Dr. Sudhir Krishna has been an IAS officer for an incredible 37 years. He led several national programmes and plans for planned urban and regional development during that time, notably the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).  He also contributed to the early conceptions of the Smart Cities Mission. He had previously held a number of other important positions in the GOI and the Government of Karnataka. He has written extensively on a variety of subjects, including management, public policy, and urban and regional development. Before retiring in June 2014, the Krishna worked as the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development. He was appointed Chairman of two committees in 2015 to create a Draft Public Procurement Bill and make recommendations for streamlining or doing away with the licencing system. In April 2016, he was appointed Chairman of the Fifth Delhi Finance Commission, which submitted its findings in October 2017. He chairs both the Technical Committee on Smart Cities of the Bureau of Indian Standards and the TIFAC (Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council) Committee on Smart Habitats. He works for the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) as a national authority on leadership abilities.