Nirbhay Bhatnagar (PFM 2009-11), Deputy Manager, Central Mine Planning and Design, Institute Coal India Ltd

Nirbhay Bhatnagar (PFM 2009-11) is currently working in Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited under the Ministry of Coal since 2014. He is a QCI-NABET approved Functional Area Expert, Category A, in Ecology, Biodiversity and Socio-economic study for preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in coal mining industry. He is a technical member of Sustainable Development Cell for planning & execution of sustainable mining activities of Coal India Limited. He happens to be a regular industry invitee to the Indian Institute of Coal Management (IICM, Ranchi) and Ranchi University to take sessions on Environment, Sustainability, CSR, and Community Development subject area. He is a nominated member of the CSR Apex Committee of CMPDI for review and recommendation of CSR activities performed by CMPDI and its seven Regional Institute. He began his career at ITC PSPD Limited, Bhadrachalam in 2011, which is responsible for raw material procurement and supply chain management. Afterward, he joined TERI, New Delhi as a Research Associate and worked on various projects of Environment, Forest and Sustainability. Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? A. IIFM gave me an opportunity to begin my career at ITC PSPD Ltd in Bhadrachalam in 2011. It has been a wonderful learning experience to start one’s career in the corporate world. I have learned well under the guidance of our alumni Mr. Deepak Khare at ITC PSPD Ltd. But my inclination towards the social and environmental sector led me to join TERI in just a year. At TERI, the working environment was amazing and very energizing. At the very start, I was given the responsibility of handling big and varied projects such as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, Social Impact Assessment (SIA) studies, Mid Career Training (MCT) programs, and various other forestry-related projects. TERI was a wonderful place to learn, act and re-learn. Then, I joined Coal India Limited (CIL) as a Management Trainee in the Community Development Cadre in 2014. At CIL, I was able to capitalize on my technical expertise and very soon got accreditation from QCI-NABET for functional area expert. At present, my role caters to both Community Development as well as Ecology & Environment in the coal industry. Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us? A. As far as milestones are concerned, they are yet to come. But I am fortunate that in a quick time, I gained experience of a classic corporate (ITC Ltd.), a reputed NGO of national & international stand-up (TERI), and a premier technical Govt. run Enterprise (CMPDI). I was able to capitalize on the experience gained from one place to another. Like the work of Forest certification in ITC had helped me in AR-CDM projects at TERI and experience of TERI in AR-CDM projects had helped in getting accreditation from QCI-NABET in CMPDI. Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? A. The most satisfying part of my current job is that I am doing what I wanted to do. I always had an inclination for doing impactful work in the social and environmental sectors. As part of my job profile in CMPDI, I got a chance to serve the nation and strive for a balance between development (coal mining) and environment (eco-restoration), which itself is a herculean task. Further, the most satisfying part of my all job profiles has been that, I am able to keep my sports life active. Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles? A. Yes very much. IIFM has played a great role in shaping my mindset and skillset to work in social and environmental spaces. The classroom sessions coupled with fieldwork and internship at NABARD had opened a new horizon for me. The learning at IIFM has a USP of sectoral business aspects. Though Environment and Development is a vast and contradicting sector, I am lucky to enjoy the cocktail of both.

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles? A.  Though I have chosen myself to be the driver, I am very thankful to all the IIFM faculties especially (Dr. CSR Sir, Dr. YD Sir, Dr. Amitabh Pandey Sir), my loveable family (Parents, Wife & Son), and friends. IIFM is a unique platform for the freshers to express themself by indulging not only in academics but also in non-academics like the Placement & SI Committee, Interest based clubs like – Sports Club, Cultural Club, Alumni Network Committee, etc. Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?A. Sports has always fascinated me in IIFM. Gully Cricket, late-night badminton, terrace parties, and mid-night walks are the indelible part of my eventful time at IIFM. I was fortunate to have the company of really good friends. Spending time with such a wonderful company at IIFM is a time to cherish lifelong. Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, and alumni. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional? A. IIFM brand has been very helpful to my career. It gave me an appetite for learning new and diverse things and accepting challenges in professional life. In a nutshell, IIFM played a critical role in nurturing me as an individual and paving a way for strong professional life. Q. The best friends/seniors/faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share. A. IIFM is one place where you get friends for a lifetime. My besties are Bluetooth urf Neeli, Tucks, Meena, Fahil, Sardara, Aki, Apoo, Nandu, Shonali, Richaah, Vandana, Ladoo, Anubhav Sogani, Manish, Shoaib, Praveen, Sampath, Akshat and the list goes on…without them IIFM life is unthinkable.

Q. As an alumnus, what is your advice to freshers or those who are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there? A. Enjoy your two years’ stay with the best campus, faculties, sports infrastructure, library and imbibe a sound professional character, learn to accept new tasks, and decide the sector you want to serve.

Q. What is your typical day at the office? A. My office is in the residential premises. This is both positive as well as negative that we are never away from office nor from home. Typically my day starts with e-office and emails where many routines, as well as ministerial urgent assignments, lies. My team is responsible for the preparation of EIA reports along with the specialized studies we carried out for the coal sector. We give inputs in policy matters to MoC and are one of the key pre-cursors behind steps taken for sustainable coal mining. Our aim is to achieve green coal mining through adopting environment-friendly approaches in coal mining operations. This involves a lot of fieldwork, stakeholder engagements, technical report preparation, and presentation before MoC/MoEFCC. Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add? A. Weekends are mostly spent with my family and friends. The sports environment on our campus is a big positive to me. Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors. A. Movies – 3 Idiots, Troy, Prey. Books – Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? A. I would be happy to give back to Institute. Wildlife Conservation Plan, Biodiversity Action Plans, Payment for Ecosystem Services are some of the key areas where CIL has/intends to join hands with IIFM. For the Internship program, we can assist current batches of IIFM to take learnings and bring new ideas to the mining sector. Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not? A. I have not been actively engaged with the institute since I left, So I would limit myself to comment on this. Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here? A. Though every IIFM’ite possess something special to offer, I would like to see the diverse profile of Avinaw Kishore and Nakul Dogra from my batch to be interviewed.