Kerala’s future-forward upskilling ecosystem

Dr. Usha Titus joined the Kerala cadre of the Indian Administrative Service in 1993 after completing her MBBS from CMC Vellore and MD in General Medicine. She served as the District Collector of Palakkad and Kozhikode districts where she was the first lady to hold charge, Secretary in charge of the Departments of Medical Education, Social Welfare, Non-Resident Keralite Affairs, Environment and Education.

She has also served as the Registrar of IIT Madras and as the Vice-Chancellor of Kerala Technological University. In 2010, she was deputed to the Government of India as the Joint Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance where she handled the Multilateral Relations Division and contributed to the G20 negotiations between 2010 and 2015 and the negotiations that led to the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The Government of Kerala appointed her as the Chairperson and the Managing Director of the newly incorporated company, ASAP Kerala in February 2021.

Shri. Anwar Hussain joined the Government service in 1990 in the Government Secretariat’s Finance Department. After becoming Under Secretary in 2015 he served as the Finance Officer in the Excise Department for one year. In 2017 he was appointed as the Finance Officer of the Kerala Government’s Karunya Benevolent Fund. Currently, he is serving as the Deputy Secretary of Finance Department and deputed as the Head of Finance Division, ASAP.

With 15 years of experience in teaching, Shri. Vigil Kumar V V is the Associate Professor in Information Technology of Government Engineering College, Idukki. He completed his Bachelor of Technology from MS University and did his Masters in Computer Science and Engineering from Anna University. He is deputed as the Head of IT Division, ASAP from 2018.

A self-made villager and professional from Kerala who understands the importance of Capacity Mr. Vinod T V has experience of 20 years in managerial roles. He was the Managing Director of Kerala Artisans Development Corporation Ltd (KADCO) from 2016 to 2018. Under his leadership, KADCO attained the status of Accredited Agency since its incorporation in 1981.

He handled major roles in various companies such as Nandana Overseas, Alleppey; Coir Tuft International Pvt. Ltd, Alleppey; Foam Mattings (India) Ltd, A Kerala Government PSU; Charankattu Coir Manufacturing Company (Pvt)Ltd. Mr. Vinod T V joined ASAP in 2018 as the Head of the Business Development Division.

Dr. Anej Somaraj is the Assistant Professor in the Department of English Christian College Chengannur. He received his Ph.D. in English from English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad. With an experience of 14 years in teaching Dr.Somaraj served as the Assistant Professor in The Faculty of Education in Misurata University, Libya from 2009 to 2011.

He was the Foreign Language Consultant English at King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia between 2006 and 2009. He is the Subject Expert Consultant for HSTTP an initiative of SCERT Kerala and a Member of the Kerala State Panel of Translators in English and Hindi for Kerala Niyamasabha. Currently, he is deputed as the Head of the NSQF and Curriculum Division of ASAP Kerala.

Shri Padmakumar B is the Executive Engineer, Kerala State Housing Board, under the Department Of Housing, Kerala State. He started his career as a Project Engineer in the S.P.C. Construction Company in Kerala in 1988. He served in the Konkan Railway Corporation, Gov. of India as a Technical Assistant (Geotechnical Engineer) from 1992 to 1993 and joined the Kerala State Housing Board in 1995 as a Civil Engineer.

He has 10 years of foreign work experience. He worked in a Mechanical and Erection Company in the Kingdom of  Bahrain and also served as Manager Consultant in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture, Kingdom of Bahrain. He has been deputed as the Chief Engineer at ASAP from February 2019.

With 30 years of service in the Technical Education Department, he joined the service in 1989 and has served as Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Project Officer at the State Institute of Technical Teachers' Training & Research. Assistant Director at Regional Directorate of Technical Education, Kothamangalam.

In 2007 he received “The Best Polytechnic Teacher” award. After his retirement from the service in 2019, he joined ASAP Kerala as the State Coordinator of Polytechnics. Currently, he is in charge of the Training Division of ASAP Kerala.