Kiran Karnik describes himself as a ‘public un-intellectual’, a non-academic with a strong interest in public policy and strategy. Columnist and author, his latest book is “Decisive Decade: India 2030 Gazelle or Hippo”. He is widely recognized for his work in the IT sector, as President NASSCOM from 2001 to 2008, and for helping to put fraud-hit Satyam Computers back on track as Chairperson of its government-appointed Board. He was a Director on the Board of Reserve Bank of India (2011-15), and has been on many key government committees, including the Scientific Advisory Council to Prime Minister and the National Innovation Council.

As CEO of Discovery India (1995-2001), he launched Discovery Channel and Animal Planet in India and South Asia. He was Founder-Director of Consortium for Educational Communication (1991-95), which oversaw production and transmission of UGC’s Countrywide Classroom TV programmes. He began his career in Atomic Energy and then spent over two decades in ISRO, focussing on the use of space technology – especially for education and development, including the path-breaking Indo-US Satellite Instructional TV Experiment (SITE) and the Kheda TV project.

Currently involved with several not-for-profit organizations in the fields of education and development, he is Chairperson of Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi and HelpAge India. He was Chairperson of Oxfam India (2010-19) and President, India Habitat Centre (2006-18).

He has been conferred many awards, including the Padma Shri