New Delhi: Dr Akhilesh Gupta, Senior Adviser at the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has assumed the additional charge of Secretary, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) after Dr Sandeep Verma relinquished charges as Secretary SERB on completing his tenure on October 7.

Dr Gupta currently heads the Policy Coordination and Programme Management Division (PCPM) division and is the overall in charge of five National Missions at DST ---National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical System, National Mission on Quantum Technology and Applications, National Supercomputing Mission, National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change and National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem.

A distinguished atmospheric scientist, Dr Gupta has to his credit over 200 research articles in national and international journals as well as proceedings. He is editor of five books, author of over 350 articles and nearly 1000 reports. He is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (FNAE), Indian Meteorological Society (FIMS) and Association of Agro-meteorologists (FAAM).

Some of the key research areas of interest to Dr Gupta include tropical cyclone prediction, monsoon meteorology, location specific weather prediction, weather and climate modelling, STI policy areas like open science, equity and inclusion, STI financing, system interconnectedness and so on. Dr Gupta has been one of the authors of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and head of the secretariat which drafted India’s new science, technology and innovation policy, that is under finalization. /BI/