Mr Khushwant Singh Sethi is a Distinguished Fellow at the Land Resources Division of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). He has led a wide range of impactful initiatives in the forestry and environment sectors at both national and international levels, including significant contributions in biofuels, watershed development, medicinal plants, clonal technology, and tree improvement. His leadership was pivotal in the establishment of the Medicinal Plants Board of Tripura and the Directorate of Biotechnology, and his work in Tripura earned the Forest Department the Chief Minister’s Award for Extraordinary Performance and Initiative.
A 1990 batch officer of the Indian Forest Service, Mr Sethi has held several senior positions during his distinguished career. These include Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Head of Forest Force, Government of Tripura; Principal Secretary, Departments of Forests; Science, Technology & Environment; and Industries & Commerce, Government of Tripura; and Chairman, Tripura State Pollution Control Board. He also served as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and as Deputy Inspector General of Forests (Policy & International Cooperation) in the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change.
In addition to his government service, Mr Sethi worked with the UNDP in Kabul, Afghanistan, focusing on natural resource management and capacity building. Between 2004 and 2007, he was a Fellow at TERI, where he led several major projects related to sustainable land use and biodiversity.
Mr Sethi holds an M.Sc. in Botany from Delhi University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Forestry from the Indira Gandhi National Academy, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, and an M.Phil. in Social Sciences from Punjab University. He has also undergone international training programs, including the Planting Stock Improvement Program under an FAO Fellowship at the University of Minneapolis, USA, and the Local-Level Management of Trees & Forests for Sustainable Land Use program at the International Agriculture Centre (IAC), Wageningen, The Netherlands, under the Netherlands Fellowship Program.
Email: khushwant.sethi@teri.res.in