IIM Calcutta Innovation Park Reinforces its Investment Committee with Four Distinguished Industry Leaders to Drive Cross Industry Startup Investing

These appointments enhance IIMCIP’s executive competencies across venture capital, credit markets, and impact investing.

Kolkata, April 07, 2026: IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) today announced the induction of four new senior investment leaders into its Investment Committee, augmenting the governance and decision-making framework that guides its startup investment strategy.

The expanded committee brings together experienced investors, fund managers, and industry operators with expertise spanning venture capital, private credit, asset management, and early-stage company building. The appointments reflect IIMCIP’s commitment to disciplined capital deployment grounded in robust due diligence, and measurable impact.

Commenting on the development, Dr VK Rai, CEO, IIMCIP said, “The newly inducted members bring complementary experience across venture capital, capital markets, credit assessment, impact investing, and venture building, adding depth to IIMCIP’s investment committee and strengthening the strategic guidance that we provide to our startups. A strong investment platform is built on rigorous evaluation, diverse perspectives, and discipline decision-making and I believe their collective expertise will further enhance the robustness of IIMCIP’s investment processes and help us back startups that combine strong fundamentals with meaningful impact.”

New Members of IIMCIP’s Investment Committee

Shankar Jadhav, Director & CIO, BlueRock; Director, Technocraft Industries India Ltd. – A capital markets professional and former Managing Director of BSE Investments, Mr. Jadhav brings deep experience across investment strategy, capital markets, and board-level decision-making. His perspective will strengthen the committee’s ability to evaluate scalability, capital efficiency, and long-term value creation.
Kanchan Jain, MD & CEO, Ascertis Credit; Director, IIMCIP Board – A global credit and structured finance specialist, Mrs. Jain brings more than three decades of experience across private credit, capital markets, and institutional investing. Having held senior leadership roles at HSBC London and Barclays Capital before founding Ascertis Credit, she adds deep expertise in risk evaluation, governance, and structured capital to the committee. Her presence also strengthens alignment between board-level oversight and investment decision-making.
Krishnan Neelakantan, Managing Partner, Ankur Capital – An experienced early-stage investor focused on deep science, climate, and agriculture innovation, Mr. Neelakantan brings a strong track record of backing technology-driven ventures addressing real-world challenges. With prior leadership roles in capital markets research at CLSA and impact investing at Samhita Social Ventures, he adds a distinctive perspective at the intersection of venture capital, research-led investing, and impact-driven enterprise building.
Kalyani Amilineni, Managing Partner, Amil Ventures – A founder and strategy advisor working closely with early-stage businesses, Ms. Amilineni brings hands-on experience in startup mentoring, fundraising strategy, and growth planning. With prior leadership roles at Wipro and HCLTech, she contributes a practitioner’s perspective that will strengthen IIMCIP’s ability to support founders beyond capital through strategic guidance and market-facing execution.

Sharing his perspective on these appointments, Ajay Jain, Chairman of IIMCIP Board added, “India’s next generation of market-defining companies will be built at the intersection of financial rigour and responsible growth. As India’s startup ecosystem matures, stronger governance and more disciplined capital allocation have become non-negotiable. The IIMCIP investment committee brings deep in-depth expertise into its investment and evaluation processes, enabling long-term value creation across its portfolio.”

Building a Credible Institutional Investment Platform

The expanded Investment Committee forms a core pillar of IIM Calcutta Innovation Park by strengthening its framework for assessing and supporting early- and growth-stage startups. It will enable sharper investment thesis, more structured due-diligence processes, and a governance model built to meet the expectations of co-investors, limited partners, and regulators.

These four members enhances the strength of the committee that comprises Hari Balasubramanian, Mentor & Angel Investor, Member, Indian Angel Network, Sachin Oswal, Angel Investor & Entrepreneur, Founder, Originity, Anuj Sharma, Founder, ALSiSAR IMPACT, Uday Chatterjee, Angel Investor, Director, TIE Dehradun, Sooraj Dhawan, Founder and Director, Falcon Investment Pvt Ltd and Ajay Jain, Sustainability and Water Industry Expert, Member IIM Calcutta BoG, Chairman of IIMCIP Board. Together forming a collective of experts within a robust investment framework, enabling promising startups to scale with the right strategic support.

About IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP)

The IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) is a not-for-profit (Section 8) company established under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in India. Recognised by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, IIMCIP’s mission is to nurture innovative, socially impactful entrepreneurs who can drive inclusive growth.

Its core offerings span structured mentoring, capacity building, seed funding and access to markets and investors. To date, IIMCIP has mentored over 2,000 startups and seed-funded 124 ventures, that have collectively raised more than ₹2,000 crore and built a cumulative portfolio valuation of nearly ₹8,000 crore.

IIMCIP also works closely with government bodies, corporates and academia to strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem, foster high-impact collaborations and promote women’s entrepreneurship, with a special focus on underserved regions of the country.