Sujit Mridha

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector leader with 21+ years working across the full WASH value chain in India and South Asia - from national water and sanitation policy and financing frameworks to community-level service delivery. Senior advisory role and in-country nodal point for the Australia-India Water Security Initiative (AIWASI) under India's AMRUT 2.0 national water and urban infrastructure mission (4,900+ cities); 14 years as Founder-CEO delivering WASH, housing and livelihoods programmes at community level; supervised the ex-post evaluation of an 18-year USAID bilateral municipal services programme (FIRE-D), leading the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) component; and hands-on circular-economy sanitation innovation through a JICA-funded community waste management model and a self-sustaining organic waste composting enterprise. Trusted advisor to central ministries (MoHUA), 25+ state governments, multilateral banks (ADB, World Bank) and bilateral/donor agencies (DFAT Australia, FCDO UK, USAID, JICA) on water, wastewater, sanitation and hygiene policy, programme design, financing and institutional delivery.

Strategic Advisor — Water, Sanitation & Urban Infrastructure Strategy - Independent Advisory

(2023-01)

Advise organisations on water, sanitation and urban infrastructure strategy, institutional partnerships and government engagement; sustain active relationships with government, regulators and bilateral partners. Completed Executive MBA, SDA Bocconi School of Management, Mumbai and Milan (2025) — Strategic Management, Financial Strategy, Corporate Governance, Global Business Environment. President, KDI School India Alumni Association; Visiting Fellow, Institute for Human Development.

Principal — Water, Urban Infrastructure & Government Relations - Arup | Global Engineering, Infrastructure & Sustainability Consulting

(2021-01 - 2023-12)

Senior water and urban infrastructure advisor for India's AMRUT 2.0 national mission (USD 8.4bn central grant across 4,900+ cities) — primary interface with MoHUA, 25+ state governments and municipalities on water security, wastewater, waterbody rejuvenation and aquifer-recharge programming, including a 2-year posting embedded within the Ministry; in-country nodal point for the Australia-India Water Security Initiative (AIWASI) bilateral programme with DFAT Australia.

• Helped mobilise two lagging states/UTs on project finance, supporting selection of ~USD 360mn in projects serving 38mn people for central grant approval; developed a national investment-prioritisation and technology-selection framework (including a Decision-Making Tool for sewage treatment plant technology selection) guiding water and wastewater infrastructure investment decisions.
• Designed the selection rubric and led a national Start-Up Challenge engaging 200+ water and sanitation start-ups, facilitating pilot implementation in 2 states/UTs and an India-Australia mentoring pipeline; led multidisciplinary teams across India and Australia.

Advisor — Water, Sanitation & Climate Resilience Strategy - Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP

(2018-01 - 2020-12)

Led water, sanitation and climate-resilience advisory for the FCDO (UK Government)-supported Smart Cities programme across 6 Indian cities, including Pune and Ranchi Smart Cities; served as de facto team leader for multiple technical components.

• Authored the Ranchi Smart City Urban Design Guidelines under FCDO technical assistance, integrating Water-Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), green buildings and resilience principles; developed municipal service toolkits (water supply, waste, GHG emissions) and green-bond revenue-augmentation strategies for Smart City SPVs; consistent 'A' client satisfaction ratings.
• Produced executive briefs and policy papers on climate-resilient water and sanitation infrastructure for senior FCDO and Indian government stakeholders.

National Consultant — Water & Urban Infrastructure Advisory - Asian Development Bank (ADB)

(2016-01 - 2017-12)

Advised national ministry, ADB and city governments on bankable water/wastewater project identification, SPV formation and national MIS design for the Smart Cities Mission; assessed project readiness via site inspections and developed institutional frameworks supporting water-sector governance reform.

• Customised financing and procurement advisory — including Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) PPP structuring — to 6 cities matched to their capacity and development levels; built a bankable water and wastewater project pipeline across 100+ cities.

Manager — Water, Sanitation & Climate Resilience Programmes - ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia | ECODIT (USAID)

(2014-01 - 2018-12)

Managed the Rockefeller Foundation's ACCCRN urban climate resilience programme across 12 city governments in India and Bangladesh; advised South and Southeast Asian cities on small-grant WASH and resilience project development and evaluation.

• Supervised an international team on the ex-post evaluation of an 18-year USAID bilateral municipal services programme (FIRE-D) for ECODIT — led data coding, analysis and report writing on the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) component, covering digitalisation, PPPs, municipal bonds, credit ratings and ULB corporatisation.

Founder & CEO | Business Partner - SHODH (Social Development Enterprise) | Mathur & Kapre Associates (Design Consultancy)

(2002-01 - 2016-12)

Co-founded and led SHODH for 14 years with full P&L accountability — delivered WASH, housing, land-tenure and livelihoods programmes at community level across multiple Indian states; engaged government, regulatory and statutory authorities on WASH policy and compliance. Designed and implemented a JICA-funded community waste management model in urban slums, and separately designed and operated a self-sustaining organic waste composting enterprise with a consumer-managed financing model — hands-on circular-economy sanitation delivery at grassroots scale. At Mathur & Kapre Associates, built government affairs capability from zero — engaged central ministries, state governments and statutory bodies pan-India on urban infrastructure and planning; supported PMAY/RAY-linked housing and land-tenure statutory frameworks.

Executive MBA - SDA Bocconi School of Management (2025-12)

Postgraduate - Development Policy - KDI School

Bachelor - Planning - SPA (School of Planning and Architecture) New Delhi