Sujeet Kumar (politician)

This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. Please help by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view. (July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Sujeet Kumar (Odia:ସୁଜୀତ କୁମାର) is an Indian politician of the Biju Janata Dal party and a Member of Parliament (MP),^[1] representing Odisha in the Rajya Sabha.^[2][3][4][5] He earlier served at senior policy planning positions with Government of Odisha - as the Advisor, in the rank of Chief Secretary, to the Special Development Council (SDC) of the Government of Odisha and Special Secretary of the Odisha State Planning Board. He is a trained engineer, lawyer and a policy maker.

Early life[]

Kumar hails from Bhawanipatna from Kalahandi district. He completed his primary education in native district. Later he completed his engineering at VSS University of Technology (formerly University College of Engineering).

Education and Career[]

Sujeet Kumar completed Bachelor of Engineering (BE) from Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (formerly UCE Burla) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Sambalpur University. He started his career as a software engineer with Infosys Technologies Ltd. Later, he shifted to the development sector and worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); managing its ‘ICT for Development’ Project in Odisha, working to bring digital technology to the remote regions of the state.

He received the prestigious inaugural Skoll Scholarship for Social Entrepreneurship to study MBA at Saïd Business School, Oxford University. After completing his Oxford MBA, he joined the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Geneva as a Global Leadership Fellow (GLF). Kumar left the WEF to study for a mid-career Master in Public Administration (MPA) at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

He relocated to India in 2011 and founded a social enterprise, Kalinga Kusum Foundation, and a business/legal consulting firm LexMantra LLP. Currently, he serves as an advisor/ mentor in these two entities, providing them with strategic direction and guidance.

Sujeet Kumar has unique multi-disciplinary experiences, in the corporate, government and development sectors (international, national and grass-roots). He has traveled widely and spoken in numerous conferences and forums in India and abroad. He received the prestigious Youth Inspiration Award of 2017 for his innovative work as a policymaker, legal entrepreneur and for his cutting-edge work at the interface of law, technology, development, and public policy.

On 22 December 2021, Sujeet Kumar was unanimously appointed as the convenor of All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet.

Contributions[]

SDC Cup 2020[]

Sujeet Kumar spearheaded the Special Development Council Cup (SDC Cup 2020) to bring together indigenous youth of Odisha to play competitive football at the district and state levels. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia attended the final match of the tournament, played at the historic Barabati Stadium. This unique football championship, organised with technical assistance and support of Football Association of Odisha (FAO) and recognised by All India Football Federation (AIFF), involved over 10,000 tribal youth in men and women categories, in the nine tribal districts of Odisha.

Kalahandi Dialogue[]

The profusely successful Kalahandi Dialogue (http://www.kalahandidialogue.org/), organised at Kalahandi in Sept 2018, was designed as a collaborative platform for engaging all the stakeholders (global leaders, policymakers, development practitioners, entrepreneurs & social entrepreneurs, elected representatives, public intellectuals and the local citizens of Kalahandi) in the development discourse and action.

Legislative Engagement[]

He led a legislative engagement and advocacy initiative at Kalinga Kusum, in partnership with UNICEF, to orient Odisha Legislative Assembly members (MLAs), in the areas of budgeting, child rights, and ease of doing business.

Child Friendly Constituency (CFC)[]

Sujeet Kumar has taken leadership in conceptualizing and driving an innovative idea-the Child-Friendly Constituency (CFC). He, in collaboration with Kalinga Kusum Foundation & UNICEF, has been pro-active in promoting the idea of child-friendly constituencies across the state. Assisted by the then local MLA, Mr. Anubhav Patnaik, the first-ever CFC project in India has been implemented in the Khandapada Assembly Constituency of Nayagarh district of Odisha, earning rare acclaim by UNICEF.

Promoting Start-ups[]

Kumar has been at the forefront in the state, helping foster entrepreneurial spirit amongst the youth, especially women, and encouraging them to pursue entrepreneurship. To promote a start-up culture and ecosystem in Odisha, he continues to engage, train and mentor students and entrepreneurs in the areas of Ideation, Business Strategy, Start-up Laws & Entrepreneurial Finance. He has invested in, and sits on the Board of, a host of start-ups having roots in Odisha; and has assisted over a dozen start-ups raise angel, seed and multi-series VC funding.

Awards, Recognition and Honorary positions[]

• Odisha Youth Inspiration Award 2017, Odisha Diary Foundation ^[6]
• Mason Scholar and Hauser Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, 2010–11
• Asia Pacific Leadership Fellow (APLP) at East West Centre, Hawaii, 2009-10 ^[7]
• Chair of Young Indians (Yi), Bhubaneswar Chapter 2012-13 ^[8]
• Global Leadership Fellow, One of twenty fellows selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Switzerland from about 3000 odd applicants, 2006 ^[9][10]
• Adjunct Faculty, Sri Sri University (SSU) & Advisor, SSU Global Centre for Indigenous Study ^[11]

References[]