At Urban Plus Solutions, our strength lies in our people. Our multidisciplinary team is a dynamic blend of seasoned experts and passionate young professionals who bring together deep experience and fresh perspectives to reimagine urban development.
Together, we work across sectors—partnering with governments, international organizations, NGOs, and communities—to co-create tailored, practical solutions that drive lasting impact
Core Team
Dr. Sainath Banerjee, Ph.D. Ph.D Founder and Director
Dr. Sainath Banerjee is the Founder and Director of Urban Plus Solutions (UPS), an Indian organization working to improve the health and well-being of urban underprivileged communities through system strengthening, community participation, and capacity building. With over 30 years of experience, he is a leading expert in urban health, having held strategic roles with government bodies, UN agencies, and international donors. Dr. Banerjee played a key role in shaping India’s National Urban Health Mission and currently serves on expert committees including the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH), New York. A medical anthropologist with a Ph.D. in Population Genetics, he was also a Research Fellow at NIHFW, New Delhi.
Dr. Gautam Chakraborty, Ph.D, Director (Innovative Financing and Health Economics)
Dr. Gautam Chakraborty is a pioneering expert in innovative healthcare financing with around 30 years of experience. His expertiseincludes structuring blended finance platforms, managing Social Impact Funds, and facilitating Social Stock Exchange listings for healthcare enterprises. At USAID, he designed India’s first Development Impact Bond and over $300 million SAMRIDH blended finance facility. His urban health policy contributions are significant—he assisted India’s Ministry of Health in developing budget norms and financial guidelines for the National Urban Health Mission and trained officials on city planning and vulnerability mapping. During COVID-19, he led urban health systems strengthening and designed multi-country city-to-city learning exchanges for pandemic response.
Advisors
Mr. George C Varughese
Strategic Advisor – Urban Planning and Environment
Mr. George C Varughese with over 40 years of experience, is currently an independent strategic advisor to multilateral agencies, industry associations, and other institutions.
Mr. Varughese was the President of Development Alternatives, where he was responsible for building up a trans-disciplinary group of professionals capable of addressing various facets of environment and sustainable development. He co-ordinated or actively participated in over 300 projects and assignments, and conceptualised and spearheaded several of the major initiatives. He has also worked in the construction industry and academia.
Mr. Varughese has been a member of several international and national governing bodies, advisory panels and working groups on environment and development. He has spearheaded several NGO initiatives and has travelled extensively within India and overseas.
Mr. Varughese holds a Master’s Degree, with distinction, in Urban and Regional Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela.
Dr. Sanjay Sinho, Senior Advisor, Global Public Health
Dr. Sanjay Sinho is a distinguished leader in global public health, with over 35 years of experience in conceptualizing, implementing, overseeing, and providing technical support for complex health portfolios across multiple countries and involving diverse stakeholders. His areas of focus include child survival, maternal and reproductive health, infectious disease, and nutrition. Additionally, he pioneered urban health initiatives with the American India Foundation (AIF), engaging sanitation workers and rickshaw pullers. Beyond health, Dr. Sinho has gained extensive hands-on experience in fields such as livelihood, financial services for the poor, education, leadership development, and the promotion of volunteerism and philanthropy. Over more than a decade, he served with CARE as the Sector Director of the Indian health program and later as Director of Health at CARE USA (www.care.org), overseeing more than 250 health programs across 50 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Throughout his career, Dr. Sinho has also held other key roles, such as the CEO of the American India Foundation (www.aif.org), Deputy Director of the Government Relations and Policy Advocacy Unit at the Gates Foundation-India (www.gatesfoundation.org), and Professor and Dean at IIHMR-India (www.iihmr.org). He has operated in difficult and hostile environments, including managing victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, responding to the Avian Influenza outbreak in Vietnam, and addressing civil conflict in South Sudan. Dr. Sinho has been a regular speaker at international platforms, including the WHO, UN consultations, and academic institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, Kellogg’s School of Management, Wharton School, New York University, and the University of Hong Kong, as well as the TICH conference in Kisumu, Kenya. Dr. Sinho holds an MBBS and MD in Pediatrics, along with postgraduate qualifications in Sociology.
Anand Rudra (Water, Sanitation and Strategic Partnership)
Anand Rudra with 30+ years of experience leading donor-funded programs and cross-sector collaborations across South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the U.S. Skilled in designing and managing public-private partnerships that advance WASH, urban health, disaster resilience, and education initiatives. Proven success in leveraging corporate partnerships and philanthropic capital to amplify community-led solutions and support local ownership. Deep expertise in localization—channeling resources to grassroots organizations, building institutional capacity, and aligning global donor priorities with locally defined goals. Trusted by governments, NGOs, and private sector leaders for driving inclusive development and adaptive, results-driven implementation.
Thomas George
Senior Advisor – Governance, Sustainable Development & Social Impact
Thomas George is a distinguished development professional, strategic advisor, and thought leader with close to four decades of experience in governance, sustainable development, institutional strengthening, and social impact across national and international contexts. His work spans public systems, child rights, urban transformation, data governance, policy engagement, and multi-stakeholder partnerships, with a strong focus on building resilient and inclusive institutions.
Over the course of his career, Thomas has worked extensively with governments, multilateral agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and private sector stakeholders to conceptualize, implement, and oversee complex development initiatives. He started his career with the Indian Civil Services, and later with UNICEF in India and other countries, and finally at the UNICEF Headquarters in New York as the Global Lead for Urban. During this career, he has held senior leadership and advisory positions with UNICEF and participated in several UN global task forces contributing to programs focused on equity, governance reform, and community-centered development.
Thomas has been particularly recognized for his ability to bridge policy, strategy, and execution while fostering collaboration across sectors and geographies. His work has emphasized systems thinking, innovation, and the responsible use of data and emerging technologies to create sustainable development outcomes. In addition to his development and governance work, he has contributed to initiatives related to leadership development, institutional capacity building, and knowledge partnerships.
An alumnus of Harvard Corporate programs, Thomas combines global perspectives with deep regional insight, particularly in the Asian and African context. He has been an active participant in policy dialogues, leadership forums, and development conversations around governance, inclusion, and the future of sustainable development. He has been a member of several global task forces to promote and implement the New Urban Agenda.
Thomas is widely regarded for his strategic vision, collaborative leadership style, and commitment to advancing people-centered and future-ready institutions. He has a Master’s Degree in Sociology, Master’s level training in Communications, and has benefited from various leadership and management courses.
Consultants
Dr. Paramita Banerjee, Consultant
Dr Paramita Banerjee is an accomplished researcher and academician with almost 15 years of experience in the field of public Public health, population studies and use of Geographical Information System (GIS) in Health. she has worked in several International Research Projects funded by DFID, UNDP and USAID on various social issues including urban health. Dr. Banerjee was part of the research team which used NFHS data to understand the difference between urban poor and non-poor. She has presented papers in many national and international conferences. Dr. Banerjee received PhD in Population Studies from the Centre for the Study of regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Her doctoral thesis titled ‘Influence of Economic Factors in Maternal Health care Seeking Behaviour-A Study in Kolkata’, was in the area of urban health. Currently, she is head of the geography department in an undergraduate college in Kolkata.
Dr. Sukrit Kumar, Consultant
Dr Sukrit Kumar has more than 20 years of leadership experience spent in Healthcare Management, Consulting, Healthtech, Business Analytics, Project Management, Academics and Primary Care.
Dr Kumar has advised known consulting firms & various start-ups and is a visiting faculty in various academics’ institutes.
Dr Kumar has worked with corporations, Consulting companies, Government agencies, Academic institutions, international hospitals and handled Projects, P&L, Business development, various management programs including high level consulting in different domains and solved problems using his critical thinking and decision making abilities
He has worked with Blue Circle, Derma Puritys, PAIR, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Nura ,Mckinsey &Co, Loop health , Raspberry health ,Sterling Accuris, Bhartiya, IPE Global, Nationwide the Family Doctors , Centre for sight , Delhi Government , AIIMS etc to name a few.
Dr Kumar did his MBA in Healthcare Administration from of Faculty Of Management Studies, DU and holds a MBBS degree from MGM Medical college, Jamshedpur. He also holds a PGDFM from CMC,Vellore.
Sajal Umalkar, Consultant
Sajal Umalkar is a seasoned professional with 10 years of experience in the public health and non-profit sectors. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and is Project Management Professional (PMP) certified, bringing together strategic business acumen with hands-on project management expertise to lead impactful social development initiatives.
In the public health space, Sajal worked with NITI Aayog on an Urban Health initiative, contributing to the strengthening of primary healthcare systems in underserved communities. Internationally, he collaborated with the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) in Canada, supporting policy efforts aimed at improving nursing practice and resident care in long-term care homes. Driven by a passion for community empowerment, Sajal has earlier led transformative programs as the Head of the Skills & Livelihood Division at an NGO, uplifting rural women in patriarchal regions of Northern India. He began his career as a public sector consultant with PwC and CRISIL, where he worked on large-scale programs with governments and international development agencies.