Domains of Experience

Total Experience in Regular Government Service:  25 Years of Regular Government Service (16 Years in Teaching at undergraduate/post-graduate level and 9 years in Training)

Training Experience: About 9 years in H.P. Institute of Pub. Administration (HIPA) Fairlawn Shimla-171012; Citizens’ Perspective on Good Governance in H.P./India: With Special focus on GRM Tools, Citizen Charter, Process Re-engineering; Role of PIO, RTI Act and Rules: Provisions and Practice, PSG, Fundamentals of PPP, significance and the Case studies; Sevottam: Service Delivery Excellence Model; Fundamental of Management and Organizational Behaviour: HRM and Soft Skills; Time Management and Stress Management; Communication and Presentation Skills; Understanding the fundamental of research, research report/assignment writing and policy implications of research; Systematic Approach to Training incl. trainer skills, TNA, DOT; Good Governance: Significance and tools; Understanding the economy and economic governance model of Indian states; Problems and Prospects of Himachal Economy; Public policy and Economic administration; Institutional set-up in the State/ Central Financial Administration; Balancing Economic Governance with Environmental Governance for achieving sustainable development/SDGs.

Professional qualification for the administrative training: One year, full time Post-Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management; Four-week Teaching Orientation Course UGC-ASC. Direct Trainer Skills {DTS} from ATI Mysore, Training Need Analysis {TNA} from IMG, Thiruvananthapuram, Design of Training {DOT} from YASHADA Pune, TOT on PPP (ATI Kolkata), TOT on WTO and State Trade Issues (CWS, IIFT Delhi), Workshop on e-Learning by GIZ-DEA Delhi . Management Development Programme (MDP) on "Management of Creativity and Innovation" at IIM Kolkata.

Research Experience: Since 2004, more intense during the doctoral work under the supervision of Prof. P.L. Sankhayan of Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) Aas, Norway.

External Faculty Contributions: UGC-Academic Staff College HPU Shimla; National Academy of Audit and Accounts, Yarrows, Shimla, SCERT Solan; Pre-Examination Coaching Centre for Civil Services HPU Shimla; etc..

Foreign Affiliation: Worked in the Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), Aas, as  Foreign Student Researcher  in 2006 (for the necessary training in General Algebraic Modelling System (GAMS) and developing two research papers on Land Use Changes and Logistic Growth Model of Biomass).

Countries Visited: Norway, Sweden, Kenya, China and USA

Contribution in Research/Policy Events

Co-Chaired a session with Prof. Ramparasad Sengupta (Session Chair) in TS 1.2: Vulnerability, Impact and Adaptation to Climate Change of the Tenth Biennial Conference of the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) (In association with CESS, NIRD&PR and GIZ) on "Climate Change and Disasters: Challenges, Opportunities and Responses" organized at CESS Hyderabad during 6-8 November 2019.

Organizing Secretary of the First National Conference of Himachal Pradesh Mahavidyalaya Shaikshik Sangh on the theme "Higher Education for Nation Building" organized at Govt. College Chaura Maidan Shimla on January 2, 2020.

Member in HP SHEC Committee for preparing a draft Plan for the UGC Committee on implementation plan for Part III Chapter 22 (Promotion of Indian Languages, arts and Culture) in NEP 2020.

Member of the Committee Constituted by the Directorate of Hr. Education for Preparing Perspective Plan of PM-USHA (2024-2027).

Papers Presented in International Conferences:

-Paper entitled “Analysis of Profitability and Risk in New Cropping Pattern by Using a Dynamic Non-Linear Programming Model at Watershed Level in Himachal Himalaya” presented in the 27th Triennial Conference of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE, WI, USA) held in Beijing (China) from August 16-22, 2009.

-Paper entitled “Use of Dynamic Non-Linear Bio-Economic Model for Analyzing Changes in Land Use and Forest Degradation in a Himalayan Watershed” presented in the 18th International Conference of Forum for Interdisciplinary Mathematics (FIM) on Interdisciplinary Mathematical and Statistical Techniques (IMST 2009-FIM XVIII) from August 2 - 4, 2009 held at Jaypee University of Information Technology (JUIT), Waknaghat, Distt. Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.

-Paper on Bio-economic modeling presented in the 10th biennial international conference of International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), held at UNEP headquarters, Nairobi (Kenya) from 7-11 August, 2008; {with 100% travel grant from University Grants Commission (UGC) of India}.

-Paper on Land use changes in Himachal Pradesh presented in the International Seminar on Soil and Forest degradation in the Himalayan Region, organized by Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) Aas, under the aegis of European Commission Project in April, 2006.

-Paper on “Waste Management in the Himalayan Hill City Shimla: Concerns for Ecology, Economics and Governance”. Paper presented in the Ninth Biennial International Conference of the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) held at KILA, Thrissur Kerala from November 8-10, 2017.

-Paper on Issues and Challenges related to Indian Apple in international trade : A case study of Himachal. Paper presented in the 5th International Conference on WTO, Trade and Agriculture: Issues and Challenges for Developing and Least Developed Countries held at Centre for WTO Studies, Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi from  20-21 October, 2016.

Paper in International Workshop:

-Paper on "Bio-economic modelling for optimum land use under alternate policy regimes" was presented in an International workshop on "Integrated Ecosystem Modelling" organized by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) and Land Use Policies and Sustainable Development in Developing Countries (LUPIS-EU funded project) at Bangalore in 23-24 June, 2010

Paper Presented in National Conference:

-Rakesh Kumar Sharma, 2013. Review of Initiatives in Valuation and Sustainability of Ecosystem Services: Some Issues for Convergence and Governance. Paper presented in the Seventh Biennial Conference of the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) “Global Change, Ecosystems, Sustainability” held from December 5-8, 2013 at Tezpur University, Assam.

-Rakesh Kumar Sharma, 2011. Environmental governance for carbon neutrality: Issues of externality sharing mechanism in Himachal Pradesh. Paper presented at the Sixth Biennial Conference of the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) “Nature, Economy and Society:Understanding the Linkages” at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad on 20-22 October, 2011. (The paper was also selected for presentation in the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics ISEE held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 16-19, 2012).

-Paper on dynamics of land use presented in the Fifth Biennial Conference of the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) held at Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad from 21-23 January 2009, organized in collaboration with Gujarat Institute of Development Research and Gujarat Vidyapeeth Ahmedabad.

Inaugural Address in National Conference: 

-inaugural Address on "Demographic Dividend: Rhetoric, strategy and Ground Reality" was Delivered in a UGC-Marathwada University National Conference Aurangabad on 5 January 2015.

Experience in Administrative Training Institute:

About Nine Years. As a Course Director/Coordinator conducted more than 200 courses/programmes. Other assignments: Imparting training sessions on different themes, evaluation of project assignments, Founding Managing Editor of bi-annual journal of the institute "Administrative Development"; Nodal Officer, Training (ATI), Nodal Officer and trainer on RTI; Good Governance/Soft Skills/PPP; Coordinator, 'TDP and SCTP of DoPT, GOI (Conducted first ever national level DTS at HIPA in 2019 and Ek bharat Shreshtha Bharat Programme in Association with IMG Thiruvananthapuram)', Nodal Officer Library.

Interest areas in training: Public Private Partnership (PPP), Citizen Perspective on Good Governance; State of economic affairs in H.P. and Fiscal federalism; Public policy and Economic administration;  Citizen charters and Public Grievance redressal system: e-samadhan, CPGRAMS ; Issues of efficiency and innovation in administration; Increasing efficiency through ICT usage in daily working ; Communication and Presentation Skills; Understanding Research, its policy implications and scientific writing; Time Management and Stress Management;  Soft Skills for personal efficiency and improved Organizational Behaviour;  Systematic Approach to Training (SAT); DTS; DOT; TNA; Payment for eco-system services, carbon credit trading, externality sharing mechanisms and roadmap to carbon-neutrality; RFD. 

Professional qualification for the administrative training: One year, full time Post-Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management; Four-week Teaching Orientation Course UGC-ASC. Direct Trainer Skills {DTS} from ATI Mysore, Training Need Analysis {TNA} from IMG, Thiruvananthapuram, Design of Training {DOT} from YASHADA Pune, TOT on PPP (ATI Kolkata), TOT on WTO and State Trade Issues (CWS, IIFT Delhi), Workshop on e-Learning by GIZ-DEA Delhi . Management Development Programme (MDP) on "Management of Creativity and Innovation" at IIM Kolkata.

Workshops/Training:

Refresher Course on MANAGING ONLINE CLASSES AND CO-CREATING MOOCS

Completed Two-week Interdisciplinary Refresher Course on MANAGING ONLINE CLASSES AND CO-CREATING MOOCS from 11- 25 November 2023 in A+ Grade from Teaching Learning Centre Ramanujan College (Accredited Grade 'A++' by NAAC) University of Delhi

Workshop on Research and data analysis through TradeSift:

Attended a week long workshop on "Research and Data Analysis through TradeSift" at IIFT New Delhi on April 22-27, 2013. The workshop was organized by InterAnalysis, University of Sussex (UK) and Centre for WTO Studies, IIFT.

TOT on WTO and Trade

Completed the Training of Trainers Programme in WTO and State Trade Issues conducted by the Commerce Ministry's Centre for WTO Studies (CWS, IIFT) Delhi from 19-21 May 2014.

TOT on PPP

Completed the Training of Trainers Programme in Public Private Partnership (PPP) conducted by the Deptt. of Economic Affairs (Min. of Finance) GOI through IDFC at ATI Kolkata from 9-14 January 2012.

Workshop of India-TEEB Study:

Attended an "Expert Consultation Workshop on India-The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Study" at Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) Bhopal on September 15-16, 2011. The workshop was a Govt. of India (Ministry of Environment & Forest) initiative for conducting TEEB-India Study in association with IIFM, GIZ and DIFID.

Research Interests: 

-Land use changes; mathematical bio-economic models for optimization and simulation; biomass estimation; forest degradation; watershed development; Agricultural Economics; Ecological economics and Natural Resource Management.

Other Contributions: Articles and commentary for magazines, newspapers, blogs, various social media pages and groups for public sensitization objective. Visiting Guest Faculy in ASC HPU Shimla, SCERT Solan, HIPA Shimla, NAAA Yarrows, SIHFW Parimahal Shimla. Sectoral Analysis/ Comments on DD Himachal, Other Electronic/Digital Media.

Institutions where served: HIPA (Twice), RKMV Shimla (twice); GC Sanjauli; PGGC Solan (Twice); GC Saraswatinagar.

Job Designations: Lecturer in Economics (March,1999 to May 2009); Assistant Professor (Selection Grade ) since May 2009; Associate Professor since May 2012.

Previous four positions:

-Associate Professor (Economic Administration) Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) Fairlawn Shimla, India 171012 (w.e.f. 19-03-2018-29-06-2022); Associate Professor (Economics); Government College for Girls (RKMV) Shimla H.P. 171001 (w.e.f. 17-08-2016 to 17/03/2018); Associate Professor (Economics), Govt. Post Graduate College Solan H.P. (23-09-2014 to 16-08-2016); Associate Professor (Economic Administration) Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) Fairlawn Shimla, India 171012 (w.e.f. 20-05-2010-22-09-2014).

Date of Birth: 01-09-1973

Member of scholarly societies/associations:

Joint Secretary, Executive Committee of INSEE 2018-2020

Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE). (Life Member)

Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE). (Life Member)

International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE). (Life Member-Non Voting)

International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE). (Member 2008-10)

Learning Community. (Life Member)

Founding Managing Editor 'Administrative Development: A Journal of HIPA Shimla'

Reviewed for Biomass & Bioenergy (Elsevier); Environmental Technology (Taylor and Francis) and various other reputed journals.

E-Mail: Private: rakeshinshimla[AT]gmail.com; Official: rakesh.sharma73[AT]gov.in

Web: http://sites.google.com/site/rakeshinshimla

http://rakeshinshimla.googlepages.com/home

Last updated on September 4, 2025 (On googlepages since 2006).