About Us

Founder Director

Dr Girija K Bharat

Dr Girija K Bharat, Director, Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt Ltd. has about 25 years of experience in conducting research on Water Supply and Sanitation, Water Quality Assessment, Water Resource Management and Environmental Management. She was a Fellow and Area Convenor of Water Resources Division of TERI till February 2015. Prior to joining TERI, she was a Presidential Scholar at George Mason University, Virginia, USA, where she has conducted innovative research on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). She has also been a Scientist in Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, CSIR.

She has a Ph.D. in Chemistry (Water Quality) and has authored 48 research and technical papers, book chapters, articles and policy briefs related to water and sanitation, water quality issues and published in reputed National and international journals such as Environmental International, Science of Total Environment, Environmental Pollution, Science Development Network, CNN-IBN, One World South Asia, American Chemical Society publications and others.

Director (Finance)

Rajnish Kumar, CFA

Rajnish Kumar, Ex-CEO of Fullerton Securities, a Wealth Advisory and Investments company owned by Temasek in India. Temasek Holdings is an investment company owned by the Government of Singapore and manages a net investment portfolio of S$266 billion mainly in Singapore and Asia. He has worked with HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank in various senior capacities in the past. Alumnus of National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur and Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.

Rajnish has an entrepreneurial outlook and has demonstrated success in setting up and running new businesses. Some of his areas of interest include – technology in business, analytics, economy and markets, corporate governance and risk management.

Honorary Advisor

S Vijay Kumar

S. Vijay Kumar joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1976 with a Masters degree in Mathematics. He has served in various positions in the Central Government and in his State Cadre, Himachal Pradesh, where he has held District, Divisional and State level positions dealing with rural development, land management, municipal administration etc. In the Central Govt, he has been Director, National Wastelands Development Mission, Ministry of Environment and Forest, 1986-91; Joint Secretary in charge of the Government’s flagship programme, the Prime Ministers Rural Roads programme (called PMGSY), 2002- 05; Additional Secretary and Secretary, Ministry of Mines 2008-11, and finally, Secretary Ministry of Rural Development till his retirement in Sept 2013.

Mr Vijay Kumar joined TERI in November 2013 as Distinguished Fellow and works on issues related to land, water and minerals. He has been appointed for a 3 year term commencingJune 2015 as a Member of the United Nations’ International Resource Panel (IRP) which considers issues relating to governance of resources and poverty and prepares science–based policy related reports on natural resource management, resource use efficiency and environmental impacts of resource use.

Honorary Advisor

Shivanjali Sharma

Senior Consultant

Dr Asha Ashok Juwarkar

Dr. (Mrs.) Asha Ashok Juwarkar has about 33 years of experience in the field of Phytoremediation/bioremediation of degraded lands, Eco-friendly treatment for domestic and industrial wastewater management, soil pollution mitigation, and CO2 sequestration and mitigation. She played a key role in formulation of National Implementation Plan for POPs sponsored by UNIDO, and has expertise in sound management of PCB’s, PBDE’s and Dioxins & Furans. She was Ex Chief Scientist and Head, FNASc, Eco-System Division, and also Ex-Coordinator for Stockholm Convention Regional Centre on POPs for Asia Region at CSIR-NEERI. She was a Fellow at The National Academy of Sciences, India, Allahabad in 2009.

She has a Post-doctoral fellowship from University of Guelph, Canada, for Molecular Biology under DBT Associateship and Ph.D. (Microbiology) from Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). She has authored 92 research and 30 technical papers in reputed National and international journals. Under Stockholm Convention she was responsible for Projects, Workshops and Awareness programmes such as Capacity Building for Environmentally Sound Management of PCB oil and PCBs Containing Equipments at Ship Breaking Yard, Alang, Gujarat, India, Pilot testing of guidance for the review and updating of National Implementation Plan in India, Electronic interactive toolkit for environmentally sound management of industrial chemicals covered under Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions, Capacity building for promoting synergistic implementation of Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions in Sri Lanka, Awareness programmes on POPs were conducted at different villages in India, Regional Stakeholder’s Meeting on Dioxins/Furans was conducted at CSIR-NEERI as a part of Centers activity.

She is the recipient of many prestigious national and international awards such as, Pitambar Pant National Environment Fellowship Award (MoEF, 2003), Priyadarshani Vrikshamitra Puruskar (CIL, 2000), Dubai International Award (2007) for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment (2007 & 2002), UN – HABITAT Award (MoUD, 2002), CSIR Technology Award (2002), and Women Bhaskar Award by Dainik Bhaskar Group (2012).

Advisor

Dr Suseel Samuel

Dr Suseel Samuel: A social development professional with Ph.D. degree in Social Work. He possesses knowledge and skills that are backed with extensive experience in policy support, program planning, use of participatory tools, project management, budgeting, programmatic and financial monitoring, training and capacity building of individuals and organizations, technical support to national programs and civil society organizations, networking and advocacy with governmental and non – governmental organizations and social research. 32 years of experience in social development in various sectors, mainly water and sanitation, community development, child development, HIV/AIDS, social research and social work education.

Worked in national and international organizations, projects in partnership with international funding agencies and also with government departments of water supply, sanitation, health and local government institutions in India. Attended several national and international training programs, workshops and conferences on various social development themes.

Advisor

Dr M K N Yenkie

Dr M K N Yenkie is a Professor in Chemistry, Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (LIT), R.T.M. Nagpur University. He has been teaching Under Graduate and Post Graduate students for over 37 years. He has many awards to his credit: Maharashtra State Best Teacher Award (2011-12), Tata Chemicals and Association of Chemistry Teachers appreciation award for promoting Chemistry (2010-11), German Academic Exchange Fellowship (1988-91), Distinguished Alumni Award of Post Graduate Department of Chemistry, R.T.M. Nagpur University.

Dr Yenkie has also held the position of Pro Vice Chancellor, R.T.M. Nagpur University, Registrar – R.T.M. Nagpur University, Director-in-Charge, Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Director – Technology Park, R.T.M.N.U., Nagpur, Dean, Research & Development, L.I.T. He has a Ph.D Degree in Chemistry from Nagpur University and Post doctoral research fellowship from Institute fuer Thermische Verfahrenstechnik, Technical University of Clausthal, F.R. Germany, where he was a Visiting Scientist for 5 years. He has published more than 55 research papers in National & International Journals of repute.

Advisor

Venky Raghavendra

Venkatesh “Venky” Raghavendra is a social entrepreneur with over three & half decades of philanthropy and international development experience. He has successfully built global partnerships and mobilized significant resources for a number of international and national organizations.  

Venky was formerly the Chief Philanthropy Officer at the New York-based American India Foundation. He has been an advisor and consultant in the areas of philanthropy, fundraising, and social entrepreneurship, and has worked with organizations like the Open Society Foundations, New York, UK-based Common Purpose, and a host of other global entities. Prior to joining the American India Foundation, Venky was Managing Director of Global Partnerships at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public and promoted social entrepreneurship around the world by collaborating with business entrepreneurs and foundations.

Venky is a resource person and trainer for the Government of India’s Ministry of Finance, and a former Advisor to the country’s National Skill Development Corporation, which is administered under the Ministry of Skill Development. He is a trustee of Ashoka India, sits on the board of several not-for-profits, and is an advisor to several others. He writes frequently on social issues for a variety of media, and teaches social entrepreneurship and innovation to graduate-level students in the United States and in India.

Venky has a Masters in Social Justice from the School for International Training, Vermont and an International DBA from ISEG’s Lisbon School of Economics & Management in Portugal.

Legal Advisor

G Easwariamma

Mrs. G Easwariamma brings a wealth of experience from management and legal domains. She brings on board 33 years of experience through her work for the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Rourkela Steel Plant.

She has also been an Advocate dealing with civil matters under the Kerala Bar Council since 1995.

Senior Consultant

Avanti Roy Basu

Avanti Roy Basu is a qualified sustainability professional with over 15 years of extensive work experience in designing and implementing multi-dimensional projects/programs on sustainable development issues. She has a Masters’ degree in Environmental Science and MBA-equivalent Post Graduate diploma in environmental management. She has wide experience in working in different roles for organizations ranging from government agencies (like the State Pollution Control Board) to large non-for-profit research organizations (like Centre for Science and Environment, CSE and The Energy and Resources Institute, TERI). Her research, articulation and writing skills are demonstrated by a number of publications. She has contributed to over 40 projects funded by various agencies including multilateral/bilateral organizations, government departments, corporates, non-governmental organizations and research institutions. She has devised and rolled out CSR programs and managed employee volunteers for various corporates. Also, she has wide experience in working with educational institutions on developing their knowledge, skills, and attitudes, with the belief that education can be used as an effective tool for achieving a sustainable world. Avanti has significant experience in networking with range of stakeholders, and enjoys working in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment.

Senior Consultant

Mary Abraham

Ms. Mary Abraham is a qualified development sector professional with more than 22 years of experience in water and sanitation, environment and sustainability issues in India. With a master’s degree in economics and pursuing PhD in development studies, she has worked on more than 60 research and implementation projects across India.

Mary had a long stint with TERI prior to joining Mu Gamma Consultants where she has designed and implemented research and implementation programs related to water resources and other facets of environment for clients including corporate, government, and bilateral organizations. She also has extensive experience in monitoring and evaluation of various intervention programs and is an excellent training, and knowledge dissemination facilitator. Her articulation, writing, and research skills are well demonstrated through a range of articles, reports and publications.  

Advisor

Dr Kirti M Yenkie

Dr. Kirti M. Yenkie is currently Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering in Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering at Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey, USA. Her research focuses on utilizing Process Systems Engineering (PSE) principles in the domains of environmental sustainability and healthcare. Dr. Yenkie’s research is multidisciplinary in nature, and draws from methods in mathematical modeling, simulation, programming, data analytics, optimization, control, uncertainty analysis and stochastic processes.

She is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and has earned her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), USA. In addition, she has also held Postdoctoral Research Associate positions at University of Wisconsin (UW) – Madison, and at University of Delaware (UD) – Newark.

Dr. Yenkie brings to MGC her leadership and expertise in interdisciplinary research in order to help solve problems pertaining to Sustainable Development at global and local levels.

Advisor

Prof A M Khan

Prof A M Khan, Prof and Head, National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi (Retd.) is an expert in behavioural change communication and IEC. He has about 33 years’ experience in various capacities including Director, Regional Director, Professor and Head of Social Sciences and others. He has been a faculty in behaviour change communication, IEC, IPC in Sanitation and is the recipient of Rastriya Gauraw Award.

Advisor

Prof Purnendu Kanti Das

Prof Purnendu Kanti Das was the Head of the Department of Chemistry, M B B College, Agartala, Tripura. He was felicitated by the Government of Tripura for rendering distinguished service as a professor. He was also the General Secretary and President of Tripura Chemical Society, Tripura. He instituted the ‘Pyarimohan – Labanyaprava Memorial Research Fellowship’ in Tripura University for doing research work in Chemistry. He has published seven books and is presently working on publishing the life and works of Sir C. V. Raman and Madame Curie.

Consultant

Nathaniel Bhakupar Dkhar

Nathaniel has done his post-graduation on Water Resources Management from TERI University, New Delhi and he is a Bio-technology graduate from St. Anthony’s College, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong.

Prior to joining Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd. he had worked with TERI for almost 13 years where he was working on various issues related to water and climate change. He is a UGC NET qualified (Environmental Science) professional and has taught courses at TERI University. He has been involved in a number of projects related to water and wastewater management, integrated water resources management (IWRM), water-energy -climate nexus, river basin management, cryosphere research, WASH, aquaculture, systems thinking, capacity building, water use efficiency, water audit and analyzing the impacts of climate change on water resources. He is an experienced glaciologist and has conducted research related to climate change impact on Himalayan cryosphere.

Consultant

Kriti Akansha

Kriti is a sustainability professional with particular interest in water resources management and mitigation of water pollution. A doctorate from BIT, Mesra, Ranchi, her PhD is on process development for decolorization and degradation of azo dyes for treating effluents from the textile industry. She has several research papers and book chapters on wastewater treatment and removal of azo dyes from wastewater to her credit. She has done her M.Sc. in Biotechnology from VIT, Vellore and B.Sc. in Biotechnology from PESIT, Bangalore. Kriti is passionate about sustainable lifestyle, sustainable fashion and art.

Consultant

Tarika Khanna

Tarika Khanna: Tarika completed a Bachelor in Life Sciences majoring in Chemistry,Botany and Zoology and Masters in Natural Resources Management from New Delhi, India. In 2015, she completed a Master of Integrated Water Management from The University of
Queensland and the International Water Centre, Australia along with 3 more renowned universities in Australia.

Previously, she worked with TERI and ICRIER in New Delhi before taking up a masters in Australia in 2014. She worked on projects in natural resources management, especially in the urban and rural water and sanitation sector. She possesses in-depth knowledge of the water and energy sector, water and environmental quality, water and ecosystem integrity and water and sanitation sector. She has played a stellar role in working with cross-disciplinary field specialists like water research experts, government officials and media personnel to produce video documentation of best practices in the sector for handling integrated water management projects. She also has hands-on experience in planning and arranging promotion and awareness programs on various themes.

Currently she is working as an International Consultant for International River Foundation (IRF) as a local coordinator for International River symposium being held in New Delhi in 2016.

Consultant

Saumya Shrivastava

Saumya Shrivastava has been consulting for The World Bank and FAO. An Agriculture professional (by qualification) and working for nearing a decade now in the water, agriculture and sanitation fields in various capacities with the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation (F.A.O) of the UN, Government of India and State Governments. She has worked in related fields such as water, climate, health, Rural water supply systems, land resources sectors to acquire an in-depth and deep understanding of the subject matter, especially in context to implementation and project design perspective. Anchored one of the Water Security Projects technically aided by the World Bank, resulting in huge learning in rural WASH Sector.

Saumya is an MBA from Symbiosis, Pune and an avid reader, a traveler and above all being a women and a mother has given her more endurance and compassion towards the cause of the work, and see through the things from a gender perspective; and working in developmental sector strengthens this entire belief to a much higher degree.

Senior Research Associate

Manisha Jain

Manisha is a PhD scholar in Environmental Biotechnology, a postgraduate in Biological Science, an amateur artist, a passionate traveler with interest in adventure activities and a keen learner of all things new. Her interest lies in finding sustainable solutions to environmental problems in a manner that the developed methodological approach and understanding can be further extrapolated to other subject and geographical areas. Manisha has been involved in various research projects including the Innovation Project of Delhi University and was awarded scholarship for the same. Her experience in research ranges from enzymatic analysis to study of microorganisms in water bodies. She has a published research paper and has many oral and poster presentations to her credit. She has contributed to a Discussion Paper on aligning India’s sanitation policies with the Sustainable Development Goals. She is currently working towards building knowledge database for plastic waste management, bioplastics and microplastic analysis.

Research Associate

Anagha Krishnan

Anagha is a post-graduate in Environmental Engineering from APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala and a Civil Engineering graduate from Calicut University, Kerala.

Prior to joining Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd she was employed by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. She has experience in urban water supply, water reuse, climate change and sustainable development. At TERI, she was engaged with the EU-India project unlocking wastewater treatment, water reuse and recovery opportunities for urban and peri-urban areas in India. In addition to her work on projects related to river pollution management and water conservation, Anagha also supports the development of a knowledge database for the management of plastic pollution. As a content writer, she has produced articles and reports that demonstrate her expertise.

Research Scientist (Sustainable Energy)

Anoop Balachandran

Anoop specializes in clean, low-carbon and renewable energy technologies, with projects and publications in hydrogen, plastics waste-to-energy, fuel cells, smart grids, decentralized energy systems and electrified mobility. He holds a postgraduate degree in sustainable energy policy and a bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M University, College Station. He brings on board his experience and education through his time in an interdisciplinary academic environment and stints with think tanks.