On account of his passion for Science and mathematics, he decided to pursue a B. Tech degree at IIT Indore. Interacting with people who are as driven— sometimes more – and certainly as smart as you are, provides you with the type of learning no amount of formal education can. Academics at IIT Indore offered him the chance to hone his analytical skills, and the projects gave him an insight into the type of extensive research required to come up with something innovative and understand the clinical nature of work expected.

During IIT, he developed basic design & engineering and a prototype of “Smart Mobile Manipulator”, which finds application in India’s “Smart City project” for automated cleaning of the cities. The prototype algorithm used image processing to gauge the distance of the waste material, followed by safe disposal at the nearest site. The project was built with the intent to use IoT in the subsequent stages and is currently under further iterations at IIT Indore.

Being part of Student Gymkhana, IIT Indore (2016-17) taught him how to shoulder huge responsibility, especially when you are working for your peers.

With a rich cross-functional experience of around 4 years, he has worked with the trading desks of investment banks at Evalueserve, where his team was awarded the “Best Team Award”. He automated manual index and financial strategy computations, reducing the process time by 40% and improving manpower productivity.

During his internship at Dunzo, he has worked on investor pitchbooks, business plans for fundraising, and assisting prospective VC firms with due diligence.

He has been associated with Vedanta Resources for around 3 years now working with various internal and external stakeholders on projects spanning digitalization and finance. He has worked on the annual impairment exercise of Cairn Oil & Gas unlocking a value potential of ~$200 mn in FY22. He holds good experience in financial modeling, business valuation, and project valuations to assess the viability & associated sensitivities. He is currently working with the Vice Chairman of Vedanta to set up a new business group, Runaya with ESG as its major pillar. He is currently assisting Runaya with fundraising, M&A, governance structure, and business analysis of the operational units.

The operational sustainability business of Runaya is based in Jharsuguda and focused on the safe disposal of aluminum dross post-metal recovery. Runaya also produces safe ground mining support solutions in the Bhilwara plant. He has worked on the implementation of the renewable power project, reducing the environmental impact and dependence on grid power.

His current projects in Runaya comprise the establishment of two exclusive large-scale production facilities. Each of these facilities will be first-of-its kind in India and is in line with the “Make in India” vision of our Prime Minister. He is working with Runaya senior management on collaboration with potential technology partners/consultants.

Having always been driven by a passion for sustainability and unconventional technology, he envisages to contribute to India’s development to the best of his knowledge and capacity.

-VIVEK KHOKHAR