my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 9 Nov: Prof Dr Tripta Thakur has formally taken charge as the new Vice-Chancellor of Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU). The outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof Omkar Singh, handed over the reins of the office to her on Friday evening. Thakur, who currently serves as the Director General of the National Power Training Institute (NPTI) under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, brings with her a distinguished career in academia, administration, and energy sector reform.
It may be recalled that Prof Thakur had been appointed VC of UTU in July this year as reported by my uttarakhand news on 16 July, but it is only now that she has assumed charge.
Prior to her appointment at NPTI, she served as Professor and Head of the Electrical Engineering Department at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal. She holds a postgraduate degree in Power Electronics from IIT-Kanpur and a doctorate from IIT-Delhi. With over 33 years of teaching and research experience, she has authored nearly 100 publications and has been recognised with several prestigious international and national honours. These include the Commonwealth Research Scholarship at Dundee University (2005–2008), Commonwealth Academic Fellowship at Durham University Business School (2014), COFUND Senior Researcher at Durham University Business School (2016), and Visiting Faculty at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok (2010). She is also a Technical Member of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), SEG4 Group, and a member of the ISGF (Ministry of Power) Working Group.
As Director General of NPTI, Thakur assumed leadership at a time when the institute was grappling with financial stress. Within two years, she successfully turned it into a profit-making entity. Under her stewardship, NPTI was entrusted with conducting the Cyber Security Certification Programme for the power sector and the Foundation Programme for newly inducted professionals of Central Power Sector Utilities and Autonomous Bodies. The institute also became an institutional partner of WePower, an initiative of the South Asia Gender and Energy Facility (SAGE) at the World Bank, which promotes the participation of women in energy projects and institutions across South Asia. Thakur serves as the Regional and Country Lead for coordinating 110 mid-career power professionals in the region.
NPTI, under her leadership, has emerged as a pioneering institution in the training of power professionals in advanced domains such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), and Cyber Security of the Power Grid. She has also served as a consultant for the development of Common South Asian Electricity Markets and undertaken multiple consulting assignments for distribution companies across India.
Her recent accolades include the Women in Energy Award by the Indian Energy Storage Alliance in July 2025, the Sushma Swaraj Stree Shakti Engineering Samman in August 2024, the Women Technology Innovation Award by the Indian Smart Grid Forum, and the STEM Women Award by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 2024. She is currently a member of the Governing Council of IISER Pune and IIIT Kota, a member of the CII Regional Energy Group Committee, a founding member of the Indian National Science Academy Women Associates (IWA), and a member of the State Advisory Committee of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
With her extensive experience and proven leadership in both academic and technical domains, Tripta Thakur’s appointment as Vice-Chancellor is expected to bring renewed focus and strategic direction to Uttarakhand Technical University, which has grappled with regular controversies in the past.
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