Abhay Karandikar

Abhay Karandikar (born 15 June 1965) is an Indian educator, engineer, innovator, and administrator best known for his work in the telecommunication sector in India.^[1] Currently, he is serving as the Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India from 1 October 2023 onwards.^[2] Previously, he served as the Director of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur from 1 April 2018 to 30 September 2023. Prior to that, Karandikar held a number of positions, including Dean (Faculty Affairs), Head of the Department of the Electrical Engineering, and Institute Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He was one of the founding members of Telecom Standards Development Society of India and appointed as its first Vice Chairman from 2014 to 2016,^[3] and then was appointed its Chairman from 2016 to 2018.^[4] Karandikar contributed to conceptualization and establishment of new technical standards work programmes for TSDSI.^[5] In 2016, he was awarded with IEEE SA's Standards Medallion for his work to Indian Technology, Policy and Standardization with IEEE guidelines.^[6]

He was chairman of the committee to give recommendations to Government of India on size, scope and quantum of spectrum for experimental spectrum license for 5G.^[7][8][9] Under his leadership, the committee streamlined the experimental license acquisition process, enhancing the ease of doing business through the availability of experimental licenses. He chaired the 5G Spectrum Policy Task Force as part of the 5G High-Level Forum, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, which developed spectrum policy guidelines for 5G deployment in India. He also chaired the committee that provided recommendations on the size, scope, and quantum of spectrum for experimental spectrum licenses for 5G and other technology trials. As the Chairman of the 6G Spectrum Policy Task Force, he has articulated the 6G vision for India.