Organisation
Testimonial
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" AGRASRI is a unique Academy in the field of grassroots studies and governance, which provides a bridge between the elected representatives "
DR. MANMOHAN SINGH
Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Former Prime Minister of India, New Delhi, 27 July, 2016.
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" I am glad that the Inaugural issue of The Grassroots Governance Journal is doing well in all respects. "
SHRI INDER KUMAR GUJRAL
Former Prime Minister of India, New Delhi,
October 21, 2003.
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" I hope that The Grassroots Governance Journal would go a long way so as to create an intellectual environment which would develop grassroots democratic institutions in contemporary rural India. "
SHRI RABI RAY
Former Speaker of Lok Sabha, New Delhi, October 23, 2003
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" I have gone through with interest the CV and Progress Report of AGRASRI and am appreciative of your efforts. "
SHRI T.N. CHATURVEDI
H.E., the then Governor of Karnataka and Chairman, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, March 12, 2007.
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" All the best for your future activities. Excellent Rajiv Gandhi Birthday function. Wish you all success. "
SHRI RAMESHWAR THAKUR
H.E., the then Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, August 20, 2006.
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" I am very happy to be here and attend the function of presentation of awards. They are doing great job. "
SHRI R. L. BHATIA
H.E., the then Governor of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, August 20, 2007.
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" I compliment the initiatives of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India, in association with the Rajiv Rural Development Foundation, "
SHRI SOMNATH CHATTERJEE
Hon’ble the then Speaker of Lok Sabha, New Delhi,
August 16, 2004.
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" I have known Dr. Sundar Ram since the establishment of the Academy and have been deeply impressed by the way in which "
SHRI MANI SHANKAR AIYAR
Hon’ble the then Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs & Sports and Development of North-East Region
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" I have known Dr. D. Sundar Ram, Founder and Director of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India (AGRASRI) since the last several years. "
PROF. M.S. SWAMINATHAN
Founder Chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, March 9, 2007.
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" It was a great privilege to receive this great honour bestowed by this great Academy. The movement for ‘decentralised governance’ that has been landed is bound to succeed. "
DR. R. A. MASHELKAR
CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, August 20, 2007.
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" It was a great pleasure to participate in the convention organised by AGRASRI "
DR. C. RANGARAJAN
The then Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister of India, New Delhi, August 20, 2008.
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" As the Chief Organiser of Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Lecture and Rajiv Gandhi National Awards programmes every year, "
DR. SUBHASH C. KASHYAP
Former Secretary-General of Lok Sabha,
New Delhi, February 25, 2009
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" I feel happy that this country’s democracy needs the kind of work AGRASRI is undertaking.. "
SHRI JUSTICE V.R. KRISHNA IYER
Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi,
February 26, 2009.
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" It is a matter of great satisfaction that the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India has an outstanding record of training, "
SHRI SALMAN KHURSHID
Hon’ble the then Union Minister for Law and Justice,
Govt. of India, New Delhi, 2 February, 2012
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" Organisations like AGRASRI can play a truly important role in supplementing governmental "
DR. N.N. VOHRA
His Excellency, the then Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Jammu, 15 February, 2012.
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" I enjoyed the award function and thankful to Rajiv Gandhi Rural Development Foundation and Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India at Tirupati for the nice gesture. "
DR.G. MADHAVAN NAIR
The then Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, Bangalore, August 20, 2009
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" Very good and dedicating work is being carried on by the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India. "
DR.BAL RAM JAKHAR
Former Speaker of Lok Sabha, Former Governor, Former Union Agriculture Minister, New Delhi, 20 August, 2012
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" I appreciate the work done by the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India "
PROF. SUKHADEO K. THORAT
The then Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research and Former Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi, 20 August, 2014.
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" It is a privilege to be here in the midst of doers at the grassroots level. "
DR. RAJENDRA KUMAR PACHAURI
Noble Laureate in Peace and World renowned Environmentalist, New Delhi, 20 August, 2015.
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" AGRASRI is unique organisation with noble objectives and innovative approach. The approach of AGRASRI is commendable. "
PROF. V. R. PANCHAMUKHI
Former Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi, 20 August, 2015
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" The Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India is an autonomous, independent and non-political organisation and "
DR. HARSH VARDHAN
Hon’ble Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, New Delhi, 8 August, 2016.
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Announcements
Inviting Nominations for the Rajiv Gandhi National Awards-2020
Inviting Nominations for the Chittoor District Centenary Awards-2020.
Activities
Contact Us
DR. D. SUNDAR RAM
Founder and Director
Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India (AGRASRI)
# Plot No.11, Sri Venkata Sai Nilayam
Thummalagunta, S.V. University P.O.
Tirupati-517502, Andhra Pradesh. India
Mobile: +91-6302947338, +91-9441245085
E.mail: drsundarram@gmail.com | agrasridirector@gmail.com
Website: www.agrasri.org.in
DISTINGUISHED FELLOWS
The following senior policy makers, administrators and scholars have been associated with the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India, as Distinguished Fellows, for the Years 2021-2023:
PROF. SUKHADEO K. THORATFormer Chairman, UGC and ICSSR, Govt. of India
Prof. Sukhadeo K. Thorat is the Former Chairman, University Grants Commission of India; Indian Council of Social Science Research, Govt. of India, New Delhi. As Chairman of the University Grants Commission, he assisted the Union Government in higher education, particularly the UPA and the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, in their initiatives to take the higher education ahead. He has done extensive research, published about 20 books and more than 100 research papers published in national and international journals. He has worked on more than 25 research projects and has presented numerous papers at national and international seminars and conferences. He has been the President of the Indian Economic Association and Professor Emeritus in Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He received the Padma Shree award from the President of India in 2008.
Prof. Sukhadeo K. Thorat is the Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India from 2017 onwards.
Former Chairman, Karnataka State Legislative Council
Prof. B.K. Chandrasekhar is Former Chairman, Karnataka State Legislative Council and Minister for Primay and Secondary Education and Information Technology & Publicity, Govt. of Karnataka, Bengaluru. He is actively participated in the National Debate on the 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill and assisted in the drafting of Karnataka Zilla Parishad Act. He obtained LLM from Leeds University and D. Phil degree from the Oxford University and he worked in Queen’s University of North Ireland and Researcher in Queens Elizabeth House, Oxford University, besides as UGC Professor in the National Law School of India, Bengaluru. He has also worked as Faculty in International Management and Workers Training Programmed held in Geneva. He has published immensely on Panchayati Raj issues and Grassroots democracy. He has played a leading role in formulation and drafting the Common Minimum Programme and Right to Information Act, during the UPA regime.
Prof. B.K. Chandrasekhar is the Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India from 2017 onwards.
Former Chief Information Commissioner (RTI), Govt. of India
Dr. Anugraha Narayan Tiwari, IAS (Retd.) is the Former Chief Information Commissioner (RTI), and Secretary, Ministry of Urban Employment & Poverty Alleviation; and Department of Personal and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, New Delhi. Dr. Tiwari has served as Secretary to former Vice President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and former Governor of Andhra Pradesh Shri Krishan Kant. He was also the Ford Foundation Fellow at Harvard University in 1993 -1994. In one of the path-breaking decisions, Dr. Tiwari brought the Income Tax returns of Political Parties under public scrutiny. He is associating with many reputed organisations and institutions at the national and international level. He visited many countries across the globe on various assignments. He delivered many lectures at the reputed national and international organisations as invited Speaker. He is the President of the Institute for the Narcotics Studies and Analysis, New Delhi.
Dr. A.N. Tiwari is the Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India from 2017 onwards.
Former Director-General of NIRDPR, Govt. of India
Dr. W.R. Reddy, IAS (Retd.) is the Former Director-General of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Govt. of India. He has been the Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Kerala; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India. During his tenure as Director-General of NIRDPR, Dr. W.R. Reddy has brought many commendable reforms and innovations and positioned it to an institution of excellence. He has created huge Corpus by almost adding about Rs. 100 crores to the Corpus Fund of NIRDPR during his regime and taken the Institution towards financial autonomy to meet the needs of next 50 years and commenced their execution. In his 34 years of service, Dr. Reddy has made a significant contributions in the areas of environment protection/ development, carbon foot print reduction, training in Climate resilient livelihood opportunities, technologies etc,. He has formulated and executed massive capacity development for scientific Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) across the country. Dr. Reddy has visited many countries across the globe on various government delegations and assignments.
Dr. W.R. Reddy is the Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India from 2021 onwards.
Former Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University
Prof. M. Aslam is the Former Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. Prof. Aslam has served IGNOU as Director, School of Continuing Education and Director, National Centre for Innovations in Distance Education. He was Professor of Rural Development, IGNOU. He earlier served as Founder Director (Trg) at the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia & Pacific (CIRDAP), Dhaka, Bangladesh for 8 Years. He was the Fellow of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. Prof. Aslam has rich and varied experience both at the national and international levels in University Administration; Distance & Continuing Education; ICT, Communication and Extension; Multi-Media in Distance Education; Training Methodology; Training Skills; and Transactional Analysis from his 39 Years career in the field, out of which he spent about 25 Years as a Professor/Director at IGNOU and about 8 Years on an international assignment. He is internationally known trainer and a teacher. He has authored a number books, research papers, and number of national and international reports. Prof. Aslam is the President of the All India Holistic Educational Movement, New Delhi.
Prof. M. Aslam is the Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India from 2017 onwards.
Founder and President, Participatory Research in Asia
Dr. Rajesh Tandon is Founder and President of the Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), since 1982. He has nearly four decades of work in articulating, elaborating and facilitating philosophical and methodological issues of participatory research and popular participation in India, South Asia and across the world. He has written extensively on participatory research and participatory development. Dr. Rajesh Tandon was appointed as a Member of the Sub-Committee constituted by the Planning Commission of India to make recommendations on strengthening community engagement in higher education for the 12th Plan. He has served in an advisory capacity on numerous other expert groups of several ministries of central and state governments. For his distinguished work on Gender Issues, the Government of India honoured Dr. Rajesh Tandon with the Prestigious Award in Social Justice in March, 2007. He is the Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, 2012-2016, renewed for second term 2016-2020. He has been Member, Planning Commission's Working Group in the involvement of Voluntary Organisations in the Implementation of Rural Development Programmes and Technology Transfer to Rural Areas.
Dr. Rajesh Tandon is the Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India from 2021 onwards.