Dr. Rajeev Sharma brings over 20 years of academic experience, including 9 years in thedevelopment sector focusing on industrial clusters and SMEs. He specializes in MSMEs, Cluster Development, Business Development Services (BDS), and Policy Advocacy.He has led several high-impact projects, notably the UNIDO capacity-building program for Cluster Development Agents in Tehran, Iran, and served as a consultant with the Cluster Competitiveness Group, Barcelona for its India operations. Dr. Sharma has coordinated major initiatives such as the DST-funded “Promoting Innovative Clusters” project (₹12.5 crore),fostering innovation across SME sectors like Textile Machinery, Medical Devices, andPharmaceuticals. An accomplished researcher, Dr. Sharma has published extensively in reputed journals and presented papers at national and international conferences, including Sapienza University, Rome, and Burkina Faso. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Economics, MA in Economics, and MBA in Operations, along with advanced training at IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain under a scholarship program on Cluster Competitiveness. He continues to contribute to policy advocacy, cluster development methodologies, and SME competitiveness through research, training, and international collaborations.

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