Karuna Gopal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 21, 1965 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Future Cities Evangelist, BJP Leader |
| Spouse(s) | Gopal Krishna |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) |
|
Karuna Gopal (born 21 August 1965) is the International Visitor Leadership Program Fellow of US Department of State, thought leader, keynote speaker, advisor on smart cities program and currently serving as a National In-charge for Policy & Research BJP women wing. She is the founder and president of the Foundation for Futuristic Cities, a think tank that has influenced urban transformation in India. She was on the Chief Minister's Advisory Council of Andhra Pradesh and played a key role in forging a Sister State Partnership between Washington State, USA and Andhra Pradesh, India.[1]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Karuna was born in Machlipatnam, Andhra Pradesh to V. Narayana Rao IAS (1956 Batch). At the age of 14, she suffered a cardiac arrest and was declared clinically dead. Doctors also suspected brain damage and gave her a maximum of two years to live. She survived and resumed her studies.[2] She had to turn away from a gruelling medical course and a dual degree in Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani due to her fragile health. Karuna studied BSc (Genetics) from Osmania University and later forayed into Computer Software Development.
Personal life[edit | edit source]
After returning from the USA in 1991, Karuna married Gopal Krishna and the couple have a son.
Career[edit | edit source]
In 1986 she started her career in Information Technology as a faculty at NIIT after topping their PG Diploma in Systems' Management course in Bangalore. In 1991 she returned to India after a short stint in the US as a Rotary GSE scholar and In the year 1994, Karuna founded a strategy consulting firm "The Confluence Consulting".[3] In 2005, She started a non-profit urban advisory "Foundation for Futuristic Cities" to help shape Indian Urban Agenda.[4]
Between 2004 and 2016 she served as Urban Expert with the World Bank, Department for International Development, United States Agency for International Development and Asian Development Bank. She was invited by the Prime Minister of UAE to address the World Government Summit in Dubai in 2018[5] and a year later, she was appointed as Special Invitee to BJP State Executive Committee, Telangana in August 2019 and served as a member of BJP National Manifesto Sub-Committee for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.[5] She was invited to speak at Harvard Asia Business Conference 2020 that was held at Harvard Business School, Boston, the USA in March 2020.[6] Gopal has contributed to the design of the "100 Smart Cities Mission" of India & was Invited to speak at the launch of the Mission by the Prime Minister of India.[7] She represented the Government of India Speaker delegation on Smart Cities at COP21-UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Paris in 2015. She has been appointed the Independent Director of Engineers India Limited (EIL).
Awards[edit | edit source]
- Skoch Challenger Award[4][8][9]
- Devi Award for Visionary Leadership – Presented by Public Relations Council of India
- Mahila Ratna Award at Madras Music Academy, Chennai
- The Most Impactful Smart Cities Leader – World HRD Congress
- The Most Talented Green Leader Award for demonstrating exemplary leadership in Sustainability for Social Change.[10]
- Honoured for Eminent Leadership & Achievements - Union Ministry of Labour & Employment, 2015
- Iconic Woman Award 2019 - Shrishti Foundation[11]
- Woman Innovator Award - Teach for Change Foundation[11]
- Woman Leader at Dallas, Atlanta and Houston USA[11]
- Adjudged top 5 Woman Leaders of India - LEAD INDIA Campaign of Times of India 2007[12]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Andhra Pradesh seeks sister-state status with Washington".
- ↑ "The Hindu : Metro Plus Hyderabad : 'Nothing is impossible'". 2009-12-20.
- ↑ Mar 30, SANGEETHA DEVI K.; 2004; Ist, 02:42. "Women on top of the number game".
{{cite web}}:|last2=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 "'Foundation for Futuristic Cities' founder Karuna Gopal bags Skoch Challenger Award". 2021-01-16.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Karuna Gopal appointed as special invitee to BJP state Executive". 2019-08-13.
- ↑ India, The Hans (2020-02-18). "BJP leader Karuna Gopal to address Harvard Asia Business Conference -2020".
- ↑ Adlakha, Nidhi (2016-09-16). "The Hindu". ISSN 0971-751X.
- ↑ Bureau, Our. "Karuna Gopal conferred Skoch Challenger Award for contributions to public policy on urban development".
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ↑ "Hyderabad's Urban Infra Specialist Karuna Gopal was honored with the Scotch Challenger Award". 2021-01-31.
- ↑ India, The Hans (2015-02-24). "City Woman Shoots To Fame".
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Ms. Karuna Gopal President of Foundation for Futuristic Cities".
- ↑ "Adjudged top 5 Woman Leaders of India" (PDF). aphrdi.ap.gov.in.