Bio

Dr Pushpendra Rai has more than four decades of professional experience, as a national and international civil servant/diplomat working in diverse areas like rural and economic development; energy management; financial planning and banking; innovation and intellectual property rights; treaty negotiations; and international cooperation. As a member of the Indian Administrative Service, apart from district and state administration, Dr Rai formulated strategies for the import of crude oil and petroleum products, participating in several international trade negotiations; managed the Oil Economy Budget; and prepared market related pricing strategies. In another assignment, he was the National Project Director for two UNDP modernization projects; Secretary- General of the Quality Council of India; Member-Secretary of the National IP Expert; Member-Secretary, Foreign Investment Promotion Council, and Executive Director of the National Renewal Fund. He was also the country’s lead negotiator at the WTO and WIPO. He spent almost two decades with the United Nations (WIPO) based at Geneva (Director at headquarters) and Singapore (Asia-Pacific Head), handling diverse responsibilities in an Organization with 193 Member countries. He negotiated and managed the historic Development Agenda process; developed partnerships with reputable national and regional institutions; and led negotiations with Member States, intergovernmental organizations and institutions of excellence for concluding cooperation programs, strategic plans and framework agreements. Dr Rai represented WIPO at scores of senior-level international, regional and national meetings. Dr Rai is/has been on the board/management committees of ICI (India), NID, APO (Tokyo), MDS, ATRIP, Secretary, Committee for Development and IP (UN), CIPP, Koan Advisory; SBI (chairing various board committees); and advises the ASEAN Secretariat and Indonesia on IP issues. Dr. Rai has a master’s degree in Economics from Lucknow; another master’s from Harvard University; and a PhD from IIT, Delhi. He has lectured globally in more than 40 countries to academia, chambers of commerce, policy makers, officials, judges, students, legislators and diplomats.