Tejkaran is a senior practitioner and Specialist - Climate Action at TRIF and currently leads Agrivoltaics and micro-grid initiatives within the organization. He is instrumental in designing cooperative and community managed models that suits the needs of the smallholder farmers including women farmer and strategies to unlocking public finance for these initiatives. He is also responsible for designing tools that assist and support communities in conducting landscape character assessments to understand decadal degradation, develop adaptation pathways, and enhance the positive impacts on the local economy and public health. He also contributes to develop DRE applications and entrepreneurship, increasing OSR opportunites for Panchayats and Just transition initiatives within the organization.

From 2019-21, he worked as Chief Minister Health Advisor Fellow for the State of Jharkhand and holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode, Kerala.

Siddharth Gahoi is a distinguished climate technology specialist currently serving as Deputy General Manager - Access to Energy at Schneider Electric, where his work centers on enabling clean energy entrepreneurship and tackling energy poverty through innovative network development and impactful sustainability initiatives. Siddharth’s expertise lies at the interface of climate resilience, energy access, and sustainable livelihoods, making him an influential thought leader in India’s journey toward environmental stewardship.
Prior to Schneider Electric, Siddharth was a Director and Core Team member at the Sustain Plus Energy Foundation, leading transformative programs in agri value chains, waste-to-value, and green enterprise development. He played a pivotal role in conceptualizing and implementing decentralized renewable energy solutions designed to empower communities and foster collective entrepreneurship in the clean energy space. Siddharth also contributed significantly at Tata Trusts, where he managed and developed water-centric livelihood programs across Central and Northeastern India, championing solar energy initiatives for marginalized communities and driving pan-Indian access to sustainable resources.
Siddharth’s professional journey spans over a decade across key organizations in the public, private, and development sectors, further enriched by leadership roles at Social Alpha and his involvement with Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI). He is known for his capacity to design and deploy solutions that bridge technical innovation, stakeholder engagement, and social impact for lasting change.
Holding a Bachelor of Technology (Civil Engineering) from Rajiv Gandhi Prodyogiki Vishwavidyalaya and a Master of Technology in Technology & Development from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Siddharth combines deep technical acumen with field-based implementation expertise. He remains a driving force in India's efforts to build climate resilience, champion clean energy adoption, and advance sustainable development for underserved communities

Shilp Verma is a Researcher, Water-Energy-Food Policies with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). An alumnus of the University of Delhi, the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA), and UNESCO-IHE, Delft, Shilp has nearly 20 years of experience in the water, energy, and rural livelihoods domain. He has been associated with IWMI since 2001, in different capacities. In his current role, Shilp manages the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program in India with a mandate of converting science into policy action. His research covers a range of themes relevant to smallholder farming and water security in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Thematic Programme Executive – Renewable Energy and Technology, BAIF
Mahesh Lade is a seasoned professional with over 15+ years of experience in the development sectors, specializing in research, product development, documentation, and program management. He holds engineering degrees in Information Technology.
At BAIF, Mahesh leads renewable energy programs with a focus on Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) applications. His work spans the development of advanced biogas systems for clean cooking and solar-powered solutions for water pumping and rural livelihoods. These initiatives combine applied research with on-ground implementation, carried out in partnership with government agencies, national and international donors, and leading research institutions.
Before joining BAIF, Mahesh worked as a research faculty member at Pabal Vigyan Ashram, where he contributed to solar energy and appropriate technology projects. He also served with the Pratham Education Foundation, where he focused on innovative learning and teaching methods.
Throughout his career, Mahesh has consistently worked at the intersection of technology and rural development, addressing the needs of farmers, women, and youth across India.

Mr Girase ( गिरासे  गुलाबसिंग ) is the Director of Gro Solar Energy Pvt Ltd,an spv that has set up a 10MW AgriPv plant . He is the Former Director of Mahagenco and MSEB Holding Company. Early in his career he was also Finance Comptroller of Agriculture University. And he is also the Vice president of the Solar Energy Society of India- SESI.

Mr. Ganesh Neelam is a geoscience-trained development professional who holds an MS in Geosciences from the University of Pune. He joined Tata Trusts in 2004 to lead the flagship initiative called Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI), which focuses on tribal livelihood transformation across central India. He currently serves as Executive Director of CInI, where he oversees programmes such as the flagship Lakhpati Kisan (aimed at raising incomes of small and marginal farmers) along with integrated interventions in agriculture, water, renewable energy, education and WASH programmes in tribal belts. In addition, he holds the role of Director at Sustain Plus. Under his leadership, the organization is advancing circular economy and clean energy models aligned with agri-livelihoods and decentralised renewable energy. His work emphasises community-led institutions, technology integration, and scalable rural transformation for small and marginal farmers.

Mr. Waman Kulkarni is Chief Thematic Programme Executive (CTPE) for Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Climate Action Programmes at BAIF Development Research Foundation. BAIF is a reputed development and research organization working for sustainable rural development for more than 5 decades and has presence in 17 states of India covering 5 million households in more than 100 thousand villages.
Mr.  Kulkarni has 24 + years of experience in Natural Resource Management especially in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of watershed Management, livelihood development, water centric development programmes in different parts of India. He has been associated with capacity building and different training events organized for different stakeholders and NGO's partners in the areas of NRM and key role in liasoining with different Government agencies, NABARD and CSR partners.
He has been involved for thematic support, monitoring of Natural Resource Management and Climate Action programmes for South and North region covering 6 states of India for visibility, replicability and wiser impact. He also involved in development of new approaches and programmes, coordination, documentation, review of different NRM programmes along with training and capacity building of implementing teams within BAIF.
Mr. Kulkarni is Agriculture Engineer having specialization in Agriculture Extension from Marathwada Agriculture University Parbhani, Maharashtra.