Currently I am serving as Secretary to the Government of India, Departement of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology from October 3, 2023.

I am currently on lien from IIT Bombay, where I have been a faculty member since 1997. Prior to taking charge as Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, I served as Director of IIT Kanpur (2018–2023). At IIT Bombay, my leadership roles included Dean of Faculty Affairs (2017–2018), Head of the Electrical Engineering Department (2012–2015), the Institute’s first Professor-in-Charge of the Research Park (2014–2017), and Head of the Computer Centre (2008–2011).

Over the years, I have built and led a vibrant research group in the area of telecommunications networks and systems. Our work spans software-defined networking, 5G/6G architectures, frugal broadband solutions, and next-generation wireless standards. The group has not only produced cutting-edge academic research but has also shaped multiple international standards, filed patents, and nurtured PhD graduates who are now advancing these ideas globally.

Key highlights include:

• IEEE 1930.1: SDN-based Middleware for Wireless Networks (2022) – First IEEE standard originating from India, led by Mr. Pranav Jha from our group. Introduced innovations for integrating Wi-Fi with 4G, 5G, and emerging 6G under a unified, cost-effective framework.
• IEEE 2061: Low Mobility Energy-Efficient Networks (2024) – Based on our concept of Frugal 5G Networks for rural broadband. Adds architectural advances such as RAN–core decoupling, core bypass, and unified heterogeneous access networks, shaping the foundation for 6G.
• ITU-T Y.2325: SDN-based Evolution of Next-Gen Network Control Plane (2023) – Our first ITU-T standard on 6G architecture, approved in Dec 2023. Aims to make future mobile systems more scalable, modular, secure, and easier to deploy.
• 3GPP 5G Advanced Contributions – Work in satellite communications, broadcast–broadband convergence, energy-efficient networks, and wireless relays.
• Talks & Tutorials – I have delivered numerous invited talks and tutorials at leading national and international forums. A selection of these talks can be found here.
• PhD Graduates' Research & Patents – Recent work form my PhD students spans novel framework in SDN, RAN virtualization, frugal broadband, and scalable core design for beyond-5G (details here), with several patents filed (details here).

My Research Group's work continues to explore new frontiers in 6G and beyond. I warmly invite you to engage with our research, collaborations, and ongoing efforts to make next-generation communication networks more accessible, affordable, and impactful.