Chief Guest

Mr. Manoj Gogoi is an Indian wildlife conservationist and wildlife rehabilitationist based in Kaziranga, Assam. He has rescued over 5000 animals in Kaziranga National Park, during annual floods in Assam.

Mr. Gogoi has very humble beginnings, starting his career as a gypsy driver-cum-tourist guide ferrying tourists inside the Kaziranga National Park. Following an unexpected encounter with Kedar Gore, the director of Corbett Foundation, he made the decision to fully commit himself to the cause of environmentalism. Since then, he has dedicated his life to rescuing several animals in and around Kaziranga, even raising numerous abandoned or orphaned birds and small mammals on numerous occasions.

Mr. Gogoi is also the Founder and president of “Naturalist for Rehabilitation of Snakes and Birds (NRSB)”, a conservation NGO with more than 90 active members. In addition to their works in wildlife rescue, NRSB conducts numerous awareness activities to sensitize people about the need of wildlife and biodiversity conservation. Mr. Gogoi has also trained local youths in Nature guiding, and has attended numerous national seminars and workshops.

Mr. Gogoi is a recipient of the India Star Passion Award 2019 under category of Social Service (Environment). He is the subject of the nature documentary "The Man Who ‘Speaks’ Nature", directed by Dhritiman Kakati & Raktim Hazarika.

Dr. Dipjyoti Rajkhowa has an extensive professional background, holding various positions throughout his career in the field of agriculture. He has accumulated 32 years of experience in teaching, research, extension, and administration.

During his tenure, he held many key positions, including Principal Scientist and Professor at AAU, Jorhat, and Principal Scientist & Head of divisions at the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region. He later joined ICAR, Nagaland Centre as the Joint Director. Dr. Rajkhowa played a crucial role in developing and promoting integrated weed management practices and vermicompost production techniques using native earthworm species. He also pioneered conservation agriculture practices for rice and maize-based cropping systems in hill ecosystems and contributed to rainwater harvesting, micro-irrigation, organic farming, and integrated farming systems models for small and marginal farmers. Additionally, he actively worked on climate-resilient agricultural technologies.

As an accomplished author, Dr. Rajkhowa has received several honors and recognitions for his outstanding contributions, such as the ISA Gold Medal, fellowships of prestigious agronomy and weed science societies, and the Distinguished Scientist Award.

Dr. Rajkhowa is actively involved in the research community as a member of research advisory councils, university court and executive councils, and as an editor, reviewer, and councilor for professional societies. He has organized numerous national and international seminars and symposiums, demonstrating his dedication to advancing agricultural knowledge and practices.

Mr. Jon Jyoti Kalita is a research scholar in the Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. 

His doctoral research primarily focuses on developing DNA aptamers targeting Celiac disease epitopes found in the glutenin subunit of gluten protein. He has actively participated in international conferences, including BIODIVERSE 2018 held at IIT Guwahati and ICAN-2017 held at Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati, where he presented his research. Prior to completing his thesis, he authored and collaborated on several peer-reviewed article and a book chapter directly related to his research. Furthermore, he served as a teaching assistant for the online course "Genome Editing and Engineering," taught by Prof. Utpal Bora, as part of the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), supported by the Ministry of Education, Go, from July to October 2022.