Archives: People

S. Velmurugan

Dr S. Velmurugan is a Senior Advisor in the NCAER Centre for Economics of Transportation, Mobility and Logistics, funded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He superannuated as Chief Scientist and Head, Traffic Engineering and Safety Division, from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI), New Delhi, in February 2026 after about 32 years of service.

He has more than 33 years of experience in traffic engineering, road safety and transportation planning, transport economics, and public transport evaluation. He was instrumental in the formulation/revision of 18 Indian Road Congress publications during the last 12 years. He has served in the capacity of Project Leader/Coordinator in more than 150 projects sponsored by various organisations including the World Bank, NHAI, state Public Works Departments (PWDs), and private organisations. One of the flagship projects completed by him is the CSIR-funded study titled, ‘Indian Highway Capacity’ in February 2018, wherein he worked in the role of Champion of the project in collaboration with seven academic institutes, including Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institute of Technology (NIT), School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), and state Universities. Recently, he also completed two multidisciplinary projects titled, ‘Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering (iRASTE)’ for the urban as well as inter-urban environs, viz., iRASTE: Nagpur, funded by CSIR, and iRASTE: Telangana, sponsored by International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad.

He has published more than 150 technical papers in international and national journals and presented papers at more than 100 research forums.

He has a PhD in Transportation Systems Engineering from IIT, Bombay, and Masters in Traffic and Urban Engineering from Anna University, Guindy, Chennai. He also completed two Post-Doctoral Research stints at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, in 1998, and at the University of South Australia, Adelaide, in 2008.

Riya Behl

Riya Behl is a Strategic Associate to the Director General. She builds systems, processes and strategies for communications, media, events and outreach. She has founded multiple initiatives over the past decade – across media, research and development.  

Riya has worked closely on research and its dissemination for UN bodies, INGOs, research institutions, community festivals, civil society organisations and grassroots social movements. These include UN Women, Oxfam International’s Gender Rights and Justice team, the Institute of Development Studies, UK, Serendipity Arts Festival and SEWA Delhi.  

Her independent research on zines and self-publishing cultures was recently published by the Digital Cultural Studies Institute, and hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries as well as in ART India magazine. This work is based on a collective she co-founded, called Zinedabaad, which has featured in numerous national and international publications, including in the U.S. Library of Congress’s collection of Internet materials related to the Indian Political and Social Issues Web Archive. 

Previously, Riya worked as an Editor, Journalist and Educator at the People’s Archive of Rural India. She holds a Master’s degree in methods of participatory action research from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, in the UK and a Bachelor’s in Anthropology, Sociology and Environmental Studies from Ashoka University, India. Riya likes to bring the collaborative and inclusive spirit of Ultimate Frisbee – which she has played at both institutions – to work every day.

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