Ajay Mathur has overseen the growth of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and the International Solar Alliance into organization’s that make a difference in the lives of people by enabling them to choose more energy efficient products, and access renewable energy products.

An engineer by training, he has focused on price reductions in technologies, enabling policies that provide incentives for energy efficiency and renewables to both consumers and manufacturers. This has resulted in changes both on the demand and the supply sides.

Dr. Mathur’s work indicates that convergence (of pubic interests and private benefits) leads to sustainable policies. These are often several years in the making and initial operation – so they need built-in flexibility mechanisms – before they become publicly acceptable and implementable, leading to changes in private behavioral patterns. In other words, perseverance is important. At this time – once the rationale for private adoption is clear – upscaling makes sense; political support accelerates upscaling.