About Us

The word ‘Prayas’ means ‘focused effort’. Prayas is a non-profit organisation based in Pune, India. Members of Prayas are professionals working to protect and promote the public interest in general, and interests of the disadvantaged sections of the society, in particular. 

Prayas (Energy Group), or PEG, has been active in furthering public-interest in the energy sector through analysis-based policy and regulatory engagement from around 1990. During this period, it has made significant contributions to the Indian energy sector and has established its credibility among the various actors in the sector through its comprehensive and analytically sound approach to issues. PEG uses diverse tools (research, developing innovative policy proposals, data and knowledge sharing activities, modelling, research publications etc.) and works with various stakeholders such as policy-makers and regulators, citizens’ groups, researchers, think-tanks and academic institutions.

PEG is characterized by a compact group of high quality professionals with social commitment and strong ethical values working in an informal, non-hierarchical networked structure. As an organization, PEG has an open, democratic style of functioning with most key decisions taken in a collective fashion. PEG is an equal opportunity organization and does not discriminate based on gender, religion, caste, age or any other basis.

Our Vision and Approach

The vision or dream of PEG is that energy becomes a tool for sustainable and equitable development for all citizens. To realize this vision, PEG works on a Public Interest Paradigm of Energy for Development. Much of the conventional energy sector discourse focuses on financial viability and economic growth while neglecting institutions, equity and sustainability. This situation is further exacerbated by the distortions caused by the influence of powerful vested interests and neglect of inter-sectoral linkages.

In this context, PEG works to protect and promote public interest in the energy sector. This implies focusing on the interests of the disadvantaged sections and the long-term social and environmental interests of society. It also involves taking an integrated and comprehensive view of the sector including its linkages with related sectors such as water and environment. Working on this paradigm places a balanced emphasis on economy, efficiency, equity and sustainability. It also gives due importance to democratization of decision making processes.

For substantive guidance and social accountability, PEG has established a Review and Advisory Committee (RAC) consisting of respected individuals from diverse fields including energy and related areas. The RAC’s role is to review appropriateness and effectiveness of PEG’s work in furthering public interest and to provide guidance for future plans. We are sustained by donations from individuals and research grants from charitable foundations. PEG consciously refrains from taking up commercial consultancy assignments or accepting funding from corporate houses etc. as it could compromise its independence or autonomy, or be seen as such.

Ashok Sreenivas
Group Coordinator, Prayas (Energy Group)

Ashok has been associated with Prayas since 2007. Over this period, he has worked in various areas relevant to energy policy such as oil-and-gas, transport, coal, climate change, energy security, energy access and energy modelling. He is currently interested in issues around energy transition and its implications for policy, institutions and equity. In particular, he focuses on phasing down coal in a manner consistent with India’s requirements while enabling those affected in this process to adopt other, fulfilling livelihoods. He is also interested in developing energy models to answer some interesting and relevant policy questions, and enhancing usage of non-polluting cooking fuels.

Shantanu Dixit
Member, Energy group

Shantanu is one of the founding members of Prayas (Energy Group). He was also the Coordinator of the Group from 2012 to 2021. Since 1992, as part of Prayas (Energy Group), he has worked on a range of power sector-related issues from techno-economic, legal, and broader public interest perspective. These research issues include power purchase agreements, renewable energy, agricultural electricity consumption, electricity tariff, subsidy, financial viability of the sector, electricity markets, restructuring, and regulation. He contributes to the development of the Indian energy sector and the protection of consumer interests through research and extensive policy, regulatory engagement in many states and at the National level. He has been part of many official committees formed by governments and regulatory commissions including the Expert Appraisal Committee for Thermal Power and Coal mining projects by MoEFCC, MoP Committee to Review National Electricity Policy (2015), Commission Advisory Committees of various states and CERC, and Agricultural Consumption Study Group formed by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (2019). He has authored several research reports, articles, regulatory & policy submissions, and opinion pieces. He is an Electrical Engineer and has an MBA from Pune University (PUMBA).

Sreekumar N
Member, Energy group

Sreekumar has been working in power sector in the areas of policy analysis, Information Technology applications and automation & control from 1984. He worked in the industry for 14 years, before joining Prayas in 2000. His focus is on electricity sector policy, planning and governance, with attention to ensuring affordable, quality, sustainable and safe electricity access to small consumers. Sreekumar is a member of some government committees and is associated with voluntary organisations which work on non-formal education, electricity safety and natural resource management. Sreekumar has a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT- Bombay (1984) and a Masters degree in Power Systems Engineering from IIT-Kharagpur (1988). He is a Senior Member of IEEE. His other interests include star-watching, enjoying open quiet spaces, learning with children, reading and re-reading fiction.

Ashwin Gambhir
Fellow

Ashwin coordinates the research work on renewable energy policy and regulation. He also works on electricity regulation, energy storage and energy/power sector modeling. He has a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a specialization in wind energy in 2005. His larger interest is in the social and environmental sustainability of energy systems and its interaction with society. He is an aspiring ultra-runner and hopes to start learning Hindustani classical music soon.

Srihari Dukkipati
Fellow

Srihari works on models which are used to inform policy, planning and analysis of the electricity/energy sectors, and on improving energy data management in India and has been on various government committees on the topic. Srihari has formal training in computer science and worked in embedded software development for several years before joining Prayas. Srihari has also worked on supplementing science and language teaching in government schools, and likes to spend time in nature, play with his daughter, listen to melody-based music, and contribute to animal rights.

Aditya Chunekar
Fellow

Aditya has been with Prayas since 2010. He works on understanding the factors driving India’s energy demand and exploring ways to meet it sustainably through improved energy efficiency and increased adoption of demand side management. His focus is on the residential, industrial, and buildings sectors. He has also worked on issues related to quality of supply, smart metering, and energy access. He is a mechanical engineer by training and has worked in the automobile industry and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) industry before joining Prayas. He loves reading and traveling.

Ann Josey
Fellow

Ann’s work concentrates on electricity sector policy and regulation at the national level and in various states. Her current efforts are focussed on the financial viability of distribution companies, rate and subsidy design, power procurement planning, development of electricity markets, rural electrification and energy transitions. She also is part of the team working on furthering access to energy sources with clean emission profiles for cooking. She has been with Prayas since 2011. Ann has a Bachelor degree in Economics from Stella Maris College (2009) and a Masters degree in Economics from Madras School of Economics (2011).

Shweta Kulkarni
Fellow

Shweta has been working in the areas of energy efficiency, access, smart metering and distributed renewable energy at Prayas. She has also worked extensively on the electricity supply quality and residential energy consumption remote monitoring initiatives of Prayas. Her interest areas also include climate change adaptation, urban development and transport.  Prior to Prayas she worked in watershed development and IT consulting. In her free time, she is busy trekking, bird watching, cooking or reading.

Abhiram Sahasrabudhe
Senior Research Associate

Abhiram works on Energy efficiency, Data analytics and visualization. At Prayas since 2016, he has worked on the electricity supply and consumption monitoring initiatives, and the Renewable energy data portal. He is trained in Botany, Geoinformatics at University of Pune, and Technology and development at CTARA, IIT-Bombay. Abhiram worked in development planning prior to joining Prayas. He enjoys woodwork and baking in his spare time.

Maria Chirayil
Senior Research Associate

Description: Maria works on regulatory and policy issues pertaining to the electricity and coal-thermal sectors. She is interested in the areas of fair energy transitions, effective policy implementation, and equitable electricity access. Outside of work, she can be found doodling, kickboxing, and volunteering.

Education: B. Tech (Electronics & Communication), MBCET 2014
M.Sc (Climate Change & Sustainability Studies), TISS 2017

Narendra (Naren) Pai
Senior Research Associate

Naren joined Prayas in 2019 and has been working on research related to transition towards modern cooking fuels. Naren also works on PEG's energy systems model Rumi/PIER. Prior to Prayas, Naren worked in the automotive product and process industry. In spare time, Naren likes to read, sing and attempt playing musical instruments.

Shivani Kokate
Research Associate

Shivani works on policy and regulatory aspects within the electricity sector, with a focus on issues of sales migration and DISCOMs’ financial health. She is keen on understanding energy transitions via the lens of equity; and is also particularly interested in understanding the role of institutions and participatory governance in effective policy making in India. She has a Master’s in Applied Economics from Centre for Development Studies (JNU), Thiruvananthapuram and a Bachelor’s in Economics & Statistics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. For her Master’s thesis, she examined the impact of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) on the LPG consumption of Indian households.   Outside of work, she can be found reading, art journaling, playing with her cat, and (like a typical Gen-Z) sustaining long distance friendships via snapchat streaks.

Aniruddha Ketkar
Senior Research Associate

Ani worked with various Engineering consultants for 30 years designing upstream oil & gas, chemical and petrochemical projects. That has motivated him to study the energy sector from a fresh perspective to make it more sustainable. He is exploring the renewables-led energy transition and its ramifications on the fossil fuels sector and cascading effects on public finance. He is also involved in the development of an open source energy model. He believes that access to energy should be fair, affordable and equitable and an active and well informed civil society is the key to policy initiatives serving the larger public good. He has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical from VJTI and a Master's in Thermal & Fluids Engg. from IIT-Bombay. He likes to read, trek and listen to Indian classical, semi-classical and film music in his spare time.

Saumendra Aggrawal
Research Associate

Saumendra is working on renewable energy policy and regulatory research and advocacy. Alongside, he is interested in electricity tariff process. He has a done M.Tech. in Renewable Energy Engineering and Management (TERI School of Advanced Studies, 2016) and a B.Tech. in Power System Engineering (University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, 2014)

Sonali Gokhale
Research Associate

Sonali works on issues pertaining to Renewable Energy (RE) and conventional energy finance. Prior to joining PEG, she has 13 years of work experience in credit risk management in corporate banking with a focus on infrastructure project finance. She is interested in the areas of risk measurement, risk sentient financial innovation and regulation of public financial institutions. Outside of work, she can be found writing or travelling.

Manasi Jog
Research Associate

Manasi joined Prayas (Energy Group) in early 2022. She mostly works on ETPI (Energy Transition Preparedness Initiative) project with focus on issues related to DISCOM finances, agricultural supply quality, regulatory governance and tariff design. Manasi is a curious and artistic soul with a zest for learning and passion for music and cinema. She has completed post graduate degrees in Economics, Indology and Bharatanatyam (Indian Classical Dance Form) and hosts a YouTube channel dedicated to experimental dance in her free time.

Sneha Mannur
Research Associate

Sneha is responsible for managing and maintaining data on the Renewable energy. She is working on Renewable Energy Data Portal. She is also interested in Energy System Modeling techniques. Prior to Prayas, she has 5-6 years of working experience across multiple domains. She has done B.E in Electronics and Telecommunication from VIIT College of Engineering. She has pursued Hindustani Classical Music since childhood. She also likes to read.

Varun Potty
Research Associate

Varun predominantly works on ETPI (Energy Transition Preparedness Initiative) with a specific focus on the coal-thermal sector while also branching out to Modelling efforts via GridPath. He is interested in the areas of Power System Modelling, Policy/Regulatory Issues, and Markets. Outside of work, he can be found Powerlifting, Cycling and Running. A die-hard Arsenal and Lewis Hamilton fan for life. 

Education: B. Tech (Electronics and Instrumentation), MIT - Manipal 2018-22

Jaykumar Joshi
Research Associate

Jay holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's in Energy Systems with a focus on solar energy. Currently, he works in the power sector modeling using the GridPath tool and data analysis. Prior to joining Prayas, Jay has worked with multiple think tanks in the power sector. In his free time, Jay enjoys reading, gaming, binge-watching movies or TV series, and cycling.

Faizan Faiz
Research Associate

Faizan joined Prayas in 2023 and has been working on Regulatory and policy aspects of the electricity sector particularly Transmission and Renewables. Before joining Prayas, he worked at the Centre for Energy Regulation, IIT Kanpur. He holds an M.Tech in Renewable Energy Engineering and B.Tech in Electrical and Renewable Energy Engineering. In his free time, Faizan likes playing cricket.

Aparna Joshi
Senior Associate

Aparna Joshi is a Senior Associate at Prayas (Energy Group). She has been working with Prayas as Senior Associate - Accounts since 2007. Her interests are Indian Classical Music and traveling. Though she has not traveled much ,she plans to do so in the future. She is a post graduate in commerce from University of Pune.
She has also completed Computer course and Japanese language course from C-Dac affiliated institute and University Pune respectively.

Shilpa Kelkar
Senior Associate

Shilpa works in the administration team and takes care of some functions of human resource management. She loves all forms of music - Hindustani classical, semi-classical and folk. She likes cycling and quilting as well. She has a Bachelor degree in Computer Technology.

Prasant Deshpande
Accountant

Prasant works in Accounts & Finance Department  from January 2011 as a Group Accountant PEG & PHG. His hobbies are playing and watching cricket, music, singing and cooking.

Kailas Kulkarni
Senior Officer - Administration

His responsibilities includes all the administration work related to Prayas’ events like workshops, roundtables etc., tour management, facilities at office and other administrative work. He has completed Master’s Degree in Commerce from Pune University and also Diploma in Taxation Laws and Diploma in Stores Management. He likes to play tabla and enjoys cycling.

Sharmila P. Ghodke
Officer

Work Area: Core data Management, Publication Dissemination

Description: Sharmila has been working at Prayas since about 7 years. She is responsible for generating and ensuring various contact lists that act as “backbone” for PEG publication dissemination, workshops and other events. She is responsible for tracking changes in State officials in order to ensure effective outreach. She is also partially involved in Newsletter work to produce statistical data analysis of PEG outreach. Prior to joining Prayas, Sharmila worked in a reputed hospital as a System Administrative Officer, where she was also part of ISO, DNB and other quality audit processes.
Sharmila is keenly interested to learn more about society, law, rights and equality. In her free time, she likes to paint, do paper crafts, read and is currently learning the flute.

Education: Bachelors in Commerce (BCom), Ness Wadia College, Pune University

Masters in Computer Management (MCM), Prin N.G.Naralkar Institute, Pune University

Ajit Pilane
Senior Admin Assistant

Ajit has been working at Prayas as a office assistant since 2006. He likes to read books on history and enjoys solitude. At home, he enjoys playing with his son. He has done his matriculation and is a wireman by training.

Sudhakar Kadam
Admin Assistant

Sudhakar has been working at Prayas since 2012. He likes to go to the gymnasium and is also a trainer at the gym. He also likes to paint houses in his spare time. He has done a certificate course in Gymnasium training after his matriculation.