Team

Ramesh Ramanathan is a social entrepreneur who works on urban issues in India. He has worked closely with the government in a pro-bono capacity and has also contributed as the National Technical Advisor for the government’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the country’s flagship urban mission.

As co-founder of the Jana Group, Ramesh heads several initiatives including Janalakshmi Financial Services and Janaadhar.

Prior to his social initiatives, Ramesh held leadership positions with Citibank in New York and London, in the bank’s capital markets business. He has an MS in Physics from BITS Pilani, an MBA from Yale University, and a CFA from AIMR.

In 2017, Ramesh was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Swati Ramanathan is co-founder of the Jana Group, which consists of several social enterprises including Janaagraha and Jana Urban Space Foundation. 

Swati leads Janaagraha’s innovations in the use of social media and technology for civic participation. She has received international awards and recognition for IPaidABribe and IChangeMyCity, including Google’s Global Impact Challenge Award (2013), ICIF Australia (2015), and the Manthan Award (2015). 

On the invitation of the Ministry of Urban Development and the Planning Commission, Government of India,  Swati prepared the National Urban Spatial Planning and Development (USPD) 2013 Guidelines. Her work on urban design standards for city roads have been adopted as the desired standards by the state of Karnataka (Tender SURE – Specifications for Urban Road Execution). 

Swati was the co-convener of the Urban Planning Group of the Planning Commission’s 12th Five Year Plan. She is currently a member of the Chief Minister’s Advisory Council for the Government of Rajasthan. 

Her work has won her numerous awards, including: Social Entrepreneur of the Year by Forbes India (2013), Democracy and Civic Innovator Award by the National Democratic Institute in Washington DC (2013), Rajyotsava Puraskar by the Government of Rajasthan (2008), and the Young Asian Leader award by the Asia Society (2007). 

KK Nayar heads Janaagraha’s Working Council and has been associated with the organisation since 2004

He has over three decades of experience in projects and manufacturing management in FMCG, food, paper, and chemicals. His expertise includes the building, commission, expansion, and upgradation of new and green field units. 

He was the Executive Director at Unilever subsidiaries in India, Egypt, and the UK, where he focussed on technology, profit improvement programs, and acquisitions and mergers. 

Vidya Shah is the CEO of EdelGive Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Edelweiss Group. She also serves on the board of various prominent organisations, including Agastya International Foundation, Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, Common Purpose, Women on Wings, Toolbox India Foundation, and Masoom. 

Set up in 2018 by Vidya, the Foundation aims to be a catalyst of change dedicated to collaborative philanthropy. It focuses on education, livelihoods, and the empowerment of women. The Foundation bridges the gap between users and providers of philanthropic capital and knowledge by bringing skills, resources, and talents of the for-profit world to the non-profit one. This is complemented by employee engagement initiatives through which Edelweiss employees are motivated to provide their time and expertise to help build capacity for non-profits and their founders. 

Vidya has an MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad and spent the first 11 years of her career in investment banking with companies like ICICI, Peregrine, and NM Rothschild, where she advised corporates in capital raising and M&A transactions. Subsequently, she served as the Chief Financial Officer of Edelweiss with the additional responsibility of the Human Resources and Administration functions.

Governing Board Member

A retired IAS officer, S K Das served as Secretary to the Government of India. He was also a member (finance) of the Department of Space and is known today as a distinguished author. 

Speaking about Janaagraha, he said, “I am fascinated by how Janaagraha has emerged as a dominant voice in shaping India’s urban agenda by getting the nation to recognize the need for a City-Systems approach to fix its cities.”

PKH Tharakan is a former DG and IGP of Kerala. He has also served as the Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s external intelligence agency. 

He has played a crucial role in supporting and handholding Janaagraha through some of our key programs, including Community Policing. 

“I was drawn to Janaagraha because I could see that they were doing a good job of trying to do good things. It is gratifying to be associated with an organization which is trying to change things for the better. The commitment of the leaders of Janaagraha to the pursuit of uphill tasks they have undertaken is admirable,” he says. 

Ireena Vittal was Partner at McKinsey & Co., where she worked for more than fifteen years. She co-authored McKinsey Global Institute’s report, titled ‘India’s urban awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth.’ She is among the country’s foremost experts on retail, having received her MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. 

Ireena is currently an independent director on the board of some of India’s best-known companies.

Dr Vivek Mansingh is the Chairman of AxisCades. He also sits on the Boards of Innovatia, Dream a Dream and Janaagraha. He is highly sought-after for leadership training and coaching, given his stints at Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Fujistu, and Dell. He has a keen interest in entrepreneurship and leadership and has contributed valuable insights to Janaagraha over the years. 

Babu Jacob is the Former Chief Secretary to the Government of Kerala. He also worked at the Agricultural Ministry and Personnel Ministry, Government of India.