Geeta Dharmarajan is an inspirational writer, editor, social entrepreneur, and educationist. An award-winning writer for children and adults, with over 48 published books and more than 450 pieces in leading newspapers and magazines, she has over 40 years of professional experience, having served at the India Today Group of Companies, The University of Pennsylvania and INTACH, before Katha. She believes in a world where every child can fulfil their potential and none is stunted by material, emotional or spiritual poverty. Her deep interest in how children and communities learn led to her starting Katha in 1988. She conceptualized and developed Katha’s unique StoryPedagogyTM and earth-friendly curriculum that is the bedrock for all the reading and education programmes of Katha. She believes that translation is a cohesive force in India and her work in literary translation has made Katha a pioneering publisher in the country with a strong pan-Indian community of writers, translators, academics and editors.
She has also served as honorary Chairperson of the National Bal Bhavan, Jawaharlal Nehru’s dream institution for children in India, across social and economic divides. She was honored with the Padma Shri in 2012 for her contributions in the field of Literature and Education.
Founder & President
During his career as an IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, K Dharmarajan served at both the State Government and the GoI levels in the key areas of Finance, Energy and Urban Development, before his retirement in 2003. He has over 30 years of wide-ranging experience in the field of urban governance and poverty. He was a key player in the drafting and implementation of the 74th Amendment to the Constitution, and was also instrumental in implementing a Unit Area based self assessment Property Tax Reform in Delhi. He is a voracious reader of both adults and children’s books, and is keenly interested in science and technology. He has been a Consultant with the UN and various multilateral and bilateral agencies on energy, urban poverty, urban policy and governance issues.
Parvinder Kaur joined Katha as a volunteer in 2000, soon became a full-time faculty member and rose to the position of Vice Principal of the Katha Lab School. She played a key role in institutionalizing the Katha’s innovations and scaling up the various initiatives at Katha while maintaining the highest standards of quality. A committed and dedicated member of the Katha family, she soon took over as Principal of the Katha Lab School, then as Director, Education, and as Asst Executive Director. She has represented Katha in many national and international forums to share information on educational trends and issues, and has fostered lasting collaborations and strong relationships. She was elevated to the position of Executive Director in 2014.
Advisor
Group COO
Without our leadership, Katha would not be where it is today. Our board members hail from the upper echelons of a diverse range of industries and sectors. Their guidance and strategic decision-making—as well as their commitment—inspire us and help steer Katha toward our goals.
Geeta Dharmarajan is an inspirational writer, editor, social entrepreneur, and educationist. An award-winning writer for children and adults, with over 48 published books and more than 450 pieces in leading newspapers and magazines, she has over 40 years of professional experience, having served at the India Today Group of Companies, The University of Pennsylvania and INTACH, before Katha. She believes in a world where every child can fulfil their potential and none is stunted by material, emotional or spiritual poverty. Her deep interest in how children and communities learn led to her starting Katha in 1988. She conceptualized and developed Katha’s unique StoryPedagogyTM and earth-friendly curriculum that is the bedrock for all the reading and education programmes of Katha. She believes that translation is a cohesive force in India and her work in literary translation has made Katha a pioneering publisher in the country with a strong pan-Indian community of writers, translators, academics and editors.
She has also served as honorary Chairperson of the National Bal Bhavan, Jawaharlal Nehru’s dream institution for children in India, across social and economic divides. She was honored with the Padma Shri in 2012 for her contributions in the field of Literature and Education.
Founder & President
R Balasubramanian is a practicing Chartered Accountant and a partner in S Ramanand Aiyar & Co. (a CA firm established in 1950). He has over 40 years of experience in auditing – statutory, internal, management and forensic; taxation – domestic and
international; advisory services on company law matters, Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), foreign collaborations including issues related to Foreign Direct Investment. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors of India, and is on the Panel of Arbitrators of Bombay Stock Exchange Limited.
An IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh Cadre, Anshu Vaish retired as Secretary of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of HRD, Government of India. Over her more than 37 years of experience as a public servant, she has worked in several key sectors both at the State and the GoI levels. Her extensive experience is in the social sector in the Departments of Culture, Women & Child Development, Health, Social Justice and Empowerment. She is the Chairperson of the Task Force on Restructuring of the National Council for Teacher Education. She serves on the Boards of various other nonprofits.
Sashwati Banerjee, the Founding Managing Director of Sesame Workshop in India, since 2006, was an advisor and key voice for Sesame Workshop internationally. She was responsible for establishing the organization in India to lead the flagship project Galli Galli Sim Sim’s (Indian adaptation of Sesame Street) which helps prepare children for school and for life. Under her leadership, the organization has developed and implemented groundbreaking programs to reach children all over India, from designing vegetable carts that roll into densely populated slums with messages of healthy habits to partnering with community radio stations and integrating them with telephony to address the educational needs of rural and migrant communities.
Banerjee’s prior work spanned across various organizations in the private sector managing programs, communications, public relations and marketing. Prior to joining Sesame, she successfully designed and led the ‘Goli ke Hamjoli’, ‘Bindaas Bol’and the ‘DIMPA’campaigns on behalf of Abt Associates’ USAID funded PSP One Project. Sashwati Banerjee was instrumental in designing programs that use innovative delivery platforms that addresses the needs of over 18 million children in India each year. In order to meet the growing demand for high-quality preschool education, Sashwati Banerjee launched Sesame Street Preschools in India.
India Head, AWS. Senior executive with an18 year history of success driving change, exceeding expectations, and helping those around him. Broad experience in the Public Sector/Government/ Education and Health Industry around policy, government relations, sales management and business development in the technology sector.
Sukrita Paul Kumar, former Fellow of Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, held the prestigious Aruna Asaf Ali Chair at Delhi University. An honorary faculty at Corfu, Greece, she was an invited resident poet at the prestigious International Writing Programme at Iowa, USA. Her most recent collections of poems, are Yellow, Salt & Pepper (Selected Poems), Vanishing Words and Dream Catcher. She has been awarded Rabindranath Tagore Prize 2023 recently and in 2022, she was honored with Vishwarang Samman, and the Bharat Nirman award earlier. Her poems have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages, the latest is the book of her poems translated into Italian, published by Besa Muci, Rome. Her critical books include Narrating Partition, and The New Story. She has co-edited many books, including Speaking for Herself: Asian Women’s Writings. An Honorary Fellow at HK Baptist University, Hong Kong, she has published many translations and has held exhibitions of her paintings. Currently she is series co-editor of “Writer in Context” volumes published by Routledge UK and South Asia. She is currently the Guest Editor of Indian Literature, a journal published by Sahitya Akademi, India.
Sakshi is a seasoned designer and educator with over 15 years of experience. A graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID) with an Executive MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB), she also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. Currently heading the Visual Communication Design department at the Indian Institute of Art & Design (IIAD), Sakshi brings extensive expertise in communication design and education.
Her career highlights include designing award-winning picture books, collaborating with organizations for social impact, and serving as a jury member at various educational institutions. She has also worked as a consultant for teacher training and mentored students whose projects have garnered national and international recognition.
Sakshi’s expertise spans course management, curriculum design, faculty training, and communication design. She works closely with industry and academic experts to refine curricula and provides mentorship to both students and faculty members. Combining her design knowledge with business acumen, Sakshi focuses on fostering creativity, innovation, and strategic decision-making in the fields of design and education.
Passionate about advancing creative communities, she is committed to excellence, collaboration, and shaping the future of design and education through meaningful contributions and impactful leadership.
Ms. Ansari has over 20 years’ experience in managing large programs, multi stakeholder partnerships and delivering programs in the ecosystem. She specializes in driving innovation, nurturing large teams, across geographies and diverse solutions and services. Having built new businesses in Sri Lanka and Malaysia and instituted successful programs in Pakistan, Vietnam, Nigeria and Indonesia she has also influenced large school systems across 13 countries on Education Technology and Technology adoption.
Currently, as President of Learning Links, one of India’s largest women led education improvement, skill development and micro-enterprise creation focused Non-Profit Organization she is managing a team of over 2000 and annual budget of over USD 25 million
NS Jagannathan was a noted journalist and former Editor-in- Chief of Indian Express and Financial Express. He was also an extremely talented writer. He edited the English version of Kamba Ramayanam by Prof P S Sundaram.
An extremely able administrator, P Shankar is a senior Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer. He has held various positions both in the State and Central Government ministries including Secretary – Ministry of Heavy Industries and as Chief Secretary – Chennai.
An extremely able administrator, Sarala Gopalan had been occupying very high and responsible posts in government. One of the early woman entrants in the IAS, she retired from the post of Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Women and Child Welfare.
Dr Saroj Pachauri is a distinguished scholar. She joined the Population Council in 1995 as Regional Director, South and East Asia. Prior to joining the Council, Dr Pachauri worked with the Ford Foundation, where she developed the Foundation’s child survival and reproductive health programmes. She initiated work on HIV and AIDS when there was little acknowledgment of the problem in India and no government programme was in place. Dr Pachauri has published extensively on family planning, maternal and child health, STD, HIV/AIDS, adolescents, and reproductive tract infections.
Dr Satya Bhushan Verma was Professor Emeritus in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Visiting Professor and Academic Advisor in Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University of Japan; and Director, JIGA Institute of Japanese Language, New Delhi. Prof
Verma had been the first professor of Japanese language and literature in India and the founder chairman of the Centre for East Asian Languages in Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was also Visiting Professor in the International Research Centre for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, Japan, during 1991-92.
VB Eswaran was an excellent administrator and the doyen in research and development of policies on environment and ecological sustainability. He belonged to the Gujarat cadre of Indian Administrative Services, having served there in various capacities. Later on, he moved to the Central Government, and retired as Expenditure Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. But all along his career, his first love was conservation of energy, development of sustainable water and forest ecosystems and making natural resources available to the most underprivileged sections of the country. He was the Executive Director of Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development.
Asang Machwe was the publisher and Managing Director of Wiley Eastern Ltd., a leading publishing house of books and digital solutions for engineering, business and management, computer science, and IT.
Teacher, journalist, editor… Rosalind Wilson was all these, and more. She was a student at Oxford University in the 1970s after which she came to India and began by teaching in Delhi. Her heart was always with children and when Target was launched, she joined as one of the editors. During her tenure at Target magazine as an editor, she took many a fledgling first-time writers under her wing, honing their skills with patience and a very fine, discerning editorial scalpel. Essentially an outdoor person, she was a hockey player, loved exploring the countryside, trekking in the hills, bird-watching and long cycle rides. Rosalind lost a bravely-fought battle against cancer on July 28, 1992.
Srinath served in the Government before becoming an entrepreneur. He was an established name in the Export business and entrepreneurship. He was the Managing Director of Nath Brothers Exim International Ltd.
An economist and career diplomat, Dr Abid Hussain served as India’s Ambassador to the United States of America. As an IAS officer, he was secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Heavy Industry, Member of the Planning Commission, and was also advisor to UNESCO.
Anees Jung was the editor of Youth Times (a publication of the Times of India) from 1973 to 1980 and has been a freelance writer and columnist since then, writing for many international publications, including the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Vogue and the International Herald Tribune. She was also adviser to the Director-General of UNESCO in Paris from l994 to 1999.
Renowned Writer and former Vice Chancellor of International Hindi University.
Arun Seth was former Chairman of British Telecom UK and British Telecom India. He was a key driver in establishing BT as a leading telecom company in India and also headed BT’s corporate social responsibility activity. Later, he became the Chairman of Alcatel-Lucent’s India operations to steward the India region to consistent value creation over short, medium, and long term. He was also on the Executive Committee of NASSCOM and a member of the advisory board at TERI.
Arvind Pande is the Chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd. He passed his MA in Economics from Cambridge University, UK. Mr Pande started his career in the Indian Administrative Services in 1965 and has since then worked in various governmental and corporate capacities.
Dr Ashok Vajpeyi is an Indian poet in Hindi essayist and literary-cultural critic, apart from being a noted cultural and arts administrator and a former civil servant. He was the Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi, India’s National Academy of Arts, Ministry of Culture,
Government of India from 2008–2011. He has published over 23 books of poetry, criticism and art.
An able administrator, CP Sujaya was Joint Secretary in the Department of Women & Child Development; subsequently she held various positions in the ministries at both State and Central levels.
Gowher Rizvi has formerly been the Director of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; was Vice Provost for International Programs at University of Virginia; Ford Foundation Representative for South Asia in New Delhi; Dy. Director – Governance & Civil Society at New York office; Director of Contemporary affairs of The Asia Society, New York; Founding Editor of Contemporary South Asia – an academic and policy studies journal published from Oxford.
Krishna Kumar is professor of education at the University of Delhi, India. Noted for his writings in sociology and history of education, Prof Krishna Kumar has used the school curriculum as a means of social inquiry. As a teacher and bilingual writer, he has developed an aesthetic of pedagogy and knowledge that aspires to mitigate aggression and violence. From 2004 to 2010, he was Director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), an apex organization for curricular reforms in India.
First woman judge of the Delhi High Court and first woman Chief Justice of a State High Court, Leila Seth was a former Justice of the Supreme Court of India. She was a member of the 15th Law Commission of India from 1997 to 2000, and was responsible for the amendments to the Hindu Succession Act that gave equal rights to daughters in joint family property.
A civil engineer with a Doctorate from University of Minnesota, USA, M Anandakrishnan was a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers and a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in India. He was the Chairman of Tamil Nadu Council for Higher Education.
The Founding-Partner of Amrop India, Preety Kumar has more than two decades of experience across multiple industries and has a deep understanding of leadership matters and talent issues. Starting with the Eicher Group, Preety has held senior management positions with Amrop globally, having served in Global Task Forces on New Brand Development and Restructuring Global Governance Model. She is also a member of the Global Management Assessment Practice.
Sanjana Kapoor is an Indian theatre personality and former Indian film actress of British and Indian descent. She ran the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai from 1993 to February 2012 where she regularly curated exciting theatre calendar, toured festivals, presented theatre at other Mumbai venues and introduced an arts outreach programme for children. She initiated India Theatre forum, an all-India network of theatre practitioners. Currently she is Director of Junoon which is her platform that takes innovations for theatre to practitioners and spectators beyond Prithvi.
One of India’s most respected and influential commentator on political and economic issues, Dr Baru was associated as an Editor/Chief Editor with a number of Financial Newspapers including Financial Express, Economic Times, Business Standard and Times of India. Mr Baru was Official Spokesman and Media Adviser at PM’s office from 2004- 2008. He was also a Member of the National Security Advisory Board in the Prime Minister’s office. He has quite a few publications to his credit on economic and strategic policies in India and abroad.
Shabana Azmi is a national award-winning theatre and film personality with over four decades of acting experience. She is involved in various social movements and campaigns for rights and justice, particularly for women and minorities.
Sharmila Tagore is an Indian film actress known for her works in Hindi cinema as well as Bengali cinema. She led the Indian Film Censor Board from October 2004 till March 2011. In 2013, she was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
Former Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia University, Prof Syed Shahid Mahdi was also former Chairman of Delhi Education Society, Dr Zakir Husain Memorial Welfare Society, and Member of Council of National Institute of Educational Planning & Administration (NIPEA).
Tarun Das is an Indian industrialist, corporate executive, writer and former Chief Mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He served CII from 1967 to 1974 as its director general and from 1974 to 2004 as its chief executive.
UR Ananthamurthy was an Indian writer and critic. He wrote in the Kannada language. He was thought to be as one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. In 1998, he received the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India. He was the President of Sahitya Akademi, and was also one of the finalists of Man Booker International Prize for the year 2013.
An educationist and sociologist, Veena Das is Professor of Anthropology at John Hopkins University. She is an established figure in Indian Anthropology, and one of the most frequently cited anthropologists. Her areas of theoretical specialization include the
anthropology of violence, social suffering, and the state.
Internationally recognised for her path-breaking, multidisciplinary work, especially in the fields of culture and the arts, Dr Kapila Vatsyayan is the author of over 15 books. Among her publications, Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts and The Square and the Circle of the Indian Arts have been milestones of critical scholarship. She is the editor of several volumes on Concepts of Space (akasha) and of Time (kaal). She has edited The Cultural Heritage of India (Volume VII, Parts I & II) and co-edited Aesthetic Theories and Forms in Indian Tradition (Vol. VI, Part I). A Life Trustee of India International Centre (IIC) and the Chairperson of IIC-Asia Project, Dr Vatsyayan was formerly Secretary, Department of Arts, Ministry of HRD; Founder Academic Director, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts; a nominated MP (Rajya Sabha); Member, UNESCO Executive Board; and President, IIC. She has been conferred several awards for contribution to the arts and culture including the Padma Vibushan, Sangeeta Natak Akademi Fellowship, and Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award.
Prof Shantha Sinha is an anti-child labour activist of international reputation. She is the founder of the MV Foundation (named in memory of her grandfather Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiah), and is a Professor in the Department of Political science in Hyderabad Central University. She headed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights for two consecutive terms (3 years each). She has made an immense contribution in the area of child development. She has strived hard for eliminating child labour and has played a pivotal role in universalizing elementary education. Her focus is on the development of the girl child and children who are engaged in the industries as bonded labourers. She has been honoured with several awards including the 2003 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, the Padma Shri, and the Albert Shankar International Award.
As Managing Director of BT India, Sudhir Narang heads business operations for BT Global services in the Indian subcontinent. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Accel Frontline, and former CEO of Tulip IT services – a data telecom service provider and IT solutions provider. He has over 20 years of wide experience as a management professional in the Indian IT and Services sector with a strong grounding in all aspects of sales, business development, product support and customer service. Sudhir Narang has had long stints in senior managerial positions as Vice President (India and SAARC) at CISCO and GM at HCL Connect, where he has dealt with handling verticals comprising enterprises, IT/ITES Public sector and Service Providers, and networking business.
With an M.A in Economics and an LLB, he joined the Assam Civil Service in 1983, he has held various positions as Asst. Commissioner, SDO(Civil) Bilaspure and Dy. Secretary in various departments. He was inducted in to the IAS in 2000 and was Additional Dy. Commissioner at Sonitpur, Jt. Secy in GAD, SAD, IPR; Director – Sports & Youth Welfare and Director Operation at the 13th National Games, Dy. Commissioner at Darrange, Director Inland Water Transprot Corporation, Secretary – Tourism, Transport, Envuiornment and Forest Department. Voluntarily retired in 2016 and later inducted as Member – Assam Public Service commission.
He is the Founder Secretary of North East Writers’ Forum since 1997; has participated in major literary events in the country in the last two decades; Serveral Universities and Colleges have included his novels and short story collections in their academioc syllabi. He has won the All India Katha Award for Creative Fiction in 1996 and the DY365 Award for Literature in 2014
Gaurav till recently led strategy for special initiatives at Reliance Jio as VP & Head of Strategy – Special Initiatives with focus on EdTech, new business ventures, investments and product management. He is also a technology enthusiast and is building multiple digital products across domains. In his previous avatar, Gaurav worked with PwC and KPMG in India in leadership roles advising private and public stakeholders on policy, investments, partnerships, market intelligence, large scale program design & rollout among other priority area. Gaurav, while at PWC, helped Katha in the pro bono consultancy for the 300M Challenge, and is fully convinced of the 300M Strategy and believes that Katha has great potential to scale.
During his career as an IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, K Dharmarajan served at both the State Government and the GoI levels in the key areas of Finance, Energy and Urban Development, before his retirement in 2003. He has over 30 years of wide-ranging experience in the field of urban governance and poverty. He was a key player in the drafting and implementation of the 74th Amendment to the Constitution, and was also instrumental in implementing a Unit Area based self assessment Property Tax Reform in Delhi. He is a voracious reader of both adults and children’s books, and is keenly interested in science and technology. He has been a Consultant with the UN and various multilateral and bilateral agencies on energy, urban poverty, urban policy and governance issues.
A retired IAS officer, NN Tandon was the Director at UNIDO, United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
Mani Narayanaswamy was a Trustee at the UB Group.
Panna Bharat Ram was the Vice Chairman of Sri Centre for Performing Arts.
A Project & Finance Consultant, S Krishnamoorthy has served as Financial Controller in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. He has also served as Financial Controller, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).
Nisha Agrawal has been working on poverty, inequality and social development issues for almost 30 years. Since March 2008, she has been the CEO of Oxfam India,where she successfully led a complex change management process that integrated the programs and staff of the 6 Oxfam that had been previously operating in India. She also led the process of formulating a new strategy for Oxfam India that focuses on the most backwards states and the most marginalized groups and on closing the gaps between the haves and have-nots in India.
Prior to Oxfam India, Nisha worked with the World Bank for almost 20 years from 1989. She joined the World Bank through the Young Professional program. She has extensive experience working in countries in the East Asia Region (Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia) and in the East Africa Region (Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda). Before joining the World Bank, Nisha worked as a Research Associate at the Impact Research Center at Melbourne University, from 1985 to 1989.
Nisha is an economist by training and has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A. Prior to that, she has an M.A. in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics (1977-79), and a B.A. (Hons) in Economics from Miranda House, Delhi University (1974- 77).
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