TERI Alumni Association

TERI Alumni Reunion

The 3rd TAA Reunion Luncheon was held on 4th December 2021 (Saturday), in the lush green environment of TERI Gram, Gual Pahari. This was a lively mingling of both present and former colleagues who enjoyed the camaraderie of meeting with colleagues.

Mr Rakesh Kacker, President, TAA welcomed the members who were present and thanked them for coming at this august gathering. This was followed by Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, who spoke on the importance of TAA and encouraged more and more colleagues to join the Association. At the end, Mr Nitin Desai, Chairman, TERI, reflected upon his memories with TERI and said that he was delighted to join and interact with the members.

This was followed by luncheon at the Retreat lawn.

TAA webinar on Managing Single-Use Plastic Waste

The TERI Alumni Association (TAA) held a webinar on 'Managing Single-Use Plastic Waste' on July 3, 2021 from 4PM-5:30 PM.

The panel comprised of the following:

• Dr Divya Datt, Programme Management Officer, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Dr Gaurav Bhatiani, Director, Energy and Environment, Research Triangle Institute, Global India
• Smita Ahuja, Waste Specialist, Independent Consultant
• Anna Larsson, Director, Circular Economy, Reloop Europe

The webinar was moderated by Dr Datt, a TERI alumna. She introduced the subject giving an overview of the policy framework in India and the major challenges. Ms Larson gave the European experience both in terms of the legal framework and the experience of implementing these. Ms Ahuja explained the role of the community and voluntary efforts to deal with issues of general/plastic waste management with particular emphasis on the experience in Gurgaon. Dr Bhatiani, a TERI alumnus, shared the industry perspective and how issues of plastic are being dealt with by industry, as well as raising some larger governance issues. The presentations were followed by a Question and Answer session.

Special talk on "Women Empowerment"

A special talk on Women Empowerment was held on International Women's Day on March 8, 2021. This was given by Dr Malathi Lakshmikumaran, ED and Practice Head, Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan Attorneys, Member-TAA and Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI and Vice President-TAA.

This was a virtual session and widely appreciated by TERI colleagues.

TERI Alumni Reunion Luncheon

The second TERI Alumni Reunion Luncheon get-together was held on February 27, 2021 at Margosa Lawns, IHC, from 12.30 pm to 3 pm. The reunion marked the continuing process of TERI’s endeavour to strengthen the bond between current and former colleagues. The ultimate success of the TERI Alumni Association (TAA) depended on alumni themselves and TERI has managed to keep it sustainable so far as it remained a member-driven organization.

Mr Rakesh Kacker, President welcomed all the colleagues and extended his sincere thanks for attending the reunion. He acknowledged the hard work put in by his Executive Committee Members, including Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI and Vice President, TAA, Mr Sanjay Seth, Chairperson, TAA, Mr Sambath Kumar Nagarajan, Ms Raina Singh, and Ms Sangeeta Badhwar for their support in steering this initiative. He also thanked Ms Sonal Bajaj and Ms K Radhika for their unrelenting efforts. He further stated that whilst some colleagues had already given their voluntary contribution to TAA, he requested colleagues to give donations, especially at the time when TERI has received the 80G certification. It was also proposed to charge a sum of Rs 500/- per annum from all members who are part of TAA and from those who would be joining TAA in future. It was informed that a suitable communication will be sent shortly to all members.

Mr Kacker also appreciated the support given by Dr Ajay Mathur to TAA and wished him all the best for his new assignment.

Dr Dhawan expressed her thanks to all the colleagues present and wished the Association to become more active and vibrant.

Mr Seth conveyed his pleasure to become a part of the TAA family and assured his support to bring in fresh ideas and steer the Association forward.

At the end Dr Mathur, addressed the August gathering and thanked all the colleagues present for joining this get together and making it a grand success. It was suggested by Dr Mathur to host the next reunion at Gual Pahari, TERI Gram and hoped for a larger participation.

Webinar on Impact of COVID-19 on Urban Mobility Systems

A webinar on 'Impact of COVID-19 on Urban Mobility Systems' was held on December 15, 2020 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. It was moderated by Dr O P Agarwal, a TERI Alumni who is now CEO, WRI India.

The COVID – 19 pandemic, especially the lockdown that was inevitable, has had a major impact on urban mobility systems across the country. For nearly 6 months most public transport systems had to be shut down. This has had an adverse impact on the finances of public transport systems. Apart from the immediate impact there will be longer term effects of lower ridership in future and a possible shift away from public transport. To the extent this leads to greater use of non motorized transport modes greater investments would be required in footpaths, cycling paths and such like. The WEBINAR discussed these issues and its possible policy implications with the following speakers

• Sharat Sharma, Former Director Operations, DMRC
• Dr R S Minhas, Deputy Chief General Manager, DTC
• Laghu Parashar, Deputy Project Director SMART-SUT, GIZ
• Dr Amit Bhatt. ED, WRI India
• Dr Geetam Tiwari, Professor PTRIP, IIT Delhi
• Prasaana Patwardhan, CMD, Prasanna Purple Mobility Solutions
• Mukund Kumar Sinha, Asian Development Bank

Webinar held on Renewable Energy Enhancement: Towards Delivering Firm Power

A webinar on 'Renewable Energy Enhancement: Towards Delivering Firm Power' was held on October 17, 2020, from 3pm to 5pm (IST). The webinar was moderated by Dr Jami Hossain, former area convenor, Renewable Energy Technology Area, TERI. He is currently the vice president & technical chair, World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).

In the backdrop of increasingly serious concerns of climate change and energy security, the Government of India has been laying great emphasis on renewable energy, and as a result, renewable energy installations have increased quite significantly. The operation of the power system with enhanced renewable energy contribution has become a challenge due to the variabilities. It also requires technical and market solutions to address emergent issues. The discussions in the webinar delved into the issues involved and the way forward in this endeavour, with the following expert speakers -

• Sushil Soonie (Former Head of Power System Operation Corporation Limited, POSOCO) Parag Sharma (CEO, O2 Power)
• Dr Rahul Walawalkar (President & MD, Customized Energy Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.)
• Dishant Mishra (CEO, Baud Resources)
• Yuvraj Dinesh Babu (Executive Director E&Y)
• Deepak Gupta (Policy Head, Renew Power)
• Ajit Gopi (Prog Officer & Head -Technical Consultancy Solar PV & Wind Energy, ANERT)

The webinar was hosted by the kind courtesy of Dr Malathi Lakshmikumaran, who is also a TERI alumnus and is presently the executive director with Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan attorneys.

Release of Book on Dr R K Pachauri

Dr R K Pachauri passed away on 13 February 2020. He left behind a sea of memories and important lessons. Some members of the TERI Alumni Association (TAA) felt that the association should publish a book – a commemorative volume – to capture those memories and learnings. This book has now been prepared and has been published by the TAA. The contributors to this volume are all members of the TAA (with the exception of Dr (Mrs) Pachauri and the Chairman and two Members of TERI's Governing Council). The Book was released on 20th August 2020 - the 80th Birthday of Dr R K Pachauri - at an event which was partly online and Partly at the TERI Office. Dr Saroj Pachauri and her son Dr Ash Pachauri were present as were Shri Nitin Desai, Chairman, Dr Vijai Sharma, Member Governing Council, Dr Shailesh Nayak, Member Governing Council, Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, Shri Yateendra Joshi - co-editor, Dr Vibha Dhawan, Vice President -TAA, Distinguished Fellow TERI and Co-Editor, Shri Rakesh Kacker, President TAA and co-editor and Ms Sangeeta Badhwar, Joint Secretary-TAA. A large number of TERI and Ex-TERI colleagues were also present online.

The recording of the event can be seen here.

To view/download click on the links - View Flipbook | Download

Hard copies of the book can be ordered from teripress@teri.res.in at Rs 1500/- per copy for coloured and Rs 500/- per book for Black and White (inclusive of Rs.100/- for courier charges)

Webinar on Healthcare in Covid Crisis by Dr Malathi Lakshmikumaran - June 12, 2020

Responding to the challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic, Dr Malathi Lakshmikumaran held a webinar on health care during this crisis which was joined by TERI Alumni members. Dr Lakshmikumaran, herself a TERI alumni, is an executive director with Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan attorneys.

General Body Meeting - January 12, 2020

The TAA held its general body meeting on Sunday, January 15, 2020 to discuss and decide on important issues of the association.

Expert lecture on Significance of Concentrated Solar Power for Enhancing Dispatchability of Renewable Energy - December 9, 2019

Members of the TERI Alumni Association (TAA) attended a lecture organised by renewable energy experts Dr Akansha Chaurey, CEO and Director of IT Power Group, and Dr Ashvini Kumar, Senior Director, Renewable Energy Technologies Division, TERI. In the lecture, held on the experts discussed the significance of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) in enhancing the dispatchability of renewable energy.

TERI Alumni Association President elected

We are pleased to announce the election of Rakesh Kacker, Former Senior Fellow, TERI, as President of the TERI Alumni Association, and Raina Singh, Former Fellow, Sustainable Habitats division, TERI, as Secretary, in the recently held Executive Committee Member Elections for 2019-2022. The elections were held successfully through online voting.

Mr Sanjay Seth is the present Chairperson of the Association.

Dr Vibha Dhawan, Distinguished Fellow, and Sambath Kumar Nagarajan, Dy. General Manager, Accounts, have been nominated as the Vice President and Treasurer from TERI, respectively. Dr Vibha Dhawan is a Founder Member of the Association.

The present constitution of the executive committee is as follows: