Prof (Dr) Sukamal Deb is a crusader of inclusive development. For more than three decades, he worked in the Government to develop the North-East Region (NER). A major part of his career he spent in Arunachal Pradesh promoting rural micro-enterprises, tribal entrepreneurs and women empowerment. Currently, he is a Professor at Anant National University, Ahmedabad, and leads a Centre of National Importance on Documentation of Languishing Crafts, focusing on the NER. He teaches Rural Development, Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability.
Prof Deb served as the Deputy CEO, North East, KVIC, Ministry of MSME, Government of India, Guwahati (2018 - 2022). His work garnered appreciation and set several national and international records. He held senior positions in the Arunachal Pradesh Administration, the Foundation for MSME Cluster, UNIDO, New Delhi, and in the IIM, Kolkata projects.
Prof. Deb has a doctorate in Rural Development, is a Global Climate Action Fellow, and has specialisations in Sustainable Development (Columbia University, NY), Social Sector Leadership (Haas School of Business, University of California), and Social Enterprise (Acumen Academy, the World’s School for Social Change) and several other social sector specialisations.
Prof. Deb was conferred the title of Social Development Hero, 2024 by SUNFO, an organisation of the United Nations and the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Leader of the Decade: Creating a Better World by WICCI India ASEAN Award, 2025, and the Leader of the Decade in Community Leadership by WICCI, New Delhi, in 2022.
He is a nominee of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi at Delhi Skill & Entrepreneurship University. He served as a Member of the Expert Committees on Rural Development of the Government of India, a Member of the World Bank Project, and in several other positions. He is an Editorial Board Member for the International Journal of Economics, Finance, and Management Sciences, NY, and an Empanelled Reviewer for global Research Journals. Two Books, ten Editorial books, and more than twenty Research publications are to his credit. He writes widely in Newspapers.
He had been widely interviewed, including in the Hindu BusinessLine, Times of India, the Eastern Chronicle, the Deccan Herald, and Educational World, Government and Private TV channels/ media in the NE Region. As Dy CEO, KVIC, Ministry of MSME, Prof Deb worked with the Government of Assam to rehabilitate women of ceasefire cadres of different militant groups. At KVIC, he has a record of creating 2,50,000 new non-farm jobs in the NER. He led the transformation of the Boro Nianglo village, a natural masterpiece in Dima Hasao, Assam, into a beekeeping village, which constantly connects him with the people there. He led the revival of the Khadi Production Centre in 2021 at Kawali, Bodoland, after 30 years of its being vandalised by militants in 1987. He worked with the Government of Assam in the mainstreaming and rehabilitation of the women militants of various factions and led revival of Monpa Handmade Paper, a 1000 old craft in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. There are dozens of inspiring stories from real life in the NER, where Prof Deb, an inspiration to many, played a leading role in similar projects and initiatives.
Recently, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on X recognised the transformation of arid land in Rajasthan, Planting Assam’s Bamboo, conceived by KVIC in 2021, in which Prof Deb played an important role, terming it as a powerful example of community action.
His research interests include Rural development, Khadi Develoment and Suustainable Development