BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd.

05/09/2026

On this Teachers’ Day, BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd. expresses its heartfelt gratitude to our distinguished Advisory Board members, mentors, and the teams providing us with incubation support.

Your experience illuminates our path. Your guidance helps us refine our ideas, learn from challenges, avoid preventable mistakes, and make thoughtful decisions as we work to transform research into meaningful real-world solutions.

Building a startup is a continuous learning journey, and we feel fortunate to be guided by individuals and institutions whose wisdom, encouragement, and constructive advice help us grow at every step.

To every teacher, mentor, advisor, and ecosystem enabler who shares knowledge and nurtures innovation—thank you for helping ideas find the right direction and purpose.

Happy Teachers’ Day! Dr. Rajat Subhra Chakraborty | Dr. Seema Bawa I Dr. Reza Arabi Belaghi | Dr. Ajit Kumar Verma | Dr. Rudrapatna K Shyamasundar | Mr. Pankaj Sinha | Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology

Explore the people and institutions guiding our journey:
https://banavatnest.com/en/aboutUs/ourSupportNetwork

Build with Purpose. Nurture to Impact.

Meet BanavatNest's founding directors — Dr. Sukhdev Singh and Dr. Sangita Roy — providing strategic leadership bridging academic excellence and industry innovation.

29/08/2026

As BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd. expands its operational and technological verticals, we recognize that sound financial management, regulatory compliance, and accountable governance are fundamental to building a sustainable organization. These are particularly important areas on which an early-stage startup must focus from the outset. We are therefore fortunate to have Mr. Pankaj Sinha join our Advisory Board and guide us in these critical domains.

Mr. Sinha currently serves as the Finance Officer at Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, a prestigious NAAC A++ accredited institution with more than 70 years of academic excellence. He holds a B. Com. (Honours) in Accountancy and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He brings approximately 25 years of post-qualification experience in financial management, accounting, auditing, taxation, budgeting, regulatory compliance, and institutional administration.

Before joining TIET, he held senior finance and accounting positions at several reputed educational and professional organizations. With his extensive experience and guidance, we look forward to further strengthening our financial governance, institutional processes, strategic planning, and long-term sustainability.

We warmly welcome Mr. Pankaj Sinha to the BanavatNest family and look forward to learning from his experience as we continue to build with purpose and nurture to impact.

12/08/2026

We recently had the privilege of introducing the distinguished members of the BanavatNest Advisory Board individually. We are now delighted to present our broader support network, comprising advisory guidance, incubation and mentorship, on our website.

Their collective expertise across academia, research, technology, industry and strategic development strengthens our efforts to transform innovative ideas into meaningful impact.

We are grateful to everyone supporting BanavatNest’s journey. Explore our support network:

https://banavatnest.com/en/aboutUs/ourSupportNetwork

Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology | Thapar Innovate
Dr. Rajat Subhra Chakraborty | Dr. Seema Bawa | Dr. Reza Arabi Belaghi | Dr. Ajit Kumar Verma | Dr. Rudrapatna Shyamasundar | Dr. Sukhdev Singh | Dr. Sangita Roy

Meet BanavatNest's founding directors — Dr. Sukhdev Singh and Dr. Sangita Roy — providing strategic leadership bridging academic excellence and industry innovation.

09/08/2026

BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd. is honored to welcome Dr. Ajit Kumar Verma to its Advisory Board.

Dr. Ajit Kumar Verma is a distinguished academic specializing in Reliability, Risk, and Safety Engineering. He currently serves as a Professor of Technical Safety at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Haugesund, Norway, where he has been a faculty member for over 14 years. Prior to this, he had a long and impactful career at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, serving on its faculty for nearly 27 years, including around 15 years as a Professor of Reliability Engineering and Senior Professor (HAG Scale) in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

Prof. Verma has held several prestigious international academic positions and has received numerous recognitions, including Lifetime Achievement Awards and other distinguished academic honors. An accomplished researcher and mentor, Prof. Verma has supervised and co-supervised more than 40 Ph.D. scholars and over 100 Master's theses across leading institutions worldwide.

He is the author and editor of numerous research articles and several books published by Springer, CRC Press, and Narosa. Prof. Verma has also played a significant leadership role in academic publishing. He previously served as Editor-in-Chief of leading Springer journals, including OPSEARCH, International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, and Life Cycle Reliability and Safety Engineering. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Eternal Wisdom and Contemporary Science. In addition, he has guest-edited several special issues for reputed international journals, including the IEEE Transactions on Reliability.

His contributions have been recognized globally, including through the commemorative volume Advances in RAMS Engineering (Springer, Switzerland, 2020), published in his honor. His former students hold distinguished positions in academia, industry, and research organizations worldwide. He is ranked among the top 0.05% of scholars worldwide in 2025 and among the top three scholars globally in Safety Engineering, based on lifetime contributions, according to the US-based ScholarGPS. His recent co-authored book, published by Springer, received the Highest Citation Award in 2026.

We are honoured to welcome Prof. Ajit Kumar Verma to the Advisory Board of BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd. We look forward to benefiting from his vast experience, strategic guidance, and global perspective as we continue to build research-driven and impactful innovations.

05/08/2026

It is our immense pleasure to welcome Dr. Rudrapatna K. Shyamasundar, one of India's most distinguished computer scientists and a globally renowned expert in Blockchain Technology, Cybersecurity, Distributed Systems, and Formal Methods, to the Advisory Board of BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd.

Prof. Shyamasundar is currently an INAE Distinguished Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, where he directs the Center of Excellence for Blockchain Research, sponsored by Ripple. He has served as the Founding Dean of the School of Technology and Computer Science at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and has been a JC Bose National Fellow at TIFR and IIT Bombay. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Mumbai (IIM Mumbai) and a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad.

Over the years, he has held visiting and distinguished academic positions at several leading global institutions, including University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, UCSD La Jolla, IBM Research, Max Planck Institute, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, University of Linköping, National University of Singapore, University of Cambridge, City St George’s, University of London, and the Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет / St Petersburg University, Russia.

He has/had been on the Governing Council of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur, CSIR-CMMACS (renamed CSIR Fourth Paradigm Institute) at Bangalore, Advisor for the COE of Union Bank of India, WG member for Cyber Security at Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, and advisory board of the BSE.

Prof. Shyamasundar is a Life Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of ACM, Distinguished ACM Speaker, and a Distinguished Alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He is also a Fellow of several national and international academies, including INSA, IASc, INAE, NASI, TWAS – The World Academy of Sciences, and the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association. His recognitions include the INAE S. N. Mitra Award, the UBRI Educator Award 2023, the IFIP WG11.3 Outstanding Research Award 2024, and the IETE Diamond Jubilee Medal.

His academic contributions include 300+ peer-reviewed publications, 8 patents, 8 books, and supervision of 40+ Ph.D. scholars. He has served on several national committees and advisory boards related to cybersecurity, blockchain, banking technology, engineering education, and computing research, including contributions to MeitY, DST, SERB, UGC, AICTE, BSE, IDRBT, and other leading institutions. His contributions are far too extensive to be captured in a single introduction.

We are honored to welcome Prof. Shyamasundar to the BanavatNest Advisory Board and look forward to benefiting from his invaluable guidance in advancing our blockchain technology initiatives.

29/06/2026

As BanavatNest continues to strengthen its capabilities in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Reza Arabi Belaghi to our Advisory Board. His extensive expertise in statistics, machine learning, and AI will provide valuable guidance for our research and innovation initiatives.

Dr. Reza Arabi Belaghi currently serves as Associate Professor of Statistics and Data Science at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden, and as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Ottawa, Canada. He is also affiliated as Senior Statistician (Biostatistics) with the Clinical Research Unit at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO Research Institute), Canada, and serves as a Biostatistician with the Canadian Children IBD Network (CIDsCaNN).

Over the course of his academic career, Dr. Belaghi has held faculty and research positions across Sweden, Canada, and Iran. Prior to joining SLU, he served as Associate Professor of Statistics and Data Science at Uppsala University, Sweden, and previously held Assistant Professor and Associate Professor positions at the University of Tabriz, Iran. Earlier in his career, he also served as a Sessional Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at McMaster University, Canada.

He earned his Ph.D. in Statistics from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, with a significant portion of his doctoral research conducted at McMaster University, Canada, under the mentorship of Prof. N. Balakrishnan. He later completed postdoctoral research at McMaster University and the University of Windsor. Dr. Belaghi has authored 60+ peer-reviewed publications and has led and contributed to competitive research projects with cumulative funding exceeding CAD 3.4 million.

At BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd., we are excited to welcome Dr. Belaghi and look forward to his strategic guidance as we advance research-driven innovation in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Statistics.

23/06/2026

At BanavatNest, we believe that meaningful innovation emerges when early-stage ideas are nurtured by experience, shaped by wisdom, and driven by a shared commitment to creating impact. In this spirit, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Seema Bawa to the Advisory Board of BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd.

Dr. Seema Bawa is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET), Patiala, where she has been serving since 2004. An accomplished academic leader, researcher, and mentor, she has played a pivotal role in advancing computer science education, research, and institutional development. During her distinguished career at TIET, she has served in several leadership positions, including Dean (Outreach), Dean (Student Affairs), Professor Incharge of the Nava Nalanda Central Library Thapar Institute of Engg and Technology, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (DCSE) TIET, Head of the Centre for Information Super Highway, and Network Manager.

Prior to joining TIET, Prof. Bawa gained valuable industry experience as a Project Leader and Senior Software Engineer at Inde Dutch Systems (India) Ltd. and as a System Analyst at SLIET Longowal. She also led international projects, including the prestigious SEASAFE ship-balancing project developed for a Swedish client in accordance with Lloyd’s Register of Shipping standards. This unique blend of academic and industry experience enables her to effectively bridge research and real-world applications.

Holding an M.Sc. in Statistics from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, an M.Tech. in Computer Science and Data Processing from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, and a Ph.D. focused on Parallel and Distributed Algorithms for Test Generation, Prof. Bawa has built an impressive academic legacy at TIET. She has authored over 202 research publications, supervised 28 Ph.D. scholars, guided more than 65 postgraduate theses, and led multiple sponsored projects supported by AICTE, DST, TCS, MoCIT, and DAE.

Her research interests span Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain Technology, IoT, Natural Language Processing, Distributed Systems, VLSI, Software Testing, and Quantum Computing. Over the last decade, she has consistently emphasized sustainability as a central theme across her research endeavors, reflecting her commitment to developing technologies that create long-term societal impact.

As BanavatNest continues to strengthen its innovation ecosystem, we look forward to benefiting from Prof. Seema Bawa’s strategic insights, academic leadership, and rich experience in research, innovation, and institution building.

We are honored to welcome her to our Advisory Board and look forward to an exciting journey ahead.

20/06/2026

We are delighted to welcome Prof. Rajat Subhra Chakraborty to the Advisory Board of BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd., effective 1st July 2026.

Prof. Chakraborty is the Susanta Kumar Gupta Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur). He previously served as the Associate Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, IIT Kharagpur, and has also contributed to leading global technology organizations including Intel and National Semiconductor.

Recognized among the World's Top 2% Computer Science Researchers in the field of Computer Hardware and Architecture for multiple years, Prof. Chakraborty is an internationally renowned researcher with significant contributions in Hardware Security, Electronic Design Automation (EDA), VLSI Systems, Digital Image Forensics, and AI-enabled security applications. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Senior Member of ACM, and has received several prestigious honors, including the Intel Unrestricted Research Grant Award, IBM Faculty Award, Outstanding Faculty Award from IIT Kharagpur, and the IEI Young Engineers Award.

Over the years, he has successfully led and contributed to numerous sponsored research and consultancy projects funded by organizations such as Intel, IBM, SERB, DST, DRDO, BRNS, CPRI, HAL, IGCAR, Wipro, and other Government of India agencies, advancing research in cybersecurity, hardware trust, digital forensics, artificial intelligence, and secure computing systems.

We are honored to welcome Prof. Chakraborty to BanavatNest and look forward to his guidance in our journey of innovation, research, and technological impact.

17/06/2026

💧 Call for Research Collaborations – MAHA Water Program

Water security is one of India's most pressing challenges, requiring innovative, scalable, and impact-driven solutions. BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd. invites researchers, research laboratories, and innovators working in areas related to water resources, drinking water, water quality, circular economy, climate resilience, AI/ML, IoT, and environmental sustainability to explore collaboration opportunities under the MAHA Water Program of ANRF in collaboration with the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.

As an Industry Partner, BanavatNest can contribute expertise in:
🔹 AI/ML and data analytics
🔹 IoT and smart sensing systems
🔹 Prototype development and field validation
🔹 Technology translation and deployment support
🔹 Pathways towards TRL advancement and real-world impact

For proposals aligned with our areas of interest, BanavatNest is willing to contribute up to ₹3 lakh as industry support, subject to mutual discussion and project suitability.

If you are planning to submit a proposal and believe there is potential synergy, we would be pleased to discuss possible collaboration opportunities. 📧 [email protected]

Build with Purpose. Nurture to Impact.

05/06/2026

BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd. was proud to sponsor the Quiz Competition conducted as part of the Five-Day Workshop on Research Methodology, organized by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET), Patiala, Punjab.

The event witnessed enthusiastic participation, reflecting the curiosity, engagement, and analytical thinking of the participants. We are delighted to congratulate the winners: 🏆 Dr. Abhinay Kumar, 🏆 Ms. Anishka Bhargava, and 🏆 Ms. Mehakdeep Kaur. All three participants achieved the same score and were therefore awarded the First Prize. Each winner received a cash prize along with a certificate from BanavatNest.

The prizes were presented by Prof. Rajinder Singh Kaler (Dean, Research & Development, TIET), during the valedictory session. The occasion was graced by Prof. SATVINDER S.BHATIA (Head, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences), workshop organizers Prof. Ravi Kiran and Dr. Rakesh Kumar Sharma, and Dr. Sukhdev Singh, representing BanavatNest Pvt. Ltd.

We sincerely thank the organizing committee and the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences for providing us the opportunity to contribute to this meaningful academic initiative. We also extend our gratitude to Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, our mentor institution, for fostering an ecosystem that supports startups, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.