Dr. Satyanarayan Mohanty is a distinguished civil servant who has straddled the real world of action and the world of knowledge both. He graduated from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, Odisha and holds a doctorate degree from University of Hyderabad in Economics. He has a Master’s degree each in Economics, Master’s degree in English, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, USA. He was a SPURS visiting scholar in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA and has an M.Phil in “National Security & Strategic Studies from National Defence College, New Delhi. In Andhra Pradesh, he has held the posts of Finance Secretary, Secretary Tourism & Culture, Managing Director, State Irrigation Development Corporation & Vice Chairman, Housing Board and Collector of Hyderabad and Warangal. While serving in the Government of India, he was Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce and Department of Health and Family Welfare besides being Senior Adviser in the erstwhile Planning Commission. He was working as Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission before superannuation . He is a columnist in English and Odia paper.