Harsh Mander - Retired Bureaucrat

  Prof. Pramod Tandon - Vice Chancellor, North Eastern Hill University

  Deep Joshi - Social activist

  Madhav Gadgil - Social activist

  Farah Naqvi - Social activist

  Dr. N. C. Saxena - former bureaucrat

  Anu Aga - Businesswoman

  A. K. Shiva Kumar - Economist[2]

  Mirai Chatterjee - Coordinator, SEWA, Ahmedabad

      -Special Component plan for Scheduled Castes and the tribal sub-plan for Scheduled Tribes.

Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (Tamil: மான்கொம்பு சாம்பசிவன் சுவாமிநாதன்; Hindi: एम्. एस. स्वामीनाथन ) is an Indian agriculture scientist, born August 7, 1925, in Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu. He was the second of four sons of a doctor. He is known as the "Father of the Green Revolution in India" , for his leadership and success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. He is the founder and Chairman of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.[1] His stated vision is to rid the world of hunger and poverty.[2] Dr. Swaminathan is an advocate of moving India to sustainable development, especially using environmentally sustainable agriculture, sustainable food security and the preservation of biodiversity, which he calls an "evergreen revolution" [3] In 1999, Time magazine placed him in the Time 20 list of most influential Asian people of the 20th century.[4

M. S. Swaminathan was born on August 7, 1925. His father died when Swaminathan was 11. His early schooling was at the Native High School and later at the Little Flower Catholic High School in Kumbakonam. He went to college at Maharajas College in Ernakulam and earned a Bachelor of Science degree (B.Sc.) in zoology. Swaminathan was strongly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s belief in ahimsa or non-violence to achieve Purna swaraj (total freedom) and swadeshi, (self-reliance) on both a personal and national level

Over 68 students have done their Ph.D thesis work under his guidance:

On the occasion of Dr. Norman Borlaug's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, he said of Dr. Swaminathan: "The green revolution has been a team effort and much of the credit for its spectacular development must go to Indian officials, Organizations, Scientists and farmers. However, to you, Dr. Swaminathan, a great deal of the credit must go for first recognizing the potential value of the Mexican dwarfs. Had this not occurred, it is quite possible that there would not have been a green revolution in Asia".[26]

On the occasion of the presentation of the First World Food Prize[24] to Dr. Swaminathan in October 1987, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar - Secretary General of the United Nations, wrote: "Dr. Swaminathan is a living legend. His contributions to Agricultural Science have made an indelible mark on food production in India and elsewhere in the developing world. By any standards, he will go into the annals of history as a world scientist of rare distinction".

Swaminathan has been described by the United Nations Environment Programme as "the Father of Economic Ecology".

Ram Dayal Munda an Indian scholar and regional music exponent is awarded the Padma Shri of the year 2010 for his contribution to the field of art. Munda is a former vice-chancellor of Ranchi University. In 2007, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

President of India Pratibha Patil has nominated five prominent citizens to the Rajya Sabha, based on recommendations made by the Union cabinet and tribal welfare activist, among them Ram Dayal Munda. [1]

Aruna Roy (born 26 June 1946) is an Indian political and social activist who founded and heads the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana ("Workers and Peasants Strength Union"). She is best known as a prominent leader of the Right to Information movement, which led to the enactment of the Right to Information Act in 2005.[1] She has also remained a member of the National Advisory Council.[2]

In 2000, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.[3] In 2010 she received the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management.[4]

Aruna served as a civil servant in the Indian Administrative Service between 1968 and 1974. She then resigned to devote her time to social and political campaigns. She joined the Social Work and Research Center (SWRC) in Tilonia, Rajasthan, founded by her husband, Sanjit Roy.[5][6][7] In 1983 Aruna dissociated herself from the SWRC.

In 2005, various women's organizations launched a campaign aimed at ensuring that a woman received the Nobel prize for peace. They drew up a list of 1000 women from 150 countries who they claimed were worthy of being considered for the honour. Aruna was one among these 1000 women.[10][11]

Jean Drèze (born 1959) is a development economist who has been influential in Indian economic policymaking.[1] He is a naturalized Indian[2] of Belgian origin. His work in India include issues like hunger, famine, gender inequality, child health and education, and the NREGA. He had conceptualised and drafted the first version of the NREGA.

His co-authors include Nobel laureate in economics Amartya Sen, with whom he has written on famine, and Nicholas Stern, with whom he has written on policy reform when market prices are distorted. He is currently an honorary Professor at the Delhi School of Economics, and Senior Professor at the G. B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad. He is a member of the National Advisory Council of India in both first and second term.[3]

Dr. Narendra Jadhav, an Indian national (born in 1953) is a leading educationist[citation needed], eminent economist[citation needed] & policy maker, well-known social scientist[citation needed] and best-selling author. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has called Dr. Jadhav, “a role-model for the disempowered millions in our country.”

Dr. Narendra Jadhav is currently serving as a Member, Planning Commission (in the rank and status of Union Minister of State). He took over this responsibility on June 16, 2009 and was sworn in by the Prime Minister on July 27, 2009.

As Member, Planning Commission, Dr. Jadhav’s sectoral responsibilities include Education, Labour-Employment-Skill Development, Sports & Youth Affairs, and Social Justice and Empowerment. In addition, Dr. Jadhav looks after the States of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Goa, besides the Union Territories of Diu-Daman and Dadra-Nagar Haveli.

Dr. Narendra Jadhav has also been appointed as a Member, National Advisory Council (NAC), chaired by Smt. Sonia Gandhi, with effect from May 31, 2010.

Harsh Mander (born 1956) is an Indian social activist and writer. He came into prominence after 2002 Gujarat riots and heads "Aman Biradari" which work for communal harmony. He became member of National Advisory Council of the UPA government in 2010 and special commissioner to the Supreme Court.[1][2] He has written a collection of essays titled Unheard Voices: Stories of Forgotten Lives published by the Penguin Books (2001) and Fear and Forgiveness: The Aftermath of Massacre (2009).[3]

Harsh Mander has worked formerly in the Indian Administrative Service in the predominantly tribal states Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh for almost two decades, mainly as the head of district governments of tribal districts. He is associated with social causes and movements, such for communal harmony, tribal, dalit, and disability rights, the right to information, custodial justice, homeless people and bonded labour. He writes and speaks regularly on issues of social justice.He is also a founding member of ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy).[4]

His books include ‘Unheard Voices: Stories of Forgotten Lives’ and ‘Fear and Forgiveness: The Aftermath of Massacre’ published by Penguin India. Other major books include ‘The Ripped Chest: Public Policy and Poor in India’. Mallika Sarabhai wrote the script of the play Unsuni based on Harsh Mander's book Unheard Voices. Arvind Gaur translated & direct it in Hindi and Mallika Sarabhai direct Unsuni for Darpana.

He is at present convenor of Aman Biradari, a people’s campaign for secularism, peace and justice, working for Nyayagrah, for legal justice and reconciliation for the survivors of the Gujarat 2002 carnage, and Dil Se, for the rights of homeless children, youth and women. He is Special Commissioner appointed by the Supreme Court of India to advise it in the Right to Food case on hunger and state responsibility, Honorary Director of the Centre for Equity Studies (working on public policy for the poor), Visiting Professor at IIM, Ahmedabad on poverty and governance and writes a column for the Hindu.

He was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for peace work, and the M.A. Thomas National Human Rights Award 2002.

Prof. Pramod Tandon (born 6 October 1950 is an Indian academic and the former vice-chancellor ofNorth Eastern Hill University.[1] He is an eminent professor of botany. He received Padma Shri award in 2009 in the field of Science and Engineering. He has been nominated as member of the high-profile National Advisory Council (NAC) in June 2010.[2]

Deep Joshi is an Indian social worker and NGO activist and the recipient of 2009 Magsaysay award.[1][2][3] He is recognized for his leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India.[4][5] He co-founded a non-profit organisation, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) of which he was the Executive Director till 2007. He was awarded the 2009 Magsaysay award for Community Leadership for his work for "development of rural communities".[4]

Deep Joshi was born in 1947 in village Puriyag, in a remote area of Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand in the Himalayas to Harikrishan Joshi, a farmer and was one of the seven children.

He received his early education at the local primary school, and later he took his engineering degree from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad and also holds a masters engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and another on management from Sloan School, MIT.[3][6][7]

Returning to India, Deep Joshi worked with the Systems Research Institute, and as a program officer with Ford Foundation in India. In the coming decades he worked in the field of rural development and livelihood promotion. In 1983, also co-founded a non-profit organisation, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN),[8] that recruits college graduates to do community work.,[9][10] which recruits university-educated youth from campuses across India and trains them for grassroots work. Pradan was jointly awarded NGO of the Year 2006 at the first ever India NGO Award event.[11] PRADAN is involved in building Self help groups, developing land and water resource, Natural Resource Management, forest based livlihood, horticulture & agriculture etc. Pradan formed its first SHG in Alwar, Rajasthan, in 1987.

He also advises the Government of India on poverty alleviation strategies and also was a member of Working Group on Rainfed Areas for the Eleventh Five Year Planning Commission, Govt of India.[12]

In 2006, Deep received the Harmony Silver Award for his contributions to society.[13] Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced Deep among others as winner of 2009 Magsaysay awards.[2][4] And, on the eve of Republic Day (26 January 2010) he was honoured with prestigious Padma Shri award, by the Govt of India.

He was born in Maharashtra studied biology at University of Poona and University of Bombay before doing a Ph.D. thesis in the area of mathematical ecology at Harvard University. He has been an IBM Fellow of the Computing Centre, Research Fellow in Applied Mathematics and a Lecturer in Biology at Harvard University.

From 1973 to 2004 he was on the faculty of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

He is a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for Biological Sciences and the Vikram Sarabhai and Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar awards. Prof. Gadgil was awarded the prestigious Centennial Medal for the year 2002 from Harvard University, USA and the Volvo Environment Prize in 2003. He was conferred Padmashri and Padma Bhushan by the President of India and the Rajyotsava Award by the Government of Karnataka. Received the Firodia Award for excellence in science and technology in 2007.[1]

Farah Naqvi is an Indian writer, consultant and activist. She works on gender rights and minority rights from both a justice and development perspective. She is a member of the National Advisory Council.[1]

Waves In The Hinterland: The Journey of A Newspaper published by Zubaan 2009.

Dr. N. C. Saxena is an Indian bureaucrat who served as a member of Planning Commission of India.[1]

Dr. N. C. Saxena is a former IAS officer. He is a member of the National Advisory Council.

He headed a planning commission panel on rural poor and recommended rank-based system including automatic inclusion and exclusion of poor families.[2]

Anu Aga (born 1942) is an Indian businesswoman and social worker, who led Thermax Ltd., the Rs 3246-crore energy and environment engineering major, as its chairperson 1996-2004.[1] She had figured among the eight richest Indian women, and in 2007 was part of 40 Richest Indians by net worth according to Forbes magazine.[2][3]

After retiring from Thermax, she took to social work, and 2010 was awarded the Padma Shri (Social Work) by Govt. of India [4]

A. K. Shiva Kumar is a development economist and professor. In addition to serving as an advisor to UNICEF - India, he is a member of India's National Advisory Council.[1] The council was set up in June 2004 to oversee the implementation of India’s National Common Minimum Programme.

A. K. Shiva Kumar earned his postgraduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and his M.A. in economics from Bangalore University. He also holds a master's degree in public administration and a Ph.D in political economy and government from Harvard University.[1

Mirai Chatterjee is an Indian social worker and coordinator at SEWA, Ahmedabad. She was appointed a member of National Advisory Council in June, 2010.[1][2]