Dr. Preet Deep Singh

Dr. Preet Deep Singh is a Vice President at Apna.Co, a unicorn to match jobs with candidates. He was earlier at Invest India, the national investment promotion agency of India leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption for the Government. He has been actively involved in promoting the use of AI in public policy. He has trained over 50000 Central Government officers including the Prime Minister's Office to use Generative Artificial Intelligence. He hosts multiple highly rated courses on AI on the Karamyogi portal.

He used to lead the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative, which aims to put at least one product from each district of India on the world map. He served as the Chief Analytics Officer where he leveraged artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide insights and solutions for various sectors and stakeholders. As the lead of Startup India programme, Dr Singh worked on blockchain-based certificates, resolving the Angel Tax issue and defining Startups.

Dr. Preet Deep Singh has a PhD in Finance from IIM Ahmedabad, where he was awarded the Chaudhary-Padmanabhan-Pant Gold medal. His research interests include startups, trust, corporate governance, and perception. He is ranked in the top 5% of all researchers on SSRN (Social Science Research Network).

Dr. Preet Deep Singh is passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation of leaders and innovators. He teaches Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Startup Mindset at IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay and IIM Sambalpur respectively. He is also a mentor and expert for various incubators.

Dr. Preet Deep Singh began his professional journey as an intern and radio host at Radio One, hosted a college radio show, and served as a campus ambassador for multiple initiatives including LiveOnCampus and Phokat Copy, focusing on content creation, outreach and brand awareness.

In 2011, he entered consulting through a short engagement at Beat Factory, where he explored opportunities in non-Bollywood entertainment and indirect marketing.

He joined KPMG Advisory from 2011 -2013 within Governance, Risk and Compliance services. In 2013, Dr. Singh enrolled in the Doctoral Programme (Fellow Programme in Management) at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, specialising in Accounting and Finance. 

During his doctoral studies, he conducted research focused on corporate governance, trust in financial markets and investor perception. His thesis examined the role of governance mechanisms in reducing trust deficits in financial markets, with research papers covering accounting manipulation, earnings management, corporate social responsibility and crowdfunding analysis. 

He was awarded the Chaudhary-Padmanabhan-Pant Gold Medal for achieving the highest GPA across all areas and later ranked within the top 5% of researchers globally on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

Parallel to his research, Dr. Singh co-founded Aperio Management LLP in 2014, a consulting firm that worked with governments, universities, incubators and startups to support ecosystem development. The firm was recognised by the Government of Gujarat for contributions to the startup ecosystem.

In 2017, he co-founded WIMWIsure, a startup focused on bringing blockchain technology into insurance workflows, particularly around vehicle lifecycle tracking. The venture was recognised among the Top 50 startups in the Economic Times Power of Ideas initiative.

From 2016 to 2018, Dr. Singh worked at EY as Associate Vice President within the Government Startup Practice. His work involved advising governments on startup policies and economic development frameworks, including projects with state governments such as Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Goa.

In 2018, he joined Invest India, the Government of India’s national investment promotion and facilitation agency. Initially working as Manager within Startup India, he supported execution of the Startup India Action Plan.

By 2019, he became Co-Head of Startup India, where he worked on policy and ecosystem initiatives including stakeholder consultations on Angel Tax (sections 56 and 68), startup policy alignment across states, and national-level representation of the initiative. During this period, he led the implementation of blockchain-based startup certificates to improve transparency and verification.

In 2020, Dr. Singh assumed responsibilities as Assistant Vice President and subsequently Data Team Lead at Invest India. His team developed analytics frameworks to support policy and investment decision-making by:

• Tracking foreign direct investment flows at granular levels
• Analysing earnings calls of over 2,000 companies quarterly using AI and machine learning
• Producing trade reports covering India’s trade across more than 170 economies
• Delivering monthly performance indicators and policy inputs for government stakeholders.
• He also led data-driven initiatives focused on identifying economic trends, investment signals and sectoral developments.

One District One Product (ODOP) and National Programmes (2020–2024)

From 2020 onwards, Dr. Singh led the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative under Invest India, aimed at promoting district-specific products and improving regional economic development. Under his leadership:

Over 1,000 products across 785 districts were identified and promoted

Partnerships were developed with private brands, e-commerce platforms and government institutions

• Over US$600 million Prime Minister Ekta Mall scheme was spearheaded to establish Ekta Malls across states
• ODOP-related exports increased significantly across several Indian states following programme implementation
• The initiative worked to connect local producers with national and international markets and build branding and distribution support mechanisms.

Artificial Intelligence Leadership in Government (2022–2024)

Dr. Singh later became Vice President and Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Invest India. In this role he focused on promoting AI adoption in public policy and government operations. Key responsibilities included:

• Driving AI adoption for citizen service delivery
• Working on AI safety and responsible AI initiatives
• Conducting training programmes on generative AI for government officers
• Collaborating with policy stakeholders and ministries

He trained over 50,000 central government officers, including personnel from the Prime Minister’s Office, on the use of Generative AI. He also became lead instructor for AI courses hosted on the iGOT Karmayogi portal under the Capacity Building Commission, where his courses received strong ratings from participating officers.

Academic and Teaching Contributions

Alongside his policy and strategy roles, Dr. Singh has remained active in higher education. He teaches and conducts executive and academic programmes on emerging technologies and entrepreneurship, including:

• Blockchain in Finance at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
• Generative AI and productivity at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
• Startup Mindset at Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur
• Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence modules at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

He is also engaged as a mentor and expert advisor for incubators and innovation programmes.

Transition to Private Sector Strategy (2024–Present)

In December 2024, Dr. Singh joined Apna.co as Vice President, where he works on strategy and employment initiatives, including partnerships with state governments aimed at expanding career opportunities and job matching platforms.

In April 2025, he additionally took on the role of Vice President Strategy at Blue Machines AI, focusing on enterprise voice AI. His work includes defining market strategy, enterprise positioning, multilingual AI applications and compliance-driven AI deployment models tailored for Indian market conditions.

Research, Publications and Professional Contributions

Dr. Singh’s research focuses on startups, trust, corporate governance and perception. He has published academic work including a chapter on blockchain applications in the Handbook of IoT and Blockchain. His work has explored areas such as earnings manipulation, corporate governance effectiveness, CSR impacts on investor perception and text analytics.

He has also contributed to startup ecosystem development as a mentor, evaluator and advisor across programmes including Google Solve for X, CIIE’s Power of Ideas evaluation, and startup incubators such as GUSEC.

Education and Qualifications

PhD (FPM) in Accounting and Finance — Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Company Secretary qualification — Institute of Company Secretaries of India
Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science — Hindu College, Delhi University
Additional training includes Full Stack Web Development certification and French language studies.
 

Dr. Preet Deep Singh’s vision centres on using technology, data and responsible artificial intelligence to improve decision-making, strengthen public systems, and create inclusive economic opportunities. His work reflects a focus on applying AI and emerging technologies to real-world challenges, from government policy and citizen services to employment platforms and enterprise innovation. Through public policy initiatives, education, and industry strategy, he aims to build systems that combine technological advancement with trust, governance and practical impact, while empowering professionals, startups and institutions to adopt innovation responsibly and effectively.

Dr. Preet Deep Singh was awarded the Chaudhary-Padmanabhan-Pant Gold Medal at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad for securing the highest GPA across all areas in the Fellow Programme in Management.

He also received the Industrial Finance Corporation of India Award for Best Proposal during his doctoral studies and was felicitated with a Shield of Appreciation by the Government of Gujarat for his contributions to the startup ecosystem.

Earlier in his career, he received a Certificate of Appreciation from KPMG for consistent performance and contribution to the team.

In addition, his research work has earned him a ranking within the top 5% of researchers on SSRN (Social Science Research Network).