Freak Folks Honest Talk

Mitali Nikore is a pioneering economist with 12 years of experience in gender-mainstreaming, development finance, policy advisory and social entrepreneurship. She advises leading multilateral organisations such as ADB, UN Women and the World Bank. Her experience spans several countries in Africa and South Asia, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom. In recognition of her work, Mitali was felicitated with the India UK Achievers Honours, which celebrates the work of 75 young UK Indian students and alumni who have made an important contribution to their profession and society. She was selected as ‘She is: 75 Indian women in STEAM’ by the Government of India (2022) and named one of the 22For2022 industry leaders by Forbes magazine. Mitali was featured in the 'She Is' book, which honours 75 women in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), celebrating gender, leadership and sustainable development in commemoration of India's 75th year of independence. She was the keynote speaker at the Global Solutions Summit 2022 by Think20 and Think7 to discuss collective approaches for transforming research-based insights into policy recommendations for the G7/G20. She has been a TEDx speaker and was recently named among the LinkedIn Top Voices for Gender Equality. Recently, she presented her paper on ‘Gender Budgeting in India: Pre and Post Covid-19 Analysis’ at the 30th Annual International Association for Feminist Economics Conference in Geneva. She is also a widely published researcher and writer with the Times of India, World SME News, Indian Express, SheThePeople and EPC World. She has provided her expertise on multiple news segments, including BBC News and India Ahead. Mitali holds a Master of Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Delhi.

Dr. Nitin Aggrawal, a multi-skilled professional, who takes pride in applying technology and management to simplify government service delivery to end-users. He has leveraged his international skills from Development Academy of Philippines, Manila to implement Result-based Management system in all the central sector schemes of Government of India and Director General of NITI Aayog has recognized his contribution in this regard. He possess right mix of qualifications, like Masters of Computer Application, Masters of Business Administration from top-management institute FMS and PhD from very renowned University of Rajasthan. Presently, he is working as Joint Director in Department of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, where his division is helping in aligning policies to support Make-in India initiatives and building capacity of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in futuristic endeavours. He is the principal architect for national portals like Public CSR Monitoring System to align CSR expenditure of about Rs 5000 crore with national priorities decided by the office of Prime Minister every year. Also, he has designed CRR Monitoring System to facilitate redeployment of voluntary retires from CPSEs. He has modified the architecture of the existing Online Training and Nomination System (OTNS) of DPE to foster growth in no. of competency and skills across major industries. He has been consistently undertaking research and disseminating his work through research publication in building business intelligence, corporate governance, circular economy, Labour Productivity, diversity, equity and inclusion. He has served and provided consultancy to many organizations like National High Speed Rail Corporation, Britannia Industries, Times of India Group, Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium, National Textile Corporation, Indian National Science Academy, Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company Ltd., BSES Yamuna Power Limited, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, Delhi Transco Ltd., Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd., etc. and more.

Junofy is currently working with Swiggy as a Behavioural scientist. She is also the founder and CEO of India Behavioural Economics Network, the non-profit promoting the field of Behavioural sciences. She has worked as a lecturer, researcher and consultant in the fields of behavioural economics and decision making with organisations including the university of Zürich, Google, UNICEF and UNDP.

Mr. Ajitabh Sharma is an IAS officer from the 1996 batch and belongs to the Rajasthan cadre. He has 26 years of experience in the Indian Administrative Service. Currently, he is serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of Jaipur City Transport Services Limited. He has previously held the positions of Chairman of Rajasthan Tax Board and Chairman and Managing Director of Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation. Ajitabh has worked in various sectors such as water, energy, mining, finance, and has served as a District Collector in 5 different districts. He often writes for various newspapers on issues related to water, energy and sustainability. He holds a BTech degree in Civil Engineering from IIT Delhi and has been felicitated for his contributions to public service by the Hon’ble President of India (2012), the Hon’ble Vice President of India (2003), the Chief Minister of Rajasthan (2013), and the Union Minister of Water Resources (2015). Under his current role as the chairman and managing director of the Jaipur City Transport Services Limited, he is working on developing an Electric Mobility Ecosystem for public transport for Jaipur city.

Ajay Kumar (born 2 October 1962) is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, of the batch of 1985. He served as the Defence Secretary of India. He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the University of Minnesota and was awarded separate two fellowships by the University of Minnesota. Ajay Kumar is known for his in depth knowledge for technology and was instrumental in path breaking policy formations such as electronics manufacturing, mobile manufacturing and also played decision making role in Govt of India’s flagship Digital India program. He is accredited to scale up defense exports to approximately 13,000 crores with the introduction of modern warfare capabilities and disruptive technologies and innovations. He established the iDEX initiative to help create a conducive and cost-effective defense start-up ecosystem that fosters innovation and technology development. He was in charge of Project 75I, which is developing next-generation submarines and fighters and laying the groundwork for a future marine and aerospace industrial ecosystem in India. Kumar has a Bachelor of Technology in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, has a master's degree in development economics from the University of Minnesota, and has a PhD degree in business administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In 2019, he was felicitated as a distinguished alumnus by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur for his professional excellence and nation-building efforts Kumar has served in various posts in both the Government of India and the Government of Kerala, such as Principal Secretary (Information Technology), managing director of the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation, Secretary (Industries), managing director of the Kerala State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank, general manager in the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and as the district magistrate and collector of the Palghat (now Palakkad) district in the Kerala government; and as the Defence Production Secretary, additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, joint secretary in the Department of Information Technology of the now-erstwhile Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, director in the Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology and as a deputy secretary in the Department of Home of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Indian government. Ajay kumar spent three decade of his service with the Kerala state government where he headed three different departments. Kumar also served as a private secretary to a minister in the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (now Ministry of New and Renewable Energy). Principal Secretary He was Principal Secretary to Government of Kerala, Information Technology Department from October 2007 to December 2010. Joint Secretary Kumar held the post of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and additional charge of Director General at National Informatics Centre from 2010 to 2014. Additional Secretary He was Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology during 2015 - 2019 Defence Production Secretary Kumar was appointed as the Defence Production Secretary by the prime minister-headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in November 2017, he assumed office on 1 December 2017. He served as Defence Production Secretary till 23 August 2019 and was succeeded by Subhash Chandra, an IAS officer of Karnataka cadre (1986 batch).

Ms. Richa Bansal, in the truest sense embodies the following – belief, passion and perseverance! In a career spanning over 20 years, Ms. Bansal has followed these mantras to the hilt – culminating in a 5-year journey at Saarathee; with the belief of accelerating this transformation for many years to come. She is a passionate leader with her heart in the right place and armed with an immense ability for hard work and her belief in equity and equality for all people. Ms. Bansal has, over the last 20 years, donned many hats; first in media and advertising, followed by a long stint in brand communication, marketing and sales in India’s then bourgeoning telecom sector. Following her natural instinct to work in the space of social impact, Ms. Bansal joined CRY [Child Rights and You] in 2014 and was chiefly responsible for fund-raising to support CRY’s noble mission of enabling rights for India’s children. Post the birth of her daughter in 2015, Richa took a sabbatical for a year; and while pondering over the course of how she could contribute in significantly more measure to the social impact – happened across her eureka moment. In her own words, “A few years ago, I chanced upon an opportunity to engage with people who could not see… and because of my limited understanding in the area… I thought that there isn’t much I can expect from them… not being able to see is such a big handicap…Till these people turned my perception around… and for good. This was a group of highly passionate and motivated persons with visual impairment who were hired as tele-sales executives to drive sales targets for Vodafone; and a pilot of 3 months turned out to be a sustainable business proposition. My learning therefore was, that skills required to do a job can be tailored to suit a person with disabilities…So what if he can’t see - he can talk, analyse, counsel, and lead, and do a whole lot more than any typical person can imagine… This insight and understanding then, became my purpose… This then became what we now call Saarathee.” Armed with an aim to develop, nurture and transform equity for Persons with Disabilities, Ms. Bansal founded Saarathee with the vision to firstly; display the positive business outcomes that employing PwDs enables; and further on to transform, Persons with Disabilities into Professionals with Disabilities by converging EdTech, Hiring and Change management such that corporates can truly unleash the potential of PwD. Ms. Bansal is a child of the hills and is now also a resident in her hometown of Dehradun, Uttarakhand; and is an alumni of IP College, Delhi for her graduation and then at Amity College for her Masters in Advertising and Communications. Across her professional journey, Ms. Bansal has converged her energy and beliefs to today, drive positive and sustainable impact on transforming the PwD and Corporate ecosystem. This is born from her innate understanding and hands-on experience in working with Corporates and PwDs over many years.

Shivani is an expert trainer, certified coach and a consultant, based in Singapore. Her expertise in the English language communication helps clients transform their language skills for academic and professional success. Shivani’s style is collaborative and she takes a holistic approach. She is skilled at going from big picture to small detail which helps her in transforming perspectives of her clients. She completed CELTA from the University of Cambridge and worked with the British Council as The Corporate Trainer She is an avid learner and is currently pursuing a Masters in Education from the University of Nottingham.  Business English trainer and Executive Coach Shivani specializes in coaching individuals whose native language is not English. She has prepared professionals for Business communication, investor pitches, sales presentations and business negotiations. Shivani’s style is collaborative and she takes a holistic approach, coaching the system as well as the individual. Corporate Trainer  While working with the British Council, Shivani conducted many professional, business, and academic English training programs to individuals and groups from various management ranks, business sectors, and English levels.  ​ Course Designer For corporate clients, Shivani has custom-designed language training courses and workshops. These include Effective Presentation Skills, Powerful Business Writing, International English, English for Bank Managers and Communication Skills.   Soft-Skills Trainer Shivani has been conducting soft skills trainings to help participants prepare for the job market and later work successfully with overseas clients, customers, and colleagues. ​ IELTS Trainer Shivani has done Advanced Certification in Teaching IELTS and has been conducting online and face to face IELTS training in India and Singapore.​

Dr. Atul Patil works as Director at School of Holistic Development; Head, School of Humanities, MIT Art, Design and Technology University, Pune. He is also the Centre Exams Manager at the Centre for Cambridge at MIT ADT University. He is an honorary Vice-President of the Pune Chapter of English Language Teachers’ Association of India (ELT@l). Earlier, he worked at the Government College of Engineering Pune (COEP) for seven years and at Symbiosis International University at its English Language Teaching Institute of Symbiosis (ELTIS) for six years. He also worked in industry for a US-based company called Affinity Express as a Validator (Quality Control Department); at the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Chair, Savitribai Phule Pune University and for the Penn-in-India study abroad programme of the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Dr. Patil is a Certified Trainer and Speaking Examiner for the Cambridge English Language Assessment, part of the University of Cambridge, UK. He has qualified at the Business English Certificate (BEC) and Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT). He is an invited guest faculty at YASHADA, Pune. He is also a YouTuber and runs a channel called ‘Dr. Atul Patil’ for students and teachers. He holds B.A.; M.A. in English; LL.B. and a Ph.D. in English from Symbiosis International University on ‘Developing Computer-based Activities for the Teaching and Testing of Listening and Speaking Skills. Dr. Patil is a Member on the Board of Studies for three reputed organisations. He is a recipient of several national and international awards including the first Rising Star Award by Symbiosis; the Best Global Educator Award; Global Peace Ambassador; Pride of India Award; The Leadership Award; Atlantian Citizenship Award; Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan International Award of Honour (Lifetime Achievement Award); Best Global Director Award by IIU 2022; and International Educational Ambassador Award 2022 by Bestow Edutrex International. He is a Member on the panel of experts for five international journals and a prestigious member on the Editorial Board of the International Research Journal of India. He is a member of the CSR Sub-committee of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Pune. He has been associated with ISEL, ELT Weekly, WizlIQ and AsiaCALL, ELTAI and other organisations. He has conducted several workshops for students, teachers and working professionals from the globe. He has presented research papers at national and international conferences and has taught Indian as well as international students from more than 40 countries. Dr. Patil has been nominated as International Goodwill Ambassador for Abudance Consulting Academy, Republic of Benin and International Advisory Board Member, Pattola Palallo Foundation, Indonesia. He received a certificate of Doctor Honoris Causa for his impactful teaching from the Executive Board of Abduncance Consulting Academy, He received three scholarships from Regional English Language Office, U.S. Embassy. As an author, he has four books to his credit and is one of the sought-after editors having edited more than 500 research papers, articles and around twenty Ph.D. theses. His areas of interest include e-learning, computer-assisted language learning (CALL), activity-based teaching, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), teacher training and materials production.

Ms. Mohita Datta is a Communication Coach, an author, a speaker, and a corporate consultant. As a qualified and certified coach, she has helped countless people transform their professional lives via her workshops, writings, and seminars. Her best-seller book, "15 Mantras for Effective Communication" is a step-by-step guide to hone your communication skills.

Ms. Erica Lima as executive advisor for C-Level professionals for over 12 years, she realized that the power in our career directly corresponds to our ability to make and maintain influence. And building influence requires a strong and compelling personal brand. And that´s where she come in! Her mission is to help 4-figure professionals to build a strong personal brand that makes you non-negotiable so that you will be seeing and understood. How do she do that? By transforming your LinkedIn on a lead magnet, and designing the best strategies that will attract your audience and allow you to do business without spending one dime on ads. People connect with people. So, dare to be yourself. That´s your most powerful personal brand.

In this Episode we are going to discuss on topic : How deeper the COVID-19 drilled Italy ? with Daniel Persico ,Lawyer ,Naples Italy