Raj Cherubal

Raj Cherubal is the Chief Development Goals Specialist at the SDG Coordination Center, set up in the Planning Dept of Govt of TN in collaboration with UNDP.

Earlier he was CEO of Chennai Smart City Limited for six years. Smart Cities is the flagship initiative of the Government of India, implemented in Chennai by the Government of Tamil Nadu and Greater Chennai Corporation, to improve infrastructure and services of the city, and thereby improve the quality of life of all its citizens.

Earlier he was Director-Projects at Chennai City Connect, a platform for industry associations and civic organisations, envisions vibrant Indian cities that deliver world-class quality of life, infrastructure and services.

He is interested in improving urban governance and sustainable urban quality of life. He has worked on various projects on sustainable transportation, urban planning and integrated, multi-modal public transportation, solid waste management, restoration of urban water bodies, sustainable financing of urban infrastructure, redevelopment of business district and regional planning.

He has written and worked to promote decentralisation and good urban governance. Also
to promote economic freedom for entrepreneurs, especially poor like street vendors and others in the informal sector and for their recognition as profit seeking entrepreneurs.

He holds a M.S. in Physics from the University of Louisville and a M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has worked in the software industry in areas like computational physics, visualisation, telecom and finance.