Shri Jayant Sinha

President, Eversource Capital, Senior Advisor, IVCA Climate & Sustainability Council and Former Union Minister, Government of India

Mr. Jayant Sinha is a globally reputed policy-maker, investor, and thought leader. He introduced India’s first net zero  legislation as a private bill in the Indian parliament in 2021. Mr. Sinha has also pioneered ground-breaking research on the  economic, public health, and national security impact of net zero development for India. This research has culminated in  widely acclaimed TV shows, articles, and podcasts highlighting how Net Zero is Net Positive! for India and the world. 

As a two term elected Member of Parliament from Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, Mr. Sinha represented 3 million people in an  underdeveloped, coal-mining area. His development works in Hazaribagh (train & road infrastructure, medical and  educational institutions, and Akshaya Patra) are widely considered among the best in India. Mr. Sinha won his elections in  2014 and 2019 with record margins. As Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Mr. Sinha led the 31-member Parliamentary panel that has oversight of the Ministries of Finance, Corporate Affairs, Statistics & Program  Implementation, and the Niti Aayog. In addition, the panel has parliamentary responsibility for the Reserve Bank of India,  the Securities & Exchange Board of India, the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board, and the Insurance and Pension regulators. 

Mr. Sinha served on India’s Council of Ministers from 2014 to 2019; first, as the Minister of State for Finance and then as  the Minister of State for Civil Aviation. During his time as a Minister, Mr. Sinha gained wide recognition as an innovative  and results-oriented policymaker with singular successes ranging from piloting the legislation that brought in India’s  game-changing bankruptcy code to establishing India’s sovereign wealth fund (the National Investment & Infrastructure  Fund) and the Higher Education Financing Agency to driving the privatization of Air India as well as multiple airports by devising entirely new bidding approaches. As Aviation Minister, Mr. Sinha was instrumental in upgrading safety and  security across India’s fast-growing aviation system. He launched the UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme which  expanded the number of operational airports in India by 50% in just three years. UDAN was awarded the 2020 Prime  Minister’s Award for Policy Excellence. Mr. Sinha also implemented several major technology initiatives such as the DigiYatra digital traveler program, the Digital Sky drone policy, and the national Air Traffic Control Center. 

Prior to his career in public service, Mr. Sinha was Partner at Omidyar Network and the Managing Director of Omidyar  Network India Advisors, where he led overall investment strategy and operations in India from 2009 to 2013. At Omidyar,  Mr. Sinha made venture capital investments in a variety of companies of which three went on to become unicorns:  DailyHunt, Quikr, and Tata1mg. Several others were semi-unicorns including d.light, Aspiring Minds, Neogrowth,  Vistaar Finance, and HealthKart. Before joining Omidyar Network, Mr. Sinha was Managing Director at Courage Capital  Management, where he led Global Technology and India-related investing for a US based billion-dollar global special  situations hedge fund. Mr. Sinha joined Courage Capital in 2006 after twelve years with McKinsey & Company, where he  was a Partner in the Boston and Delhi offices and co-led the Global Software & Services Practice. 

As a global thought leader, Mr. Sinha has been published in the Financial Times, Times of India, Economic Times, Indian  Express, Business Standard, Harvard Business Review, and the McKinsey Quarterly. He has pioneered new thinking on  climate finance, sustainable development programs, platform-based businesses, and digital competition. Mr. Sinha’s  Green Frontier framework is gaining broad acceptance as the net zero development model for India. 

Mr. Sinha has an MBA with Distinction from the Harvard Business School, an MS in Energy Management & Policy from  the University of Pennsylvania, and a BTech with Distinction from the IIT Delhi. He was awarded the Distinguished  Alumni award from IIT Delhi in 2015. Mr. Sinha was recognized as the Best Lok Sabha MP of the Year 2021 while the  Standing Committee on Finance was awarded the Best Parliamentary Committee in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Based on his  five year record, he was awarded as a top Parliamentarian by the President of India. Mr. Sinha is a member of the Harvard  Business School Global Advisory Board and has also served on the IFC Global Advisory Board (2012-2013).