Impact, Sustainability, and Policy
The presentation will focus on impact and sustainability in rural development in India and how the impact can be incorporated into the policy for larger replication for rural development.
Jay Sehgal serves as executive vice president of Sehgal Foundation in the US and as trustee of S M Sehgal Foundation in India. He represents Sehgal Foundation on the board of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment and serves on the board of Hytech Seed India Pvt. Ltd. After earning degrees in Business Administration/Management Information Systems with emphasis on Computer Science from the University of Iowa, he was working in IT in the private sector when recruited by Proagro Seed Co. Ltd. in India. He led a team to automate all functions of the seed company and create a state-of-the art IT network connecting its locations throughout India. In 2001, Jay joined Dr. Suri Sehgal and Mrs. Edda Sehgal, who had established S M Sehgal Foundation in India. Jay served for several years as executive director during the seminal shaping and development of the organization. In 2008, with his wife Veena and two sons, Jay returned to Des Moines to represent Sehgal Foundation to American donor organizations and development institutions, create linkages with research organizations and foundations; attract volunteers and students from the US to work at the foundation to gain exposure to rural India, and more recently to focus on Transform Lives one school at a time, an initiative that combines the foundation’s key programs in water management, agriculture development, and good rural governance to ensure that every schoolchild—especially girls, who have long been disadvantaged—has a more promising future. On behalf of Sehgal Foundation, Jay was recognized with the 2017 Iowa Ag Leadership Award for outstanding service in agriculture by then Secretary of Agriculture Mr. Bill Northy. Jay is the recipient of the International Impact Award from the University of Iowa.