National  Publishing Strategy Board 

Prof. Asha Bajpai is a pioneering legal academic with nearly four decades of experience in teaching, research, legal reform, and advocacy. A founding faculty member at NLSIU Bengaluru and former Dean at TISS Mumbai, she has led landmark initiatives in child rights, gender justice, and access to justice. Her work has shaped both national and international legal discourse, and she has advised the judiciary, government, and global institutions on key reforms in law and policy.

For the Publish for India initiative, she brings invaluable perspective in shaping academic strategy, promoting ethical publishing, and advancing inclusive, rights-based knowledge dissemination across the humanities and social sciences.

Prof. Nita H. Shah, globally ranked among Elsevier’s Top 2% Researchers, is an acclaimed scholar whose pioneering work spans inventory and supply chain modeling, sustainability, game theory, and infectious disease dynamics—fields where her research has shaped policy and practice.

As Coordinator of the School of Emerging Science and Technology at Gujarat University and former professor, she has advanced interdisciplinary scholarship and mentored a generation of researchers. 

For the Publish for India initiative, her publishing leadership makes her a vital voice in advancing India’s scientific publishing and strengthening the visibility and global impact of Indian STEM research.

Prof. Sushil is Emeritus Professor and Chair of the Strategic Management Group at the Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi. A former Deputy Director (Operations) and Dean (Faculty) at IIT Delhi, he is an internationally recognized scholar in strategy, flexibility, systems thinking, and technology management and brings deep expertise in academic research and publishing. 

For the Publish for India initiative, he leads scholarly strategy and drives research-informed publishing innovation. His visionary approach shapes best practices in academic publishing and fosters cross-sector collaboration to enhance the quality, visibility, and global reach of Indian research. 

Prof. R.S. Deshpande is a distinguished agricultural economist and former Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru. With over four decades of leadership in rural development, agrarian policy, and applied research, he has advised both the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka on key issues including agricultural transformation, farmer welfare, and drought mitigation.

Through the Publish for India movement, Prof. Deshpande plays a key role in advancing the program’s policy engagement with state institutions, research bodies, and development organizations. His vast experience in policy research and applied economics provides crucial strategic guidance, helping the initiative align with national development priorities and contribute meaningfully to strengthening India’s research publishing ecosystem.

Prof. Ajit Kumar Verma is a globally recognised expert in reliability engineering and technical safety, with academic appointments across Norway, Sweden, the UK, and India. Formerly a senior professor at IIT Bombay and currently at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, his interdisciplinary work spans system reliability, safety assessment, and computational intelligence.

For the Publish for India movement, he leads national scholarly engagement—working closely with authors, editors, reviewers, and academic institutions to promote ethical publishing, enhance editorial quality, and build vibrant research communities across disciplines. His leadership in mentoring, peer review training, and capacity-building makes him an invaluable anchor for nurturing a culture of excellence in Indian research publishing. 

Prof. A.K. Puri is a seasoned academic leader and former Vice Chancellor of IEC University, with a distinguished career in management education, institutional development, and public policy. 

With advanced degrees in Physics and Management from Delhi University, Prof. Puri brings deep interdisciplinary depth and strategic leadership.

For the Publish for India initiative, he leads institutional partnerships, advancing collaboration between universities, research bodies, and public institutions to strengthen India’s scholarly publishing ecosystem.