Press Release

Dr. Yashodhan Agalgaonkar was welcomed by a unanimous vote to become the fifth Member of the Board of Directors of the International Commission for Human Rights and Religious Freedom. This addition comes in the wake of the Prof. Ved P Nanda's demise at the turn of the new year, whose illustrious career and contribution has been memorialized with the Commission's Ved P Nanda Memorial Fellowship Program in Human Rights. Dr. Agalgaonkar's experience and standing is widely appreciated and will aid the Commission in continuing its work.

Dr. Agalgaonkar is a scientist by profession and a senior researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at Greater Denver in the United States. Educated in India, Sweden and finally completing his Ph.D. and post-doctoral research at the Imperial College, London, he is already well published and has been a featured speaker at several international conferences, having also held professional positions in Australia, Germany and India.

Dr. Agolgaonkar has worked on the issue of human rights in the past and has served as a visiting faculty supervisor for our Ved Nanda Fellowship Training program. In particular, Yashodhan participates in a voluntary capacity in the field of Children's rights. His interests include educational rights for poor children across the world. He has participated in several National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, India conferences as a pro bono work for altruistic endeavors. He also has an academic interest in innovative social programs to improve human development.  He is a proponent of sustainable development goals and enjoys studying policy frameworks for achieving these goals, specifically for developing countries.