Prof. (Dr). Shalendra D. Sharma is a Distinguished Fellow (Honorary) at Forum for Global Studies, New Delhi. Prof. Sharma is Associate Vice President and Lee Sahu Kee Foundation Chair Professor of Political Science, Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He has been a former Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco, USA. Prof. Sharma is the author of: Global Financial Contagion: Building a Resilient World Economy after the Subprime Crisis (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Sharma was the recipient of USF’s University-wide Distinguished Teaching Award for 1996–97 and the University-wide Distinguished Research Award for 2002–03. He also consults for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Amb. Manju Seth (IFS), is a Distinguished Fellow (Honorary) at Forum for Global Studies, New Delhi. She worked as an Ambassador and Consul General of India to Madagascar and Comoros. She has extensive experience in India and abroad in dealing with diverse issues relating to international relations, governance, policy matters, administration, publicity, media, protocol, culture, international affairs and economic & commercial matters. She frequently appears on various media outlets for a panel discussion on foreign policy and diplomacy related issues.

India’s former Ambassador to Switzerland Smita Purushottam is a Distinguished Fellow (Honorary) at Forum for Global Studies, New Delhi. Previously, she had served as Joint Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India from 2009-2010. Ambassador Purushottam served in India’s missions abroad as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India in Berlin, Minister (Political) at the High Commission of India, London, language-trainee cum information secretary at the Embassy of India, Moscow. She had also served as India’s Ambassador to Switzerland from 2015 to 2017.

Commodore Anil Jai Singh (Retd).  is a veteran submariner. He served in the Indian Navy for over three decades and took premature retirement in March 2011.  He is the Vice President of the Indian Maritime Foundation, and an Honorary Adjunct Fellow of the National Maritime Foundation. He is also a member of the Governing Body of the Society for Inian Ocean Studies and a Member of the Defence Audit Advisory Board. He has also been the Co-Chairman of the National Defence and Aerospace Committee of ASSOCHAM, a leading industry association.  He takes keen interest in matters maritime and military and focusses on the maritime domain, the Indo-Pacific, defence procurement, indigenisation and capability assessment and is a member of leading think tanks.  He has also been a member of Track 1.5 expert groups on maritime security related issues of IORA, EAS, BIMSTEC and others including the Australia-India-France trilateral and the recent Indian UK Roadmap 2030.

Air Vice Marshall Dr. Devesh Vatsa is a Advisor to Data Security council of India (DSCI). He is presently serving as Principal Director Signals (Air) since Jan 2017. During the past twenty nine years of meritorious service he has held various important field and Staff appointments. He commanded operational Signal Units and also commanded Communication System Installation Units (CSIUs). The Officer displayed exemplary professionalism and astuteness while commissioning critical SATCOM links, Optical Fiber link and Digital Static Tropo links. While working as Director Operation Centre (NOC), during implementation of Project AFNET, his indomitable spirit and innovativeness towards problem solving was noteworthy. As the Station Commander of a critical operational Communication Center, he brought about qualitative improvement in both environment and infrastructure. Through concerted efforts he was able to establish a new site for installation of Radar at a forward location. This required persuasion and liaison at the highest level in the Government of Himachal Pradesh. His inspirational leadership was a catalyst for the Station personnel, as the team of the Station won the Best Overall Performance Trophy in WAC. As Director Ops (IW) he has been instrumental in enhancing operational capabilities of IAF in the Cyber Domain.

Dr. Kirill A. Likhachev is a Distinguished Fellow (Honorary) at Forum for Global Studies, New Delhi. Dr. Likhachev is working as an Associate Professor at School of International Relations, Saint Petersburg State University, Russia.  His research interests include foreign policy of India; India-Russia bilateral relations; National Interests and Security Policy of the South Asia’s countries; and the BRICS’ group.

Prof. Dr. Teddy Mantoro, SMIEEE is the Director of School of Computer Science, Nusa Putra University, West Java, Indonesia. His PhD was awarded from the School of Computer Science, Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, Australia and MSc from Department of Computer Science, School of Advanced Technology, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. His research interests focus on Intelligent Environment, pervasive/ubiquitous computing, context aware computing, mobile computing, information security, and wireless sensor network. He has published more than 230 conference/journal papers (216 papers in Scopus, h-index=15), 4 CS books and more than 20-chapter books which published in USA, Indonesia, Malaysia and Germany. In 2013, he served on committees and review boards for more than 30 International conferences. He is also a Senior Member of IEEE and he was the managing editor for the International Journal of Mobile Computing and Multimedia Communications (IJMCMC).

Dr. Saurabh N. Mehta is a Distinguished Fellow (Honorary) at the Forum for Global Studies in New Delhi. He is an experienced professional engineer and educator with over 22 years of demonstrated expertise in product development. Currently, he serves as the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) and Professor at Vidyalankar Institute of Technology in Mumbai. In his role as CAO, he is responsible for fostering collaboration between academia and industry, promoting innovation and intrapreneurship in academic and research programs, designing curricula, implementing academic planning and policies, and overseeing human resource development and educational training at the institute. His research interests include Wireless Networks, Embedded Systems, IoT, RFID technology, Technology Policy, and Educational Technology.

Dr. Pooja Kapoor is a distinguished academician currently serving as an Associate Professor at the School of Liberal Arts – Bennett University, Greater Noida. A trailblazer in her educational pursuits, Dr. Kapoor earned her B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science from Gargi College, Delhi University, where she secured the first rank. She further expanded her academic horizon by completing her M.A. in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her scholarly contributions reached their pinnacle with a doctoral research focus on “Violation of Human Rights: Case Study of Custodial Violence in Delhi,” culminating in the award of a Ph.D. from Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi in 2004. Dr. Kapoor’s commitment to academic excellence extends beyond her research achievements.

Gitanjali Sinha Roy is an Assistant Professor of international relations, security relations, Indo-Pacific studies, and Japanese studies at the Jindal School of International Affairs(JSIA) at the O.P. Jindal Global University. She is the Director of the Pankaj Kumar Jha Centre for Security Studies. Gitanjali is the Assistant Dean of JSIA for Admissions. She is also the Assistant Director of the Jindal India Institute (JII). Previously, Gitanjali Sinha Roy was a Research Assistant at the United Service Institution of India, New Delhi, India. She was also a Research Associate at the Centre for Strategy and Security Studies (CESCUBE) and apart from that, she is a Fellow at the Japan Division at CESCUBE(honorary). Gitanjali was also the Coordinator(honorary) at the MOSAI, MEXT Indo Group where she handles projects on India-Japan relations with a special focus on language and culture. Previously, she worked with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, India as a research assistant. Previously, she was a visiting Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Fellow at the University of Tokyo. She was also a researcher at the University of Tokyo and worked on strengthening India-Japan Relations. Gitanjali has extensively written in books, journals, and websites and has been a guest speaker for many Japan-related forums. Her interest areas comprise India and Japan’s Foreign Policy, Security Strategy and Diplomacy, India-Japan Relations: Maritime Security and Strategy in the Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian and South Asian Politics, Security Strategy and Diplomacy.

Dr. Uday Pratap Singh is an academician and researcher in Defense and Strategic Studies, currently serving as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, ISDC, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj. With over eight years of teaching and research experience, his expertise encompasses national and international security, geopolitics, strategic relations, disarmament, and arms control.  He holds a D.Phil. from the University of Allahabad and has authored several significant publications, including Russia-Ukraine War: Strategic Conundrum (Pentagon Press, 2025) and Indo-European Union Strategic Cooperation (2016). His research is widely recognized, with over 20 published articles and citations in esteemed international institutions. He actively engages in academic discussions through lectures at reputed institutions like CENJOWS, New Delhi, and contributes to major print media. As a mentor, he has guided multiple Ph.D. and postgraduate scholars. He also plays a vital role in academia, organizing seminars and faculty development programs, through UGC-MMTTC, Ministry of Education reinforcing his status as a thought leader in defense and strategic studies.