Ankur is a new product development enthusiast working at the intersection of innovation and circular Economy at The Council's Industrial Sustainability and Competitiveness research area . He is working on the development of an innovation infrastructure in India that focuses on Clean Air initiatives from academia, the private sector and generalist innovators. Prior to joining the Council, Ankur founded an Industrial design agency in Delhi to fill in the gap of technology-readiness levels of niche projects. He has worked with IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and MSMEs to productise research projects and make them market ready for testing.

As a part of his Master's thesis, Ankur explored alternate uses of plywood in the Indian DIY culture and designed an agri-tech decortication machine for Roselle, an indigenous crop with high economic potential, as a part of a Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) initiated project, which was funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST). He later developed the complete vertically integrated food product from Roselle and continues to engage with  the niche farming community on knowledge management. Post his Bachelor's, Ankur designed a cycle rickshaw for the Homeless Project in Delhi. The rickshaw seat folds into a six foot bed to provide for a resting space for the homeless along with generating livelihood and social inclusion possibilities.

Ankur has also worked with innovation hubs in China to evaluate the maker-design-manufacturing ecosystem in Shenzhen as a part of an internship with Shenzhen Industrial Design Association (SIDA)

Ankur has a strong background in stakeholder insights and data analytics from working in Public Relations and Market Research. He has worked with clients from large technology majors like Google, Samsung, Oracle, DXC and energy industry partners like Indian Energy Exchange and Cairn India. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in design specialising in Industrial Design from IDC, IIT Bombay.