School of Conflict and Security Studies

Lt Gen Suresh Sharma is a former senior military leader who served as Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army. In a career spanning 38 years, he earned the distinction of steering two premier defence organisations. His successive tenures as the Director General of Border Roads Organisation (DGBR) and Engineer-in-Chief (E-in-C) witnessed a large-scale transformation of strategic and military infrastructure across the country and enhanced the technical and logistical capabilities of Indian Army.

As E-in-C, he applied an outcome-oriented approach to revamp the Married Accommodation Project, expedite ongoing works, clear tendering backlogs and fast-track equipment acquisition and modernisation. As DGBR he focussed on aligning BRO’s immediate priorities with India’s evolving geo-strategic interests, thereby reclaiming its pre-eminence as a strategic infrastructure development agency. He also implemented policy reforms and organisational restructuring to resolve complex legacy issues. From 2016-18, he personally oversaw a cumulative revenue and capital expenditure budget of INR 26,000 Crores.

Other career highlights include command of an engineer regiment during Operation Parakram and the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake; key operations, logistics, training and administration portfolios and tenures as Chief Engineer (Indian Navy & Coast Guard) Mumbai Zone, Commandant Bengal Engineer Group & Centre Roorkee, Chief Engineer South Western Command and Director General Combat Engineers. He has been a leader in domestic and international humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) missions — including an appointment as the United Nations Advisor for humanitarian mine action in Bosnia & Herzegovina. He has trained and mentored young military leaders and been deeply committed to improving the liveability index of defence bases.

Lt Gen Sharma has attended prestigious tri-services courses at the Defence Service Staff College, College of Defence Management and National Defence College. In addition to a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Harcourt Butler Technical University, he holds M.Sc. and M.Phil. degrees in Defence and Strategic Studies from Madras University and a Masters in Management Studies from Osmania University. He is associated, in various capacities, with the Institution of Military Engineers, Indian Institute of Bridge Engineers, Indian Building Congress, Indian Road Congress, Tunnelling Association of India, Construction Industry Development Council, Construction Industry Arbitration Council and Indian Society for Trenchless Technology.

His professional expertise lies in the areas of military and technical leadership, policy formulation, financial planning, government affairs, capital asset acquisition, arbitration, high-level contract and budget management and delivery of mega infrastructure projects. In recognition of his exceptional services, the President of India has honoured Lt Gen Sharma twice, with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) in 2018 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2016. He has further contributed to the Nation Building efforts while working in the Corporate Sector. As Chief Principal WSP Louis Berger ( American MNC), oversaw the Design and Consultancy Projects in India for two years. Currently, he is engaged as an Advisor with Geoconsult India ( Austrian MNC), JCB India and Tikitar Shell.

Jenish is a PhD scholar, with an interest in understanding and addressing social conflicts and resource-related tensions. His research interests focus on conflicts, particularly in the context of caste, and resource conflicts and their implications for development. He is inclined towards understanding development induced vulnerabilities and how ideas of development must be complemented with ethics and sustainability. He has worked as a Project Associate on a Social Impact Assessment project during 2022-2023. He also takes an interest in history, exploring the annals of the past and complementing them with present dynamics to understand the origins of conflicts. Alongside academic pursuits, he also has a keen interest in studying Indian languages.

Saransh is a PhD Scholar in NIAS. He is a Geographer by training. He completed his graduation and post-graduation from University of Delhi and Delhi School of Economics. Previously, he has worked as associate in the project titled ‘Social Impact Assessment of Kalpasar Dyke in Gulf of Khambhat ‘. He is interested in applications of Remote sensing and Geoinformatics in Impact Assessment Methodologies particularly in large scale projects. As a part of the project, he has developed an in-house digital and offline socio-economic data collection tool, undertook field survey over 90 days, performed analytics and co-authored multiple reports for development agencies. He has presented research papers in international conferences, three of which are in review currently and expecting to be published in near term. His academic interests range from modelling socio-physical phenomena, algorithmic design, Cartography, Statistical analysis among others.