Dr. P.V. Unnikrishnan
Member Secretary, K-DISC
”P. V. Unnikrishnan”’ is an Indian engineer, development practitioner, and civil servant known for his work in e‑governance, decentralised planning, science–technology–innovation policy and Kerala’s transition towards a knowledge-based economy. He has held senior leadership roles in the Government of Kerala and allied institutions, including as a non‑ministerial member of the Kerala State Planning Board, Executive Mission Director of the Information Kerala Mission, Independent Director of Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE), Member Secretary of the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K‑DISC), and Ex‑Officio Secretary to the Government of Kerala in the Planning and Economic Affairs (Development and Innovation) Department.
Early life and education
Unnikrishnan was born in 1961 to Prof. Potheri Panayamparambil Vasudevan and K. K. Indirakumaridevi in Kerala, India. He completed a BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, followed by an MTech in Microwave and Television Engineering and a PhD in Applied Sciences and Technology from the Department of Futures Studies, University of Kerala.
Academic and research career
Unnikrishnan began his career as a lecturer in electronics and communication engineering at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. He later served on boards of studies in imaging technology, computer science and futures studies in Kerala universities and has been an honorary professor and domain expert at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, teaching and training in social enterprises, livelihoods, decentralisation and project management.
Decentralised planning and energy work
During a five‑year sabbatical at the Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC) in Palakkad, Unnikrishnan worked on participatory technology development, watershed management, small hydro projects and total energy planning in support of Kerala’s decentralised development agenda. He played a key role in the design and development of the Meenvallom Small Hydro Electric Project, one of the first hydroelectric schemes in Kerala to be conceived and implemented through local governments, and co‑authored with T. M. Thomas Isaac the Kalliasseri local-level planning study—widely known as the “Kalliasseri model for local level development”—which informed the state-wide People’s Plan Campaign.
Government and e‑governance initiatives
As Executive Mission Director of the Information Kerala Mission from 1999 to 2006, Unnikrishnan led one of India’s earliest comprehensive local government e‑governance programmes. The Mission developed a suite of applications for decentralised planning, financial management, civil registration and citizen services in gram panchayats, regarded as the first systematic computerisation of local bodies in the country, and received multiple national and international awards.
Digital platforms and public services
At the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C‑DIT), where he served as registrar and later joint director, Unnikrishnan helped pioneer alternative service delivery models such as Janasevanakendrams, FRIENDS single-window centres and the Akshaya programme for bridging the digital divide. He led the design and implementation of the Chief Minister’s Online Grievance Redressal Portal, ICT systems for the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund and a blockchain-enabled donations portal used to mobilise and track large-scale disaster relief contributions.
Planning Board and national assignments
From 2006 to 2011, Unnikrishnan was a non‑ministerial member of the Kerala State Planning Board, contributing to e‑governance reforms, public enterprise restructuring, energy security initiatives and decentralised planning processes. Nationally, he served as project leader and editor of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s Devolution Index Reports in 2015 and 2016, and worked as a consultant to the National e‑Governance Plan (NeGP) through the National Institute for Smart Government in Hyderabad and to the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) under the Ministry of Rural Development in New Delhi.
Financial sector and KSFE
Unnikrishnan served as an independent director responsible for information technology at Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE), one of India’s largest miscellaneous non‑banking financial companies, until 2022. He was the technical designer and project head for the NRI Chits application developed for the Kerala diaspora and was closely involved in developing the security framework and technology roadmap for CASBA, KSFE’s core banking application, alongside work on IT architecture, audits and information security.
Knowledge economy and employability
Since 2018, Unnikrishnan has been closely associated with the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council, leading efforts to link innovation, skills and employment through the Knowledge Economy Mission and the VijnanaKeralam programme. His conceptual work, including papers on a “people’s innovation system” for Kerala’s knowledge economy transition and on the VijnanaKeralam model, outlines a decentralised, inclusive framework that connects innovation, social justice and employment.
Innovation programmes and K‑DISC portfolio
As Member Secretary of K‑DISC and Ex‑Officio Secretary (Planning and Economic Affairs – Development and Innovation), Unnikrishnan has overseen a state‑wide innovation portfolio spanning schools, colleges, local governments and sectoral networks. Key initiatives include the Young Innovators Programme, One Local Government One Idea, One District One Idea, Manchadi – Teach Maths Kerala, Mazhavillu – Teach Science Kerala and the Emerging Technology in Government initiative. He has been central to the design of the Knowledge Economy Mission and VijnanaKeralam as platforms that connect experiential learning, community innovation and job creation, with explicit attention to the inclusion of women, SC/ST communities, fisherfolk, trans persons and persons with disabilities. Under his leadership, K‑DISC designed and implemented the Digital Workforce Management System, which received the Platinum Award at the National Awards for e‑Governance in 2021.
Science, technology and innovation initiatives
Unnikrishnan has played key roles in developing science, technology and innovation models in Kerala, including initiatives on e‑mobility, the Kerala Medical Technology Consortium, a Centre of Excellence in Microbiome with the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology and a Centre for Development in Nutraceuticals. He was instrumental in establishing the Kerala Blockchain Academy at Digital University Kerala, envisaged as a hub for blockchain education and applications, and in promoting the Kerala Genome Data Centre as an early state-level initiative to build and deploy bioinformatics pipelines for genomics. He also led a multidisciplinary team that developed a model for one of the first public buildings in Kerala to operate on 48‑volt DC power with rooftop solar and vertical-axis wind turbines, linked through a microgrid of green buildings.
Publications and recognition
In addition to his co‑authored work on the Kalliasseri model and his recent knowledge economy papers, Unnikrishnan has published on ICT for grassroots empowerment, web-based electoral systems, biomass and rural energy technologies, and e‑governance. His leadership in public sector ICT and decentralised governance has been recognised through awards such as the CSI–TCS Award for Best IT Usage, the Manthan AIF National e‑Content Award, National e‑Governance Awards and other national and international commendations for best practices in e‑governance.
Personal life
Unnikrishnan has two siblings, P. V. Jayakrishnan and Leela Vasudevan. He is married to Resy George, a civil engineer who also studied at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. The couple have two daughters, Winnie, an information technology professional based in Hyderabad, and Jennie, a science educator in the United Kingdom, as well as grandchildren.
