Senior Advisor
Dr. R.S. Sharma
As one of India’s foremost technology-policy thinkers, Dr. Sharma advises governments, multilateral institutions and global corporations on digital public infrastructure, digital identity, cybersecurity, telecommunications regulation, health tech systems and technology-enabled governance. With over four decades in public service and a central role in shaping India’s digital transformation, he is recognized for bringing clarity, scalability and technological depth to complex policy and regulatory challenges.
Dr. Sharma last served in government as the CEO of the National Health Authority (2021-23), where he led the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY national health insurance scheme and served as architect of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, India’s foundational digital health infrastructure. He also steered national vaccine technology strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw the development of CoWIN, the globally acclaimed digital platform for large-scale vaccination that has since informed digital health and immunization systems worldwide.
From 2015 to 2020, Dr. Sharma served as chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, where he championed data-driven, consumer-centric regulation and strengthened India’s net neutrality framework. Earlier, as secretary of the Department of Electronics and IT, he was instrumental in operationalizing Digital India, introducing platforms such as Digital Locker, eKYC, eSign, ORS and Jeevan Pramaan, which laid the groundwork for India’s digital public infrastructure ecosystem.
A defining assignment in his career was serving as the founding director general and mission director of the Unique Identification Authority of India (2009-13), where he helped conceptualize and implement Aadhaar, today the world’s largest digital identity platform. His work on authentication, digital governance architecture and transparent service delivery became templates for India’s early digital reforms and several global identity programs.
Dr. Sharma currently contributes to multiple national and international technology bodies. He is a distinguished visiting professor at IIT Kanpur, chairs the Task Force on the India Energy Stack, leads the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Committee on Financial and Regulatory Technologies and serves on advisory boards including the Open Network for Digital Commerce and the Center for Open Societal Systems. He continues to advise governments and global enterprises on digital public infrastructure strategy, regulation, and digital governance frameworks.
An active writer and speaker, Dr. Sharma frequently contributes to discussions on technology, regulation, digital platforms and public policy. He holds a Ph.D. from IIT Delhi, a masters in computer science from the University of California and a degree in law.
