Dr Ajai Kumar, IFS

Dr. Kumar has a Master’s degree in Physics and a PhD in Forestry from the University Of Melbourne, Australia. Ajai Kumar joined the Indian Forest Service in 1986 and till 1992, he worked with Forest Department in Manipur State in India. From 1993 to 1997 he worked with the National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board, which formulates and implements afforestation policies for the Ministry of Environment and Forests. He has been an advisor on forest management issues and was the member secretary of the High Power Committee constituted by the Supreme Court of India in 1997 to look into forest industries and forest management in the northeastern states.

In 1998, he was awarded International Research Fellowship by the University Of Melbourne, Australia and from May 1998 to April 2001, he worked on his doctoral thesis at the University on the topic ‘Common Property Resource Management’. From October 2001 to November 2003, he worked as the In-Charge of World Bank Forestry Project in Uttaranchal State of India. From November 2003 to December 2004, he worked with the Forest Development Corporation in Uttaranchal. From August 2005 to March 2010, Dr Kumar worked in the Ministries of Defense and Agriculture in Government of India. Presently, Dr Kumar is the Senior Economist and Senior Country Coordinator of CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) and NASC.