Treasurer
Sundeep Bhutoria, a Rajasthan-born-Kolkata-based social and cultural activist whose name is synonymous with social welfare activities and promotion of Indian folk art, literature and culture. He is an outspoken community conscience and a youth icon representing India in United Nations Associations and various other fora and non-governmental organisations.
Born in Churu in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, Mr Bhutoria went to a local village school and went on to complete his master's in Hindi, Business Management from London and a Corporate Management from Japan. Mr Bhutoria cherishes ethnic values and a modern outlook towards life. He is rooted in his culture but open to ideas and inspirations from all over the world.
Mr Bhutoria is also an author, speaker, columnist, blogger, art collector and a wild life enthusiast. He has authored three books and delivered lectures in eminent Universities including Czech Republic University, New York University, Moscow University, The City College of New York and Oxford Business College. He belongs to a family of industrialists but has, by his own choice, opted to spend his time and efforts in promoting social welfare and cultural activities. He is also an avid traveller a cultural emissary having visited about 50 countries.
Mr Bhutoria has been honoured with many recognitions and awards and complimented by some of the leading figures of the 20th Century. Blessed Mother Teresa had described Mr Bhutoria as “He is a boy with a different vision altogether”.
He has been featured as one of the 50 youth figures that India can look up to by the Asia Magazine in 2005. In September 2010 he was felicitated for his chosen area of work at The House of Lords, London (UK).
Mr Bhutoria's activities are widely reported in the media across India and abroad. His association with eminent international, national and local personalities from different walks of life and reputed organisations have enabled him to carry out his work effectively with their support and reach out to a wider audience through innovative events and functions.
Mr Bhutoria's reputation as a social welfare activist and a connoisseur of Indian art and culture precedes him. He has organised and initiated national and international events to promote various causes ranging from under-privileged child education, women empowerment, promotion and preservation of Indian folk culture and so on.
Mr Bhutoria is currently the Trustee of NGOs Prabha Khaitan Foundation and Education For All Trust which he had started himself to carry out various social welfare activities and outreach programmes. He is the Secretary of Rajasthan Foundation Kolkata Chapter which is an autonomous body instituted by the Government of Rajasthan, India. He is also the Hony. Secretary-General of The Bengal – a Kolkata-based NGO of eminent citizens and opinion makers and achievers engaged in promoting various socio-cultural and welfare activities. One of the projects Pronam which is in collaboration with Kolkata Police is an outreach programme dedicated to the welfare of elderly citizens. The Bengal runs various cultural and outreach projects from time to time apart from Pronam.
Similarly, Mr Bhutoria has been instrumental in ideating and executing some of the popularly branded campaigns in India like the Author's Afternoon, Aakhar, Chaupal, Desert Soul, Desert Storm, Ek Mulakat, Kalam, Karuna, Lafz, Recipe Rendezvous, Sanskar, Tete-a-Tea, Write Circle and so on. These campaigns, most of which are currently on, have very effectively communicated the key messages like recognizing and promoting talent in literature, fine arts, folk and traditional art, films, social activities and cuisine. These campaigns are motivational and inspirational in nature and seek to spread awareness on wide-ranging issues.
In 2000 Mr Bhutoria was nominated for the Millennium Commonwealth Parliament at Manchester, England and was elected as Home Minister in the mock Parliament. In the preceding years, he had achieved distinguished positions in Greece, Denmark and London. In 2001, Mr Bhutoria participated in the Youth Summit for World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, and also attended the United Nations' world conference of NGOs in New York. The same year, he went to Japan on an invitation from The Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship for a training programme on corporate management for South Asia.
In 2003 Mr Bhutoria visited China as a member of the Indian Delegation on Peace and Goodwill. Mr Bhutoria participated as the Judge in the 3rd Asia Pacific Model United Nations (MUN) Conference in 2008 held at Incheon (South Korea) hosted by the Republic of South Korea. He was also the convenor of the second MUN conference.
He was the Secretary of the Youth Taskforce – World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) held in New York and was elected in 2009 in Canada as the Treasurer of WFUNA world body. He was the first Indian to be elected for the post which he currently holds on being re-elected in 2012 in Rio-Brazil, in 2015 in Vancouver as well as in 2018 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Mr Bhutoria was also appointed Special Advisor to WFUNA Secretary-General on Youth Affairs in the 185th WFUNA Executive Committee in Geneva.
Other international engagements of Mr Bhutoria includes Chair Member at the 8th International Conference of Young Scholars held at University of Economics- Prague, Czech Republic. In 2009, he was invited and became a member of the Confederation of Non-Government Organisations (CoNGO) Regional Committee for Asia Pacific Region at its meeting in Thailand.
At present, he is also serving as Nominee of Rajasthan Governor in Bikaner University, Rajasthan. He is also the member of the Expert committee of Cultural function and Production Grant of Ministry of Culture and a member of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Advisory Committee.
Mr Bhutoria has been promoting awareness on local and global issues like the environment, empowering the disadvantaged, education and skill development, waste management, global peace, wildlife protection, supporting the elderly, preservation of art and culture and so on through his writings in newspapers and journals, by organising events, seminars, road shows and other activities carried out through various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which he spearheads.
Mr Bhutoria has authored a book in English, “The Safari”, on wildlife preservation and tiger protection in India. His other book in Hindi called “Aap Biti Jag Biti” and recent book ‘My Life My Travels’ a best seller which is a travelogue that touches upon the cultural and social mores in different countries of the world through his own experiences.
At present Mr. Bhutoria is also working on two new books, one which is based on the leopards of Bera, and the second one on China.
In his spare time Mr Bhutoria, a teetotaller, loves to read, write and watch plays. He plays the violin, is fond of golf and loves watching polo. He lives in Kolkata with his wife Manjari and daughter Aavya. He divides his time between Rajasthan, Delhi and London each year.