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Prof. Sopory is the Head of the Plant Molecular Biology group at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Delhi. He had his earlier education till M.Sc. in Srinagar. He did his Ph.D. at the University of Delhi. Prof. Sopory has worked in various Institutions abroad; Max-Planck Institute, Koeln, and University of Munich, at Germany and at the University of Texas and United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville in USA. Before joining ICGEB he was Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University at Delhi. He is the recipient of Bhatnagar Award, Birbal Sahni Award, and other awards and is also the Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, The National Academy of Sciences, Indian Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Ashwani Kumar, a Congress Party member of Rajya Sabha from Punjab, and Chairman, AICC Vichar Vibhag, is a practicing Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court and was appointed Additional Solicitor General of India in 1990 at the age of 37. He has appeared before the Court in landmark cases which include the Bhopal Gas case, the Gujarat Presidential Reference case and the recently decided Electoral Reforms case. At 33, he first represented India as a non-official member of the Indian Delegation to the UN General Assembly in1986 and later again in 1996. Ashwani Kumar ahs also served as a Spokesperson of the Congress Party and as member of the Congress Party's Economic Policy Introspection Group. He has travelled extensively and was as Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. He has also lectured at the University of Nice. He is currently a member of the Standing Committee of Parliament on Commerce and has also served as a member of the Standing Committee of Parliament on Energy. Ashwani Kumar is the son of Late Prabodh Chandra, a veteran freedom fighter, distinguished parliamentarian and Congress leader from Punjab.