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N R Krishnan
Board of director

N. R. Krishnan

IAS (Retd.)
Director, Cognizant Foundation

Mr. N. R. Krishnan was a member of the Indian Administrative Service and a Secretary to the Government of India in the ministries of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Environment, Forest and Climate Change. A specialist in energy policy and sustainable development matters, Mr. Krishnan was associated with framing government policy and introduction of legislation on matters related to these subject areas.

At the international level, he has led Indian delegations to UN conferences, bilateral exchanges, and negotiations with multilateral financial institutions. He was Chairman of UN Intergovernmental Groups on the Montreal Protocol for the protection of the Ozone layer and forest conservation.

He has served on the Boards of financial institutions (ICICI, IFCI), public enterprises in the energy sector, and two premium Institutes of Management (IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore). Mr. Krishnan was instrumental in introducing Environmental Law studies at the National Law School University in Bengaluru and Environmental Economics at the Madras School of Economics in Chennai.

Holder of a Master’s Degree in Chemistry from the University of Delhi, Mr. Krishnan was a Lecturer at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, a Visiting Fellow at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford, and an ILO Fellow at the Harvard Institute of International Development. He contributes articles to national newspapers on environment-related topics, particularly on climate negotiations, and reviews books. His book ‘A GREEN ECONOMY – INDIA’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’ was released in December 2022.