Information Technology (IT) education. In my previous
incarnation, my success was building India’s best, but losing out to
a defective business model. My regret remains that I should have
continued with my Silicon Valley Technology India Limited, stayed
with it, and fixed the business model and continued to build on the
leadership position that we were able to acquire in early 90s. I believe
in Martin Luther Kings’ famous “I have a dream” speech. The sooner
one has a dream, the sooner passion to realize it grows. Nothing
can match this passion. Decisions may seem important looking back
in the past, but at the time when they were made they appeared as
the only choice. Discover intersection, define dream and pursue it
with the passion to compete with the best and the brightest, is the
biggest lesson I have learnt,” he concluded.

Ashok Kumar Gupta

Chairman, Crane-Bel International Pvt. Ltd.
“My definition of success comprises of setting

a goal, being responsible for it, having self-
confidence and faith, acquiring the necessary
knowledge and skill required for it, planning for
it properly, and then consistently working hard
for achieving that goal.”
Ashok Kumar Gupta’s grandfather was a Gold medalist

engineer from Banaras Hindu University and a well to do industrialist
in Calcutta. However, both he and Gupta’s father joined the freedom
movement and during the years 1942-44 they had to leave all their
belongings in Calcutta and escape to Delhi, where Gupta was born.
Once the country became independent, they shifted to Ghaziabad
and Gupta did his schooling at MMHV Inter College Ghaziabad
where he topped the Uttar Pradesh Board and was awarded national
scholarship. “In class 6th itself, I had decided to become a mechanical
engineer and start an industry to regain our old family position of
being a known industrialist. Principal of the MMHV Inter College,
knowing my passion for engineering, supported me in joining Delhi
Polytechnic (now Delhi Technological University), where admissions
were made purely on merit basis,” informed Gupta, who considers
his grandfather as his inspiration.
Gupta’s received a warm welcome from his seniors at Delhi

Polytechnic (there was no ragging in those days) when he joined
the mechanical engineering programme in the year 1959, and had
a wonderful experience at the institute. “Prof. Mandal told us an
important thing - the mission of this College is to make industrialists,
successful engineers and not just the service class persons;
Employers and not the employees. Under the same mission, our
lecturers and professors taught us many subjects apart from the
engineering subjects, including English composition to hone our
communication and writing skills. I cannot forget my Lecturer Mr. M.
M. Jain for his efforts to teach us Economics, Book Keeping and
Accounts etc., which aided me later in my life and has enabled me
to become a successful entrepreneur and industrialist,” recollected
Gupta.
Post college he worked with Flowmore Group for almost 14

years, which was followed by a two-year stint as Technical Advisor
with Mascot India Tools & Forgings Ltd. In 1979, he finally took the
plunge and decided to fulfill his long cherished dream of setting up
an industry.
He established a small industrial unit in Ghaziabad –‘Crane-

Bel International Private Limited’ that is involved into designing,
developing, manufacturing and supplying hydraulic machines,
hydraulic system and equipment for all sectors of industry. Around
this time he also got a lucrative job offer from Vickers, USA. “All
my relatives, friends and well-wishers advised me to take up the

offer and lead a luxurious, easy going and comfortable life. I and
my wife Sushma took the most important decision of our life by
deciding against taking up the offer and choosing to stay in our own
country to establish an industry in India with a renewed resolve. This
incident taught me an important lesson that we should have a strong
determination and take firm decisions in life and not get swayed by
lucrative offers, so that we do not end up repenting in the long run,”
he remarked.
Establishment of Crane-
MESSAGE TO YOUTH Bel witnessed some teething
• To be successful in problems but Gupta eventually
life you have to have tasted success due to his strong
will power and firm determination.
strong will power, firm
Recognition also came in the
determination, hard form of national awards - National
work, consistency in Award-2006 for Quality Products
efforts, confidence, - Outstanding Quality Machine
Tool Manufacturer, National
discipline, punctuality, Award-2007 for Research and
patriotism, loyalty, Development Efforts, and National
love and respect for Award-2008 for Outstanding
the family and friends. Entrepreneurship. “My definition
of success comprises of setting
a goal, being responsible for it,
having self- confidence and faith, acquiring the necessary knowledge
and skill required for it, planning for it properly, and then consistently
working hard for achieving that goal,” he added.
Gupta’s dream project is being taken forward by his able son

Sarvesh though he is still actively involved as the Chairman of the
company. “I have fully enjoyed my life. I have always maintained a
positive attitude, strong will power and firm determination. Whatever
decisions or choices I have made in my life, I have fully gone with
them. I have always considered myself as one of the happiest
persons in the world,” he concluded.
Devendra Garg
Chairman and Managing Director
Garuda Cotex Shades Ltd.
“Success, for me is to be recognized in your field

and be financially strong to take care of your
family needs and be content in life.”
Devendra Garg’s childhood days were spent not only in

playing gilli-danda, cricket, with marbles or flying kites but also
dreaming of becoming an engineering and owning a factory one
day. Garg was born in a small village in Haryana and did his schooling
largely from Delhi. He was admitted to Indian Institute of Technology,
Delhi, BITS-Pilani and Delhi Polytechnic and was advised to join the
latter for its glorious history. According to Garg, “Initial days at Delhi
Polytechnic, which is now known as Delhi Technological University
(DTU), were tough due to the sudden transition from a school to
college life but gradually, I got adjusted to it. However, the overall
experience at the college was good. The hostel life was good and
really developed a sense of team and comradeship. We used to get
frequent tests and we eventually got so used to them that they ceased
to cause any stress. The tests infact mentally prepared us to face any
situation in life.”
After finishing his

graduation, Garg went on MESSAGE TO YOUTH
to his Master’s in Industrial Be good to everybody and help
Engineering from I.I.T.
Chicago USA and part-time
those whom you can and don't
course in Management boast about it. No shortcut to
from J Bajaj Institute in hard work.
Mumbai. After working in
industry and corporate
sector for some years, Garg left his cushy job and took the biggest
risk of his life by turning into an entrepreneur. He established
Garuda Cotex Shades Ltd, a state-of-art Cotton yarn dyeing plant in
Ankleshwar, Gujrat that he is presently heading as the Chairman and
Managing Director. “Life has been a roller coaster ride but satisfactory,
with varied experience in industry, corporate side, import-export
business, running my own industry and becoming an entrepreneur. It
has been a challenge and I have taken lot of risks in my life including
quitting job to establish my own venture but end of the day I have no
regrets,” remarked Garg, who draw’s his inspiration from his father.
The former DCEite attributes his success to hard work, a little bit of
luck, self-motivation and being clear hearted. “Success, for me is to
be recognized in your field and be financially strong to take care of
your family needs and be content in life,” he concluded.
Devinder Kaul
Deputy General Manager
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd.
“I have no regrets in life. In fact, if I am born

again, I shall choose same course of life. My
main aim in life is to be happy irrespective of
the kind of life I am leading.”
Born amidst the beautiful valley of Kashmir, Devinder Kaul

did his high school in Delhi before joining Bachelor’s in Engineering
(B.E.) in Electrical Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering (DCE).
“Time management and being methodical in work are two important
lessons that I learnt during my stint at DCE that proved to be useful
in my later life as well,” said Kaul.
After graduating in 1972, Kaul briefly worked with the Central

Electricity Authority and thereafter joined a micro hydel manufacturing
unit in Faridabad. “From there I went on to join Hindustan Paper
Corporation as an Assistant Engineer in Nagaland for erection and
commissioning of 100 tonnes per-day paper mill,” informed Kaul.
During his stint at Nagaland, Kaul received a note of appreciation
from then principal of DCE, Prof. R.C. Narayan in February 1980,
which said, “You have very rightly observed that the character and
the caliber of a man is really put to test when he is exposed to difficult
and demanding situations in an unfamiliar environment. I am
extremely gratified to note that you have unconsciously hit upon
techniques of getting the best co-operation from the personnel
working with you by establishing personal rapport with them so that
they extend to you their best co-operation. These are the methods
suggested by experts in management these days and it is so good
of you to practice them in the practical situations with which you are
confronted.”
After commissioning of
FAVOURITE QUOTES paper mill, Kaul joined Korba
unit of National Thermal
“You start living as soon as Power Corporation (NTPC)
you live outside yourself,” Ltd. in Operations and
Albert Einstein." Maintenance department and
“Nothing in life should be taken worked there for six years.
He was then transferred
seriously except happiness,” to NTPC corporate centre
Albert Camus. in operations services
department at New Delhi.
Before retirement from NTPC in 2009, he was involved as

Deputy General Manager of Renewable Energy and Distribution
Generation in the company, where he worked on numerous projects
in renewable energy. Some of them are commissioning of 20 KW Bio
mass gasifier DG projects in remote villages of Korba Region,
coordination with Indian Institute of Technology-Rorkee, PE-Hydro

and PE (Elect.) for finalization of Detailed Project Report and detailed
engineering of Small Hydro Project at CW outfall of Singrauli Station,
and preparation of Standard Specifications for Micro Hydel Project
and 1 MW Solar PV project, to mention some.
Attributing his
success to “being patient MESSAGE TO YOUTH
and having endurance and • Whenever you face
perseverance,” Kaul said, “In adverse situation in
today’s materialistic world that
person is considered successful,
life, just endure it
who gets more in life in proportion patiently and never
to what he gives to the world. grumble. Things will
However, the true value of man move definitely in your
is if gives more to the world in
proportion to what he gets from
favour.
it.”
Post-retirement, Kaul has been offering his voluntary

services to OM Foundation School, where he helps the students in
the mentorship classes that are basically conducted for slow learners
after school hours. “I have no regrets in life. In fact, if I am born again,
I shall choose same course of life. My main aim in life is to be happy
irrespective of the kind of life I am leading,” concluded Kaul.
Sangeeta Wij
Managing Director
Prime SD Engineering Consultants Ltd.
“In my view, success is when, despite failing a

couple of times, you have achieved your goals
and arrived where you wanted to be in life. In my
view, success is being able to afford your dream
car and to be happy with your achievements,
professionally and commercially.”
When Sangeeta Wij joined Delhi College of Engineering (DCE)

in 1977, traditionally considered a male bastion, with just four other
girls that year, it created quite an uproar. Wij was born into a Punjabi
family who had migrated from Pakistan after partition. She was keen
to have a professional life and wanted to pursue medicine, whereas
her brother Rajesh had got through an Indian Institute of Technology
and was offered a seat outside Delhi. “However, studying at DCE
appeared to be a more attractive solution logistically, for both of us
and we settled for it, although there was some resistance from our
close relations to my taking up engineering as a career,” she recalled.
Eventually, both Wij and her brother studied Civil Engineering in the
same class at DCE.
“It was my first exposure to the outside world. We always

got a VVIP treatment owing to the miniscule number of girls in the
college. I was highly focussed towards my studies and hardly ever
bunked college. The quality of education we received at DCE was
excellent and there was an emphasis on developing strong basics
in all subjects, especially Theory of Structures, RCC designs and
Steel designs etc., which proved to be immensely useful as a design
engineer and a consultant,” she said, adding, “I have wonderful
memories of a great educational experience under eminent professors
including Dr. Pal Das, Prof. Selot, Madam Ramadevi, Late Prof. Arun
Kumar, Prof. Ramaswamy and Prof. Pamnani, among others, who
treated us like a big extended family, and we became much better
citizens on account of the warmth, sincerity , spirit of camaraderie
and integrity exhibited by them. I also recall having won a few subject
prizes, one of which was in a workshop that caused a lot of heartburn
among the top guys in Mechanical Engineering.”
Wij was also an active participant in cultural activities and

witnessed an unprecedented chaos when she sang a duet song in
the first Engifest (annual cultural festival of the college), held at that
time. Sports activities for women were also started during her student
days and she won medals in Table Tennis and even consolation prize
for securing IVth position in a racing competition for girls, which had
only three other participants!
Post-college, she worked in a couple of private firms as a

Structural Design engineer before joining RITES, a Government of
India enterprise providing engineering, consultancy and project
management services in 1984 as an Assistant Manager Designs.
At RITES, she got an opportunity to work on prestigious national

and international assignments and learnt the finer points of analysis
and design of RCC and steel structures, with special emphasis on
earthquake resistant designs. “At RITES, I had the privilege of working
under Mr. S.K. Vohra, an excellent technocrat and an astute problem
solver. I have picked up the confidence to handle pressure situations
from him. His dedication to work was truly inspiring. I consider him
to be my mentor in so many ways,” added Wij.
Meanwhile, she also completed her M.Tech. part-time from

an IIT. In 1995, she accepted a Project Coordinator’s assignment
with USAID, where her responsibilities included promoting efficiency
in coal based power generation, by inviting US Experts and arranging
their visits to the selected Power Utilities. “A Centre of Excellence was
set-up by us in NTPC, named as CENPEEP. We had 19Million USD
as a Grant for promoting the Cogeneration of Power among Sugar
Manufacturers and conducted Seminars all over India to locate such
Sugar Plants,” she informed.
However, this role had little to

FAVOURITE QUOTE offer her as a civil/ structural engineer
“If God can give you and Wij quit USAID to start her own
consultancy firm on Structural and
what you want, then he Civil Engineering. She is perhaps the
also can decide what first woman structural engineering
is best for you; you consultant in India. Initial days
should only ask him for of entrepreneurship were tough,
looking for projects, executing the
his grace in spiritual designs/drawings on time and also
matters.” realising the payments from clients,
Believe me, I have never which according to her was the
trickiest of part. As per Wij, “It was
actually asked God for a roller coaster ride, with lots of ups
anything, and yet he and downs. We designed a large
has fulfilled whatever I variety of building projects including
had even dreamt of or hospitals, schools, commercial
and residential complexes, railway
secretly desired, and and metro stations and so on for
blessed me with so much architects, government departments
in life. and PSUs, MNCs and private
clients.”
Her proprietorship firm gradually built a good reputation and

was able to attract medium sized government and private sector
projects. Nevertheless, with a view to increase its employee strength
and improve the office infrastructure, Wij got into a partnership in
2007 and acted as the
Managing Director of MESSAGE TO YOUTH
the new venture, • Go all out and make the most of
which took over her
firm. The company your career professionally, and
shifted to a bigger bring out the best in your work.
office in a posh area Study well and strive hard to
and inflated the
give India a better, cleaner and
recurring costs. It was
a challenge to get greener tomorrow. But, at the
projects during end of a hard day, never forget
recession, ensure to thank God for the gifts that
timely delivery and
also get paid for it.
you already have - a wonderful
The new venture spouse, a good job, a nice house,
made losses for a limousine or whatever.
consecutive years • It is equally important to play
and as a result the
partners decided to your favourite sport or spend time
split. Wij gave up her with old friends/ have a passion/
stake amidst hobby, as hard work alone can
disillusionment but
be extremely unnerving and may
decided to move on in
life. Speaking about though land you at top, you will
this experience, she be all alone. Work hard and party
remarked, “I learnt an harder. Life is too short so make
important lesson -
never to work in a
the most of it.
partnership with • Try and stay in joint families
anyone, as it gets you and look after your parents in
nothing else but their old age. I can tell you by
heartburn and makes
you lose good my own experience that it’s a
friends.” highly rewarding experience,
emotionally and personally. It
The former also helps you in achieving higher
DCEite is now with
Prime SD Engineering
career goals.
Consultants Ltd, as a Managing Director of their new consulting firm,

handling turnkey consulting and PMC assignments for prestigious
in-house and external projects. “In my view, success is when, despite
failing a couple of times, you have achieved your goals and arrived
where you wanted to be in life. In my view, success is being able
to afford your dream car and to be happy with your achievements,
professionally and commercially,” added Wij, who attributes her
success to God, her parents and her husband who has been her
friend, philosopher and guide.
She has also been involved with WFEO and FIDIC activities
and travelled to several countries to present papers and participate
in conferences and committee meetings including ‘Women in
Engineering Committee’ of WFEO and FIDIC’s ‘Sustainable
Development Committee.’
Last year, Wij also started a society for Women in Science

and Engineering (WISE) in India, and as President of WISE she has
been elected to the Board of Directors of International Network of
Women Engineers and Scientists, Canada (INWES).
Aurbind Sharma
Founder & CMD, TED Consulting
Sharma completed his Bachelor of Engineering (with honours)

from Pune University in 1999 and subsequently enrolled for the
Master in Computer Technology and Application at the prestigious
Delhi College of Engineering (now Delhi Technological University).
He completed his Masters in 2001 and was the top ranker for his
batch. After a brief engagement with DSQ Technologies he was
selected for the Master in Science programme at National University
of Singapore, Singapore. He was the winner of iDA/SoC Fellowship
for his outstanding academic performance and went on to do cutting
edge research in the area of Mobile and Wireless Technologies. He
is the author of several Research Papers published in the leading
Conferences and Journals. He has also authored two protocols for
Next generation Mobile Technologies, and is responsible for setting
up the MOMENT (Mobility Management in Next Generation Networks)
group at School of Computing, Singapore. He also established the
first fully connected IPv6 network in Singapore, and collaborated with
the top Universities in the world. After completing his Post-Graduate,
he was invited by NUS to join the School of Computing where he
worked for 2 years.
Sharma joined the Brunswick Corporation (USA) in 2005,

rapidly grew up the ranks at Life Fitness, Singapore. He was the
recipient of Best Employee of the Year 2006 and Outstanding

Contributor Award for 2009. Sharma is an avid contributor in
Open Source Technologies and has single headedly transformed
the IT systems at Brunswick to Open Source Technologies
resulting in millions of dollars in saving and improved efficiency
and communication across the board. In 2011, Sharma formed
TED Consulting, which is aimed at bringing cloud computing
technologies for Education and SME’s in India.
Durjoy Datta
Author and Founder Director
Grapevine India Publishers
“Success never comes without hard-work.

Though I have worked for what I have achieved
so far, I believe I have been lucky as well. Usually
there is a support of lot of people behind every
successful person.”
Durjoy Datta has five best-selling books to his credit – Now

That You're Rich . . . Let's Fall In Love, She Broke Up, I Didn't...I Just
Kissed Someone Else!, Ohh Yes, I Am Single. And so is my girlfriend,
You Were My Crush! ...Till You Said You Love Me!, and Of Course I
Love You..! Till I Find Someone Better... He claims to have sold over
a million copies of his books over the last three years and of being
the third highest selling Indian author in the year 2011. Hence, it may
come as a surprise to many that this young author holds a degree in
mechanical engineering. “My father was a graduate in mechanical
engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi hence
mechanical engineering was obvious choice for me. When it came to
choosing the institute, Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) was the
obvious choice as it is the best college in Asia for Mechanical
Engineering. And so, I got here,” exclaimed Datta, who joined DCE
in 2004.
The initial days at college

FAVOURITE QUOTE were full of fun and freedom.
“Your dreams are your But as the time passed, the
own. Don't expect others to seriousness of engineering
studies started to seep in. “I was
understand. Do your thing part of several councils during
and prove them wrong. my college days and organising
That's the best argument events was always fun, along
against them.” with being a highly educative
experience. Organizing things at
the last minute, managing both
people and tasks, meeting deadlines and team work were the few
things we learnt, while working in a group. And this learning, of the
college days, always comes useful in personal and professional life,”
said Datta.
After completing his engineering, Datta worked for Siemens

for a year. He then decided to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma
programme in Business Management in Marketing from Management
Development Institute and was subsequently placed with American
Express. However, within a few months of his job, he realized that there
was a huge void in the publishing industry, which he could fill with his
knowledge and expertise and that is how Grapevine India Publishers
was conceived. “I partnered with my DCE classmate Sachin Garg
to start Grapevine India Publishers - a community of authors, which
was set up with the vision of filling the gap between the interests
of the authors and the publishers.” Datta plans to take Grapevine

forward and become an established name in the publishing industry.
Datta defines
success as happiness. “No MESSAGE TO YOUTH
matter what you do, how much Live your life by your own
money you make, unless rules. There is no written
you are happy, it amounts to
nothing. Unless you enjoy what
pattern you need to follow.
you are doing and have a smile Do what you really want to,
of contentment on your face at not what you think would be
the end of the day, you are not “right” and “appropriate”
there yet. Happiness is what
matters the most,” he said,
and definitely not “what
adding, “Success never comes everyone else is doing.”
without hard-work. Though I Don’t be just one of the
have worked for what I have sheep in the herd. Life is
achieved so far, I believe I have
been lucky as well. Usually short. Live it!
there is a support of lot of
people behind every successful
person. My family and close friends have always been there for me
and it is a huge boost to my confidence. For inspiration, I just look at
things around me, people around me and get inspired from the good
in them.”
The former DCEite has been invited as a guest speaker to

events at SRCC, AISEC Indore, AISEC Jalandhar and Whistling
Woods International Pune to share his views on Marketing,
Entrepreneurship and creative arts. He was recently conferred the
‘Young Achiever Award’ on the occasion of Delhi completing 100
years of being the Capital of India.
Sachin Garg
Author & Co-founder
Grapevine India Publishers
“Success is always a result of hard work and as

it is rightly said, there is no shortcut to success.
One also needs to be fearless. You need to have
the courage to take important decisions and
huge risks as well as face the consequences of
your choices. Have a dream and believe in it.
And if you then work for it, giving it your
everything, nothing can stop you from
succeeding.”
Sachin Garg has always been an all-rounder. During his school

days, be it academics, sports or even literary activities, he was ahead
in all. “My first brush with creative writing happened when I won a
consolation prize in a story writing competition held at my school.
That was the time I realized that I could also write and thus, the first
seed of my writing career was sown. However, I had little idea that it
would be something I would be known for in the future,” said Garg.
Post-schooling Garg appeared for various engineering

entrance examinations and was offered a seat in Civil Engineering
Department of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Mechanical
Engineering in IIT Guwahati and Electronics Engineering at Delhi
College of Engineering (DCE), among others. Garg chose DCE.
“There were two major reasons behind it. Firstly, I was sure that DCE
is a college which nurtures the complete personality of every student.
So I was keen on getting into it. Secondly, I loved Electronics
Engineering and it was the stream I wanted to join. DCE had the
sound infrastructure for the same. So it was the obvious choice,”
reminisced Garg, who joined the institute in 2004.
During his initial days at

college, Garg was overwhelmed FAVOURITE QUOTE
by the amount of activities taking “The question isn’t who
place in the college. Every other is going to let me. It’s
day, there was something or the
other happening and Garg made who is going to stop
full use of the given opportunity. He me,” Ayn Rand.
even participated in the Mr. Fresher It has always inspired
contest and was selected among
the final three. “Most of my special
me to strive for what I
memories from college were on really want to do and
the sports field. Apart from that, all never shy away from
the special relationships I forged in big risks.
college remain another high point,”
he said, adding, “In fact, at a later
stage, when I became a professional writer, lot of my inspiration
came from DCE and the time spent here. I wrote my first book ‘Never
Let Me Go…’ inspired from my first year at college. Even my next
book ‘It’s First Love.. just like the last one!’ was about my second
year in DCE. The subsequent book is going to be about my third
year at college and the one after that will be about my fourth year. So,
one can well imagine how inspired I have been by DCE.”
The college also provided Garg the right ambience and

opportunities to develop varied interests. On the one side, he was
blogging at www.sachingarg.me, which became an instant rage and
on the other hand, he was playing football for Cosmos Football Club.
In the second year, he spent a large chunk of time working on his
new found passion for robotics and in third year he went to Paris for
his summer internship. “A lot of good things were happening to me
at college and it was a nice feeling. I would go to the extent of saying
that my stay at DCE was the turning point of my life. Several decisions,
personal and career related were taken during that time. And I look
back to that time with great fondness. One of the most important
lessons I learnt at DCE was that nothing is impossible, if you are
committed to your goal,” he remarked.
After graduation, like

MESSAGE FOR YOUTH many other engineers, Garg
• Nothing is impossible. also enrolled for an MBA
programme at Management
With proper hard Development Institute,
work and willpower, Gurgaon and found placement
everything is possible. with JSW Group that involved
working in a small village of
Just believe in yourself
Karnataka. After being there for
and your dream and of a year, Garg quit his job and
course, work for it. You took to writing on a full-time
will get there. For some, basis. His novel 'I'm Not Twenty
Four…I’ve been nineteen for
it might be sooner, but five years!' was released in
we all will eventually get 2010 and turned out to be a
there, if only we try. best-seller. In 2011, Garg joined
• There is another quote hands with a former DCEite
and writer Durjoy Datta to start
I remember, “Ships are their own publishing house,
safer in the harbour but ‘Grapevine India Publishers’ -
they are not meant for a community of authors, which
was set up with the vision of
that purpose. Fortune
filling the gap between the
favours the brave.” Work interests of the authors and
on this principle and you the publishers. According to
will be way ahead than Garg, “Quitting my cushy job
and becoming an entrepreneur
those who never tried. was the biggest turning point of
my life. It was a moment of great emotions for me as well as of a

big risk. The idea of starting Grapevine India was very thrilling but
equally scary. Thankfully, the company is running smooth and its
future looks bright. I believe all this became possible largely because
of my conditioning at DCE that nothing is impossible. I believe it has
helped me make some really bold decisions in life.”
Success for Garg lies in having a good night sleep at night.

“When you come home and have a sound sleep, you know you are
on the right track. Contentment is another important thing. Being
content about the way you have adopted in getting something and
also getting it is success. Success is always a result of hard work
and as it is rightly said, there is no shortcut to success. One also
needs to be fearless. You need to have the courage to take important
decisions and huge risks as well as face the consequences of your
choices. Have a dream and believe in it. And if you then work for
it, giving it your everything, nothing can stop you from succeeding.
This is how it worked in my case atleast,” informed Garg, who draws
inspiration from different things around him. This young DCEite
has been felicitated with the ‘Young Achiever Award, 2010’ by The
Pioneer, Gurgaon Edition and is often invited as a speaker at various
forums. His next book ‘Never Let Me Go’ is scheduled to release in
early 2012.
Sangeeta Nagrath
Founder Partner, HR Bridges
“Success for me is living your life following

your set of values.”
Sangeeta Nagrath was born and brought up in Delhi. Right

from her school days, she was actively involved into sports and
participated and won medals in many local and national level sporting
events. Unlike the girls of that era who usually chose teaching or
medicine as their career choices, Sangeeta decided to become an
engineer and Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) emerged as an
appropriate choice for her because of its good reputation and fact
that it was located in Delhi and Sangeeta didn’t want to leave the city.
She joined the Electrical Engineering branch of DCE in 1982.
“DCE was a great place

to be in. Overall I had a wonderful FAVOURITE QUOTE
time being a part of the college. Our “Don’t be intimidated by
batch had a total strength of 240 other people’s opinions.
students out of which we were 30
girls. We used to have an exam on
Only mediocrity is sure
every Monday and Thursday so the of itself, so take risks and
academics always took the front do what you really want
seat. But we made a great bunch of to do.”
friends with whom we are in touch
even after 25 years. Besides the
teachers and students, monkeys were an integral part of our daily
life at the college campus in Kashmere Gate,” reminisced Nagrath,
who became the first female Secretary of DCE’s Students Union.
Along with academics, she greatly enjoyed participating in the sports
week held annually at the college and bagged almost 15-20 medals
every year. “Engifest – the annual cultural festival of the college was
another event we used to look forward to, as it used to be complete
celebrations for three to four days,” she added.
According to Nagrath, DCE prepared her to face tough

situations in life. “It honed my killer instincts, the spirit of
competitiveness, which has been useful throughout my life. The
constant grilling for the exams and assignments taught me about
the direct approach to problem solving. Keeping the focus and
looking for the shortest solutions are the valuable lessons learnt that
eventually became our forte,” she remarked.
After graduating from college, she worked with Stallion Shox

Ltd for a year, which was followed by a two year stint with the IDM
(earlier IBM). She thereafter turned an entrepreneur and became a
part of a couple of mechanical engineering manufacturing
companies. She is a Founder Partner at Tekniktrad International

since June 1990, a Director at N.V. Prec. Comp. Pvt. Ltd. from March
2004 and a Partner at M.V. Engineering Industries since March 2005.
Nagrath also developed and sold a few software solutions over the
years. In 2005 she became a part of a start-up company ‘HR Bridges’,
a niche Human Resource Consulting firm involved in organized
recruitment and other HR
MESSAGE TO YOUTH services in India. “The birth of
• Whenever you come across my daughter was the turning
point in my life when I chose to
a problem, give it your quit a full time job and take a
best shot and hang in there break. This only motivated me
for some time. Things will to start a few ventures of my
own. Life has been very kind
turn out well in the end. to me and I have no regrets,”
she informed.
The former DCEite attributes her success to her family and

friends without whose support she may not have been where she is
today. “Success for me is living your life following your set of values,”
she summed up.
Sparsh Gupta
Partner and CTO at Wingify Software Pvt. Ltd.
“I think one of the best things about DCE is the

quality of students it attracts. I met some of the
best minds in India while at DCE.”
Sparsh Gupta has always believed in following his heart,

whether it was about choosing engineering for his higher education,
pursuing a career in computer science after majoring in mechanical
engineering or leaving his cushy job in London to come back to India
and work at a start-up Wingify Software Pvt. Ltd.
It was his interest in Mathematics and Science that drove

Gupta towards engineering. His preferred choice was the coveted
Indian Institute of Technology but couldn’t secure a very good score
and instead of dropping a year, decided to join the second best
option available – Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) in the year
2003.
“I think one of the best things about DCE is the quality of

students it attracts. I met some of the best minds in India while at
DCE. I was the head of the website management team at the college
and was part of teams which managed AIEEE online counselling. I
was majoring in Mechanical Engineering but these experiences made
me sway towards Computer Science. I worked with Prof. Asok De on
a research project to detect forgery in digital videos and was invited
by University of Cambridge to work on a research project (Intelligent
Book) in their Computing Science Lab during my 3rd year summer
vacations. I also attended conferences on entrepreneurship in India
and Singapore during my college days, which made me inclined
towards starting my own venture later in my career,” he reminisced.
The second year of college

FAVOURITE QUOTE also proved to be the turning point in
Gupta’s life when despite studying
Stay Hungry, Stay Mechanical Engineering at college
Foolish – Steve Jobs he decided to pursue a career in
Computer Science. “I made extra
effort and spent a good amount of time reading computing books at
library during my free time. This was instrumental later in my career
when I decided to join Computer Science at Oxford and later when
I assumed the role of Chief Technical Officer at Wingify,” he added.
Upon graduation, Gupta got an opportunity to work as one of

the founding members of the Analytics Division at Grail Research. He
was involved in developing the analytical capability at Grail as well as
doing the statistical and analytical part of the projects. In 2008 he
went to Oxford University and did his Masters in Computer Science.
He majored in Artificial Intelligence and took a number of courses in

Mathematics and Machine Learning. Gupta worked with a London
based start-up Mendeley for a year, where his work primarily involved
designing and executing data mining and statistical projects, before
he came back to India to work at Wingify that is primarily involved in
developing website optimization tools.
Gupta is currently
concentrating on expanding the MESSAGE TO YOUTH
company, which recently won • Follow your dreams.
Nasscom Emerge 'League of top Take the path you
10 companies' award. Sharing his
definition of success, Gupta said, “I always wanted. If there
think it’s the stage when someone is no path, create it but
truly enjoys his work and is doing do what you truly want
exactly what he always wanted
to do.
to do. If a person is completely
satisfied by his/ her work, I think
he/ she is successful. It’s too early to call myself successful. But what
I do care about is that I enjoy my work and do what interests me. The
company is now doing good but for me, I have just taken the first few
steps of where I want the company and my work to go. I will keep
following what my heart tells me.”
Krishan Kalra
Additional Secretary General, FICCI
Krishan Kalra, B.E. (Mech.), FIE, FIMA, Secretary General of

PHD Chamber, since January 2007, was earlier Additional Secretary
General at FICCI for nearly seven years. He also serves on the
Advisory/Governing Boards of several management institutes, as
well as, on the Governing Body of Indian Council of World Affairs
(ICWA), National Technical Working Group on Global Gap set up by
Quality Council of India (QCI), Screening Committee of CSIR Awards
for S&T Innovations for Rural Development (CAIRD) and other Central
and State Government Committees.
Past President of the All India Management Association

(AIMA) for 1998-99 and Delhi Management Association (DMA) for
1989-90, Kalra has served for five-years as Member of the Board
of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
from 2001-06.
He moreover has had five year stints as member of the

Advisory Board for Sustainable Trade and Innovation Centre (STIC)
set up by EU and at Permanent Advisory Committee of South Asian
Regional Energy Cooperation (SAREC).
Before Joining FICCI in April 2000, Kalra spent 38 years in

the corporate world, working with companies like ESSO, L&T group
and Shriram group. From 1980 to 2000, he was Managing Director of
INALSA, a leading manufacturer of kitchen appliances and industrial
products.
He has furthermore, served as a member of the Government

of India's Small Scale Industry Board, UGC's Standing Committee
on Vocational Education, AICTE Council, Governing Council of
Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT) set up by
IIT Delhi, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Committee
on MBA Courses and National Capital Territory Transportation
Perspective Committee, to mention some.
Santosh Kumar
Director General, National Power Training Institute
Santosh Kumar has vast experience in power system planning

and grid management. He was actively involved in the planning of
EHV transmission network in Western and Northern Regions. He
handled the project of setting up of 12.5 MW DG station in Port Blair,
A&N Islands and sub-transmission and distribution works in Thimpu
and Paro in Bhutan.
Kumar is involved in formulating policies and guidelines relating

to integrated operation of the Indian power grid and distribution. He
has been instrumented in synchronization and operation of a system
of about 90,000 MW comprising of four Regional grids, which is one
of the largest systems in the world.
Kumar played a key role in the formulation and implementation

of Availability Based Tariff (ABT) in the country. He has headed
various committees constituted to investigate grid disturbances and
suggested remedial measures to minimize grid disturbances. Kumar
headed Central Power Research Institute, Bangalore as Director
General as an additional charge for one year from September, 2003.
He has also held the additional charge of Director General, National
Power Training Institute since September, 2005 for some time. The
former DCEite has also contributed a number of technical papers in
National and International Seminars/ Conferences.
Bharat Bhatia
Regional Director, Asia Pacific Government Affairs,
Motorola Solutions Singapore
Bharat Bhatia has over 35 years of experience in Telecom

and ICT policy, regulations and spectrum management. He holds
a B. E. degree from Delhi College of Engineering in Electronics
and Telecommunications and is a fellow member of IETE. He has
moreover, completed a number of management programmes from
various institutes and universities including National University of
Singapore and George Washington University.
Currently Bhatia is heading the Motorola’s Government

Affairs and Public Policy activities for the Asia Pacific Region and
is based in Singapore. Earlier, he was the Director of Corporate
affairs for Motorola in India. Bhatia is an expert on public safety and
emergency and disaster relief communications and works closely
with many Asian governments on issues of Policy and regulations
concerning ICT technologies and services.
Prior to joining Motorola, he was with Government of India

for 22 years as a spectrum regulator and Telecom policy specialist.
He was also actively involved in formulation and implementation of
India’s ICT policy.
Air Marshal R. K. Vashisht

AO-In-Charge Maintenance
Air Marshal RK Vashisht took over as the Air Officer-in-

Charge Maintenance (AOM) in October 2011. AOM is responsible
for maintenance & management of all Aircraft, Weapon Systems and
Equipment of Indian Air Force (IAF).
A graduate in Mechanical Engineer from Delhi College
of Engineering, Vashisht was commissioned in the Aeronautical
Engineering (Mechanical) Branch of the Indian Air Force in January
1975. An alumni of National Defence College, Air Marshal Vashisht
has held various field and staff appointments including the Chief
Engineering Officer of a major fighter base, Commanding Officer
of a Base Repair Depot (BRD) and a Mirage Training School,
Chief Instructor at Air Force Technical College (AFTC), Command
Engineering Officer at Eastern Air Command (EAC), Senior
Maintenance Staff Officer (SMSO) at Central Air Command (CAC)
and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Engineering ‘B’). He closely steered
the setting up of maintenance facilities for Mirage 2000 fleet during
its induction in IAF.
He was formerly discharging the responsibility of Director
General of Aircraft at Air Headquarters. For his distinguished service,
the Air Officer was conferred Presidential award of Ati Vishisht Seva
(AVSM) Medal in January 2008 and Mention-in-Dispatch (M-in-D)
for his outstanding contribution during Kargil Conflict (OP VIJAY) in
1999.
Anuj Kanish
Co-Founder & CEO, TolMol.com
Anuj Kanish grew up in New Delhi but his heart lies in the
serenity and massiveness of Himalayas. He started his profession
hunt at an early age of 11 when he was weighing the option of joining
the Indian cricket team and later launching a dairy product venture.
Eventually, he completed his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from
Delhi College of Engineering and gained MIS from the University of
Texas at Arlington.
Kanish brings strong industry experience in executive and

engineering positions at various companies in power, e-commerce,
and travel space. After a brief stint at SABRE, a division of American
Airlines in Texas, he moved to California to explore the dot com
opportunities back in late 90s.
In 2004, he along with his wife established Avake Technology

Group Inc. Avake itself is an online vertical search and business
provider. While the company itself is based in California, US and its
Innovation and Development Centre is located in Noida, India. TolMol,
its primary online website is a comparison-shopping provider. Tolmol
was launched in India in May 2007 and became the India's first local
comparison-shopping service.
With 12 years of experience in the business development and

management in the IT industry, Kanish is instrumental in setting the
clear vision of Avake. With his ‘think big and think ahead’ attitude he
has set high goals for Avake.
Arun Aggarwal
Team leader, Treasury Sales, ICCI Bank
Aggarwal remembers so many memories of DCE and

recollects, “I was elated to have secured admission in DCE because
apart from being in good college, it also ensured that I will not have to
go far away from home to do engineering. However, this happiness
gave way to a sense of arrival in life on inauguration day. I was seated
with my batch mates (many of them accompanied by their parents)
in our grand old auditorium. Principal P. B. Sharma delivered a great
speech welcoming us the “freshers” and sharing the history of
college and his future vision. It is at this moment I realized that I have
achieved something”. According to Aggarwal, DCE was the college
with great legacy, highly respected faculty and crème de la crème
students from Delhi and outside under a leader whose dynamism
was obvious and impressive. This was the point where DCE changed
for him from a good engineering college to a great institution and he
was proud of being part of it. He got admission in 1996, Mechanical
Engineering at DCE
"In third year, I had decided to contest for the post of central
councilor. This entire process of campaigning has been a life
changing one. Joyful jump of my friend Anuj on declaration my lead
from electrical block where I was expected to trail and Principal
Sharma’s response of upfront surprise and then a smile at such
instinctive behavior of my dear friend, these are some of the prints
that will never get faded in my life time. I was happy with my victory
and after celebrations at campus I came home and called up a

person whom I used to consider our campaign mentor (though he
never accepted such responsibility). He congratulated me and told
me that I am now an elected representative of the students of one of
best engineering colleges of India hence I now represent about 1500
among one of brightest young minds of India. My behavior in public
and in person should reflect the same. My actions must make this
institute proud and not disgrace it. All of sudden my entire casualness
regarding contesting and winning election evaporated and a juvenile
third year student transformed into a leader of students,” recollects
Aggarwal. He may or may not have achieved big things during his
tenure but for sure he can proudly say that he did keep the flag of my
alma mater flying high by winning several contests in DU festivals
and competitions.
His election victory brought him

FAVOURITE QUOTE a special prize. It allowed him to work
"Peace and Prosperity closely with the principal Prof. P. B.
for Everyone - Lets Sharma. At that time he was working
Work for It" on several projects of immense
importance. It was a great learning
experience for Aggarwal to work
under him. Prof. Sharma’s passion for job, integrity, perseverance,
work ethics and taste for finesse in final solution inculcated many
values that have proved the game changer for him in his professional
life. “To seek excellence and not a jugad to meet objective was the
lesson which Prof. Sharma imbibed in us well before Chetan Bhagat
penned or 3 idiots screened! Human tendency to do things to put a
tick mark against to do list was nipped in the bud only. Job must be
done in best possible way and that was IT,” he added.
He shared an incident which happened on a winter night in

1995. He was preparing for a function in auditorium next morning.
His senior PKS (Now Dr. Pawan Kumar Sharma, IAS) invited him to
his room. “It was an awkward situation as PKS and I were strong
political adversaries at that time. He had his room in the East Hostel
which was full of his supporters and my opponents. However that
long meeting with PKS allowed us to know each other as persons.
This gesture of PKS taught me a thing or two about statesmanship
and made me realize that if one’s efforts are honest and sincere even
your adversaries will respect you. I thank PKS for the invitation that
night,” he informed. Apart from being a learning experience, that
meeting gifted him with a friend and a senior, the relationship with
whom he cherishes till now.
“This college is a great institute served by illustrious leadership,

faculty, alumni and young talents like you. Believe in your talent and
use this platform to give your imagination wings and launch yourself
to create solutions for our society. India and developing world faces
so many issues on a daily basis which can be resolved by providing
simple engineering solutions. Look out for them in your projects and
you will make yourself and DCE proud when you will realize what you
are capable of. All the best for your endeavors,” concluded Aggarwal.
Dr. Adermi Adekoya

Director of the DDR, United Nation
Adekoya was born in October 1963 in Lagos, Nigeria. He

attended both primary and secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria.
He left the shores of Nigeria in May 1982 for India to pursue higher
education. While in India, he attended the Hindustan Institute of
Engineering Technology, Madras in Tamil Nadu where he obtained
his Diploma in Technology and an Associate Degree with the Institute
of Engineers, UK.
Adekoya, relocated to Delhi in 1986 upon gaining admission

into one of the prestigious engineering colleges in India, Delhi College
of Engineering, where he pursued both Masters of engineering and
Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering. While in Delhi College
of Engineering, he lectured undergraduates of the evening degree
programme and post graduates in the regular college programme.
Adekoya left India for Ethiopia in October 1996 upon securing

a Senior Lecturer appointment with the Bahir Polytechnic Institute.
At the end of the appointment in Bahir Dar Polytechnic in 1998, he
joined the German Technical Cooperation (Multi-Lateral Programme)
in Ethiopia as Staff Development Officer and rose to the post of
Programme Manager. The assignment relocated him to Ghana in
1999 where he lived till December 2002.
He joined the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone in

December 2002 as a Reintegration Coordinator with the Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Section. He was reassigned
to the United Nations
Mission in Sudan in MESSAGE TO YOUTH
March 2005 to establish • In today's information-powered
the DDR Section as part world of internet, Facebook,
of the Mission mandate.
He was again twitter and the written word over
reassigned to African many media, communicating
Union in Addis Ababa in your ideas in written, pictorial
July 2007 as Planning
and verbal forms is crucial
Officer to support the
African Union Peace to success in career. The best
and Security Operations engineering minds will be
Division for the planning unable to communicate and
for African Union
Mission in Somalia
showcase their brilliance if
(AMISOM). At the end their message is garbled.
of that secondment, he • I would recommend all students
was reassigned to the to never ignore the soft skills
United Nations African
Union Mission in Darfur of teamwork, communication
in May 2009 again to and collaboration. These skills
establish the DDR can make or break careers and
Section. He is presently
will be increasingly crucial in a
the Director of the DDR
Section in one of the globalizing world. It is important
largest Peace Keeping to notice how good speakers
Missions in the History and writers make a coherent
of UN.

story to get their ideas across.
Adekoya has It is worth your time to find
travelled extensively to good examples to learn from.
many countries in Africa, • Whether it be short term goals
Asia, the America and
Europe. These official of getting through CAT or GRE
travels also included or long term goals of having
lecture assignments on a good career, I'd request
DDR related subjects at
current students to learn to
the Swedish Defence
College in Stockholm, communicate well.
Scuola Superiore Sant’ Anna, Pisa, Italy; and also at Institute of

Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University.
Notwithstanding his engineering background, today Adekoya

is a well known authority on the matters related to peace support
operations and security in the UN environment. His mentor and guide
Prof. Pritam Babu Sharma, the Principal of the then Delhi College of
Engineering and now the Vice Chancellor of the Delhi Technological
University, inspired the second leg of his professional journey. His
interaction with Prof. Sharma took him to many places in India and
abroad. Through Prof. Sharma, he also met a wonderful gentleman
Prof J.W. Railey who guided him during his short research work in the
University of Birmingham in 1992 and Mrs. Das who accommodated
an absolute stranger in Adekoya; in her house in Birmingham; which
also materialised through an introduction of Prof Sharma.
The second leg of an exemplary journey of Adekoya was

also influenced significantly by few great individuals, who realised
an immense potential in him. Late Heiner Woller, Director of the
GTZ, multi-lateral programme, Amb. Oluyemi Adeniji, former
Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister and Special Representatives of the
United Nations Secretary General, General Henry Anyidoho, former
and Mrs. Aichatou Mindaoudou the current Deputy Joint special
Representative of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur;
are those luminaries who have put Adekoya in the mould, wherein he
is contributing towards the peace and prosperity of humanity.
C. M. Dutta
Senior Executive Director
Research Design & Standard Organization
C.M Dutta graduated from Delhi College of Engineering in

1967 in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, he completed
PG Diploma in Public Administration from Indian Institute of Public
Administration, New Delhi. Over the years, he continued his study
and completed Certificate in German language from University of
Delhi, qualified as lead Assessor for ISO-9000.
Dutta joined Indian Railways Service of Mechanical Engineers

in 1968. Over the years, he worked in different capacities in various
organizations of Indian Railways as Assistant Mechanical Engineer,
Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer, etc. In 1991, he was posted as
Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Western Railway, Ratlam,
where he was looking after mechanical, electrical, personnel, safety,
telecommunication departments, specific areas of customer services,
industrial relations and energy conservation.
In 1992, Dutta had been given the charge of Chief Mechanical

Engineer (Quality Assurance) in Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala
where his responsibilities included assuring quality of bought outs
and inhouse production of 1000 coaches annually. In April 1995, he
was given the charge of Chief Workshop Manager of Jagadhari and
Charbagh Workshops of Northern Railway and he was responsible
for overall management of the workshops for repair and manufacture

of Railway's diesel and electric locos, coaches and wagons, their
sub-assemblies and components.
In September, 1995 he was posted as Chief Mechanical

Engineer in Central Organisation for Modernisation of Workshops
(COFMOW), New Delhi where he was responsible for procurement
of wide variety of machinery and plants for Railway workshops
and Polytechnics under Ministry of Human Resource Development
following World Bank procedures. Responsibilities included
preparation of bid documents, technical evaluation for procurement of
different high technology machineries and plants for Indian Railways
and Production Units worth Rs. 80 crores annually. In June 1998, he
took over as the Chief Mechanical Engineer (Planning) in Northern
Railway, New Delhi and his responsibilities included formulation,
design and site selection, monitoring/ execution of various projects
for construction of workshops and maintenance depots of Northern
Railway. He designed the modern Wagon Maintenance Depot at
Tuglakabad, New Delhi. In August, 2001, he was given the charge of
Chief Workshop Engineer of Northern Railway, New Delhi.
In November 2002, the former DCEite was posted as Chief

Mechanical Engineer in Diesel Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala.
He was in-charge of planning, production, quality control and
maintenance functions of a factory engaged in production of diesel
engine components with an annual turnover of Rs.250 crores ($
60 million). In December, 2003 he was posted as Senior Executive
Director in Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO),
Lucknow where he was responsible for design and development of
wagons and their components after laboratory test and field trials
(freight cars, bogies, couplers, brake systems, springs, etc. for Indian
Railways).
Dutta has also been the Chief Administrative Officer in

COFMOW, where he was responsible for procurement of diverse
equipments for Indian Railways worth Rs. 150 crores ($ 40
million) annually. He has been granted patent for a ‘Mechanised
Lubricator Push Trolley’ for greasing of inner faces of rails for energy
conservation. Dutta has also been granted patents for ‘Abnormal
Riding Detector’ for minimizing damages due to derailments of rail
vehicles. He moreover, has many papers to his credit.
Arnav Anand
Director of Business Development at Orbees Medical
“Go out there and try innovative, new things out

of your comfort zone! Don’t be scared to fail but
learn from the failure. Most importantly try to
discover yourself; find your passion – the thing
that excites you and don’t settle before that.
Once you find that and do that, your life would
be so much fun and definitely successful.”
A small town boy, Arnav Anand did his senior secondary

education from Delhi Public School, R K Puram. While at school,
mechanics of Physics intrigued the young boy and Mechanical
Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) became one of
his top choices for further studies. He joined the college in 2002.
“Spending the next four years at DCE was one of the best years of
my life, both on professional and personal front. I made some lifelong
friends and experienced memories that I would cherish for my life.
I got opportunities to grow on multiple domains and mold myself
into a well-rounded individual. I started from being an enthusiastic
first year volunteer and then grew to being elected lead a team of
thousands. I was actively involved in extra-curricular activities such
as Society for Automotive Engineering (SAE) and others, during
which I made some wonderful friends, got introduced to Prof. S. Maji
and Vice Chancellor, Prof. P.B. Sharma, who all collectively became
my guiding force for success,” said Anand. According to him, his
varied experiences at DCE taught him the importance of sincerity,
passion, personal relationship and dedication which later provided
solid foundation for handling larger responsibilities.
After being recommended by some of his seniors, Anand

decided to do his internship at an international organization. He
applied to various international organizations out of which few
responded. Among them was a corporation based out of Houston,
Texas, which turned out to be a venture of DCE alumnus. “I accepted
the internship offer and my experience at Houston proved to be
one of the most amazing exposures of my life. I totally loved the
meritocratic, highly efficient, open, technologically savvy and
entrepreneurial environment,” he added.
After his internship, Anand was accepted to a fully sponsored

Master’s programme at University of Wisconsin Madison. Here again
he ventured out of his comfort zone and explored new terrains,
gaining new experiences every day. Prior to his graduation, Anand
had four job offers in hand out of which he accepted one and declined
the rest. However, destiny had something else in store for him. “I was
graduating the next day, flying to India the same week and was
making all preparations to leave Madison, when I received a letter
about the challenges of the company that I had accepted to sponsor
my Visa. To add fun to the game, I had declined the other three offers
due to the deadline and hence at the day of graduation, I was jobless
and skeptical about the prospect of returning back to US,” he
informed, adding, “The initial month was really difficult but the
perseverance paid off and I soon landed three job opportunities. I
decided to join as a Management Trainee position at Boston Scientific,
with my first role on the shop floor as a production supervisor, leading
a team of thirty product
builders reporting to MESSAGE TO YOUTH
me! It was an amazing
learning and humbling • Go out there and try innovative,
experience.” He was new things out of your comfort
soon inducted in the zone! Don’t be scared to fail
VIP group and as well but learn from the failure. Most
as sponsored for a
program at Stanford importantly try to discover
University. With his yourself; find your passion – the
entrepreneurial thing that excites you and don’t
aspirations, he started
actively helping at TiE
settle before that. Once you find
(The Indus that and do that, your life would
Entrepreneur) and got be so much fun and definitely
the opportunity to successful. “The only race you
spend time with some
of the most respected have to win is the race against
entrepreneurs of Indian yourself - there will always be
community. someone faster and stronger but
there will never be another you,
After tasting
professional success, so look within and push your
he again decided own personal boundaries.”
to follow his heart • Steve Jobs has been the biggest
and chose to join a
small start-up Orbees
influence in my life, giving me
Medical in San the courage to make some of the
Francisco over one boldest moves. I would like to
of the best medical finish with Steve Job’s words –
device opportunity
in Silicon Valley. “I Remembering that you are going
wished to have P&L to die is the best way I know to
responsibilities, learn avoid the trap of thinking you
decision making of have something to lose. You
smaller start-ups and
work directly with are already naked. There is no
some successful reason not to follow your heart.
entrepreneurs. I started implementing some of my ideas to further

develop the company with the use of mobile technologies and cloud
computing. I used to brainstorm various ideas and during one of
these sessions I had a Eureka moment, using Cloud Computing
and Mobile Technology to address a critical manufacturing problem,
from my days at Boston Scientific. As Steve Job says - you can't
connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking
backwards, so follow your heart,” he remarked. The former DCEite is
currently a Director of Business Development at Orbees Medical.
At preliminary stage, Anand shared his vision with his mentor

and DCE alumnus Vinod Dham, who is widely known as the Father
of Pentium Chip, and he further encouraged Anand. He also
shared this idea with the Chief Technology Officer of United States,
who envisioned it’s utility and connected him to the Manufacturing
Policy Advisor of President Obama. “Soon the technology was well
perceived among the community and I was encouraged to apply for
the Prestigious Entrepreneur in Residence position at UC Berkeley
that would enable me to work full-time on the technology. After
numerous discussions and meetings with some of the brightest
mind of the world, my application got accepted and I would be soon
starting as an ‘Entrepreneur in Residence’ role at UC Berkeley and
as well the new role as an entrepreneur,” he concluded.
Mudit Narain
Energy Analyst, World Bank
Narain’s path from DCE onwards to his current job has often
been guided by chance encounters with professors who guided him
in the right direction at the right time in life. When he was in final
year at DCE and looking to find his next step, he reached out to a
professor at the Delhi School of Economics, Prof Shrikant Gupta, who
had just co-edited a book called India and Global Climate Change.
“He took an interest in my research work to the point and directed
me to an amazing course at MIT on Technology and Public Policy
(TPP), where I focused on Climate Change in developing countries
and energy policy. This course was an enriching experience where
I learnt to think of broad social and economic issues from a public
policy perspective. This time at MIT broadened my horizons beyond
engineering and gave me a new perspective on the issues of law
and policy and how human societies evolve,” said Narain. Working
on technologies to mitigate climate change, this new perspective
woke him up to the fact that consensus-building amongst societies
needs more than just technical knowledge to bring about substantive
change.
Towards the end of his time in graduate school, he went to

a lecture at Harvard on climate change economics by Prof Michael
Spence, an Economics Nobel Prize winner from 2001. “When we
interacted over some professional mutual interest, he guided me to
the World Bank where a new study on India's Low Carbon Growth
options were being launched. I became a part of this study as an
intern for a short while and then moved on to other interesting jobs
in the World Bank. I was fortunate to work on energy and climate
change projects in countries of all sizes like Botswana, Egypt, China,
etc.,” added Narain.
Currently, Narain is based in Delhi, and works on energy

investments in the Indian Subcontinent, also working to improve
processes and systems of the government-owned clients he work
with, to bring them in line with global practices.
Anand Meena
Founder & CTO, Acube Technologies
“It takes a lot of courage and family support to

be successful in your own terms. Especially if you
are someone who does things that people consider
unconventional.”
Meena parents are from Rajasthan and he was born in

Gangapur, a small town near Kota in Rajasthan. Then his family
moved to Surat, Gujarat where we stayed for almost two years.
Thereafter he moved to Bhavnagar in Gujarat, when his father joined
Indian railways. His official schooling began when he was around 5
years old. In Ajmer he joined St. Anselms and completed his school
education in that school and also made wonderful friends.
His father suggested him to

FAVOURITE QUOTE
take Science in 11th, but “Deep in
“I am what I am” my heart, I wanted to be in the navy,
but my eyes weren’t upto the mark,”
said Meena, graduate of 2011 batch, Computer Science Engineering.
Then, all he wanted was something to do with computers and IT and
thus he decided the branch he wanted to go for. Post high school,
DCE emerged as a choice for Meena as according to him it is one of
the best engineering colleges in the country.
“First semester was a new experience. My admission

experience was quite hectic as I had to juggle between PEC and DCE
and had limited access to information about any admission update
or any college information. Those days I just had to keep waiting for
the lists to be released to decide my next step. When I finally joined
DCE and also took the hostel, it took some time to adjust to the
place itself. In class, I became the CR for sheer fun and we ended
up having mass bunks every second day. When the studious lot got
to know of the fact that I was behind the mischief, they were quite
grieved,” recollected Meena. The seniors in hostels were nice to him
and Later on he made really good friends.
Meena remembers his

special memories with Prof. MESSAGE TO YOUTH
PB Sharma sir. “When we did For youngsters, remember
not know him, his image was that success doesn’t come to
of a strict person, and I always
you, you go to it!
avoided running into him when
he was taking a round in the
college. We had tried to start some useful things for the students but
they were not so successful. But when we came up with the college
magazine, and he supported us whole heartedly, the endeavor
succeeded. We were always motivated by him and his visionary
ideas,” he added.
Meena said he learnt that knowledge is beyond just textbooks.

One can only learn something when he try out the unknown. “It takes
a lot of courage and family support to be successful in your own
terms. Especially if you are someone who does things that people
consider unconventional,” said Meena.
The DCEite gives credit to his few seniors who inspired him
with their unconventional work in college. Also, his two very good
friends, Abhishek Bindal and Abhishek Kanojia who made the dream
possible. “In a way I am a self satisfied man. At the same time, it
takes a lot to satisfy myself. So attaining success is a never ending
process for me,” he added.
Anwesha Bose
Co-Founder & CMO, Acube Technologies
“Never underestimate the value of family. I have

seen kids forgetting that whatever they are, it is
because of your family.”
Bose was born and brought up in Delhi and her parents were
from Kolkata. Her mother was a teacher as well as a wonderful
multitasker at home and father was in Bharat Electronics Ltd. “Had it
not been for my mom and dad, I would have never survived school,
simply because I used to throw the maximum tantrums when it came
to school time! I would admit here that at the same time, I was an
extremely studious student and exams were always a fight to win. I
always just had to top,” said Bose.
The fact that her father was FAVOURITE QUOTE

from IIT KGP was an influencing “Dream like you live
factor for joining DCE. “I must say
everyone misled me into thinking forever, live like you will
that Engineering studies are very die today!”
easy. I was constantly told that after
class 12th, there is nothing to study about. I still wonder what I would
have done if I was told the truth, said Bose on a lighter note. “I had to
choose between two good colleges in Delhi, as I hated the idea of
leaving the city. I had never stayed away from my parents and the
very thought of being in a distant place was torture. And I guess you
wouldn’t believe how I took the final decision between DCE and the
other college: I just fell in love with the campus of DCE when I visited
it,” adds Bose.
“First semester was exploitation of freedom. I made friends,

had fun, tried to attend classes, tried to study during exams and that
was that. Just fun. After all, I thought “no studies after 12th right!”
But after the results in first sem, (the 70% after the 90% of school
time) didn’t go too well
with me or my parents. So
MESSAGE TO YOUTH I just sighed and decided
Never underestimate the value of to study a little more,"
family. I have seen kids forgetting said Bose. “I cannot really
that whatever they are, it is pinpoint to a singular
special memory, but I
because of your family. can tell you the birthday
celebration in hostels or
anywhere in the college is worth making a movie about. The poor
birthday kid used to be drenched in everything from cake to sambhar
and cold drinks or anything we could think of,” recalled Bose. She
graduated in 2011 in Electronics & Communications Engineering.
Bose realized the importance of family when she stayed away

from them. Bose thanked them for being so supportive and tolerating
for her whims and fancies. “Especially considering that my plans had
been completely different till few years back, the sudden decision
to become an entrepreneur instead of opting for higher studies or
placements was tough and risky,” informs.
There is no hard and fast definition of ultimate success for

Bose. According to Bose, “They come in moments when I see
everyone who loves me happy.”
Disclaimer
‘Celebrating Excellence’ is based on the inputs provided by the alumni members
profiled in this book and information gathered from various sources including previous pub-
lications and internet. The views expressed by the alumni members are their own and are not
necessarily endorsed by the editors of the book. Although due care and diligence has been
taken while compiling, editing and printing this book, the editors or the printer do not hold
any responsibility for any mistake that may have crept in inadvertently.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without
the prior permission of the Competent Authority at Delhi Technological University.
About

the Editors
Prof. P. B. Sharma is the
founder Vice-Chancellor of Delhi
Technological University, has been the
Director and Principal of Delhi College
of Engineering. He is a former Professor
of IIT Delhi, founder Vice-Chancellor of
Rajiv Gandhi Technological University,
former President of Engineering Science
Division of Indian Science Congress,
Prof. Sharma has a long and illustrious
association with DCE and DTU spanning
over 21 years. He has steered the growth
of this premier institution since December 1990, nurtured research
and innovation culture and led the institution to great heights of glory
and repute worldwide.
A man of vision and firm resolve to nurture excellence, Prof.

Sharma is a Doctorate from University of Birmingham, UK and has
made distinguished contributions to the advancement of frontiers of
knowledge in the areas of Aero Engineering Technology, Power Plant
Engineering, New and Renewable Energy Resources and Knowledge
and Innovation Management.
Dr. Ruchika Malhotra is an

Assistant Professor at the Department of
Software Engineering, Delhi Technological
University (formerly known as Delhi College
of Engineering), Delhi, India, She was an
assistant professor at the University School
of Information Technology, Guru Gobind
Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, India.
Prior to joining the school, she worked as
full-time research scholar and received a
doctoral research fellowship from the University School of Information
Technology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha Delhi, India. She
received her master’s and doctorate degree in software engineering
from the University School of Information Technology, Guru Gobind
Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, India. She has published more
for than 50 research papers in international journals and conferences.
Ms. Rashmi Sablania is the former

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Delhi
Technological University. Prior to that, she was
the PRO of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha
University, Delhi from 2006-2009. She started
her career in the year 2001, as a journalist with
The Times of India, Delhi and worked there for
over five years. Rashmi is a post-graduate in
English Journalism from Indian Institute of Mass
Communication and holds her graduation in English Literature from
St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. She is presently a freelance
writer/ editor and Public Relations Consultant.
Sanjay is a graduate in Computer

Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering
(DCE), now Delhi Technological University
(DTU). He has successfully undertaken many
projects at India’s leading Management
Institutions namely, IIM-A & IIM-B. Currently he
is the Chief Coordinator of PAN DCE-DTU, the
global alumni network of University and Advisor
at Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell), DTU.

Sanjay pioneered the incubation process in DCE and
established his own enterprise in the name of Indience Online
during his undergraduate years itself, in the year 2008. Indience
Online endeavors to develop state-of-art globally competent online
technologies, provide its clients with efficient and quality solutions
and while doing so, create a network with potential partnerships
and challenging opportunities in the online market. Sanjay was
also entrusted with positions like Student Head, Entrepreneurship
Summit 2009 & 2010 at DCE, where he was involved in all aspects of
the event right from planning to their execution.
He is also a consultant to many organizations, where he

evaluates the technology start-ups; analyze their business plans
and feasibility, conducts competitive analysis, market research and
analysis & IPR.
Celebrating
Excellence
GLOBAL ALUMNI CONCLAVE 2012

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E d i t o rs
Delhi Technological University Prof. P. B. Sharma
Shahbad Daulatpur, Bawana Road, Delhi-110042, INDIA Dr. Ruchika Malhotra
www.dce.edu Rashmi Sablania
Sanjay Meena

DCE Alumni Book

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Celebrating Excellence

GLOBAL ALUMNI CONCLAVE 2012

A Pan DCE DTU Publications

A Pan DCE DTU Publications

5. Prof. Bhuvenesh Goswami 47

10. Ashwani Kumar Datt 62

11. Prof. Yogi Goswami 64

12. Ashok Kumar Puri 66

13. Ashok K. Baweja 68

14. Sharad Sharma 70

16. Arun Kumar Puri 79

18. Srikant Gokhale 84

19. Karnal Singh 89

20. Surya Kant 90

21. Arun Jain 95

22. Anil Sardana 98

23. Janak Bhasin 102

24. Satish Kumar 105

25. Satish K. Vij 109

26. Ashok Khurana 113

27. Raj Jain 117

28. Dr. Krishan Kumar 118

29. N. Sivasailam, IAS 119

30. Satpal Goel 120

31. Dr. O. P. Grover 124

32. P. K. Adlakha 127

33. Prof. Vinod Mahna 129

34. Ashok Sarin 132

35. R. S. Kalsi 135

37. Ravinder Kumar Rehani 141

38. S. M. Mahajan 142

39. Jayant Ratti 145

40. Dr. Goldie Gabrani 147

41. Arun Goyal, IAS 150

42. Vivek Priyadarshi 151

43. Dr. Pawan Kumar Sharma, IAS 155

45. Vijay Shekhar Sharma 161

46. Sanjay Diwan 165

47. Aakash Sinha 168

48. Adarsh Sakhuja 172

49. Amit Khatri, IAS 175

51. Ashok Kumar Gupta 182

52. Devendra Garg 185

53. Devinder Kaul 187

54. Sangeeta Wij 190

55. Aurbind Sharma 195

57. Sachin Garg 200

58. Sangeeta Nagrath 204

59. Sparsh Gupta 207

60. Krishan Kalra 210

61. Santosh Kumar 212

62. Bharat Bhatia 213

63. Air Marshal R. K. Vashisht 214

64. Anuj Kanish 215

65. Arun Aggarwal 217

66. Dr. Adermi Adekoya 220

67. C. M. Dutta 223

68. Arnav Anand 225

69. Mudit Narain 229

70. Anand Meena 231

71. Anwesha Bose 234

On this occasion when we celebrate 70 years of excellence

Dated : December 31, 2011 Prof. P. B. Sharma

Our sincere gratitude to all the contributors of this book, the