AJITH KUMAR R
April 23, 2024 2026-02-21 16:46AJITH KUMAR R
Ajith Kumar. R is a faculty member under the School of Digital Sciences at Digital University Kerala. Currently he serves as the Director of the Centre for Digital Innovation and Product Development (CDIPD) – A Centre of Excellence (CoE) established by Digital University Kerala. Ajith Kumar obtained his Doctorate from Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in the area of Information Systems management. He has also completed his Senior Leadership Program from IIM Lucknow. With a wealth of experience exceeding two decades in teaching, research, consulting and development in Digital Innovation, Digital Transformation, Designing enterprise level Information Systems (IS), Enterprise Architecture, ERP, Data Systems, Data Science and Smart Agri Systems. His research interest includes Information systems, Smart Agri systems, Data Analytics and Digital Transformation.
Before his tenure at IIITMK and Digital University Kerala, he worked with the MONSANTO Research Centre, a global Agri Genomics and Plant Biotech Company at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, where he made significant contributions to the Genome Informatics and Research team. His outstanding performance earned him the MONSANTO Global Above and Beyond Award, an international award chosen from nominations across 16 countries.
Ajith plays a crucial role as the Chief Investigator and Coordinator of the Digital Agri Science lab at Digital University Kerala. He leads the research and development of numerous digital innovations and solutions in the domains of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry/Dairy, and related areas.
In his capacity as the founding Director of Centre for Digital Innovation and Product Development (CDIPD), Ajith serves as the Principal Investigator and leader for various research, development, and innovation projects funded by State, National, and International agencies. Under his leadership the centre has implemented CMMI Level 3 across its processes and obtained the certification for the same. The centre has also obtained GDPR compliance for managing the international level projects. He leads a team of 100 industry professionals, including project managers, solution architects, tech leads, data scientists and engineers who have proven experience in innovating and delivering the solutions. He has conceptualized, designed, and implemented more than 40 projects across various domains in the realms of Enterprise systems, Decision Systems, AI and Data Analytics, and smart agriculture systems, funded by various State and Central agencies and departments. He has acquired more than Rs. 200 crores as project funding from various agencies over the last several years.
He has conceptualized and implemented the first integrated SMART Data Centre for Digital University Kerala, funded by the Government of India and GOK, with Tier 3 certification from the Uptime Institute, USA.
Ajith has published several research papers in journals, conferences, workshops, and book chapters. He has delivered talks at national and international conferences, serving as a key resource person for workshops and training programs. His remarkable contributions have been acknowledged through awards at the international, national, and state levels, including the Digital India National Award presented by the Honourable President of India for his outstanding work in developing a Digital Innovation Solution called Digital Workforce Management System. He is also the recipient of e-India National Award, South Asian Awards, Stockholm Challenge etc.
Ajith Kumar holds several positions in academic, research, and professional bodies. He is a member of the Cyber Council of Sree Narayana Guru Open University (SNGOU), a statutory body responsible for policy formulation and administration of all information technological methods and solutions deployed across the campus for academic and administrative operations. Considering his vast experience in digital technologies, he has been nominated as chairman of the working group for the study of e-Governance initiatives in Kerala under seventh Finance Commission, Govt of Kerala. He has been serving as expert member in various committees and bodies of Governmental and non-Governmental agencies.
Book Chapters
- Ajith Kumar R. , Radhakrishnan T., Manoj Kumar T. K., Dawn Sivan, K. Satheesh Kumar; Software Development: No-Code and Low-Code with Generative AI (https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111677798-007)
- N Bindu, R Ajith Kumar, T Radhakrishnan, TK Manoj Kumar, K Satheesh Kumar Virtual Realities: The Influence of the Metaverse on Healthcare E-Governance (https://10.1201/9781003491668-13)
Journals
- Ajith Kumar R and Jagathyraj V. P., Use of Technology Acceptance Models in Agriculture : A Citation Network Analysis, , Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Sciences Edition, Vol: 65. Issue 05| 2022
- Ajith Kumar R and Jagathyraj V. P., Understanding Factors Affecting the Adoption of Agri mobile apps by farmers for Agricultural information management: An Empirical Evaluation in India using UTAUT2, Journal of Tianjin University Science and Technology, Vol: 55. Issue: 05|2022
- Nair, K.M., Anil Kumar, K.S., Thamban, C., Lalitha, M., Chandran, K.P., Jeena Mathew, Abdul Harris, Srinivasan, V., Maria Dainy, Shoji Joy Edison, Sajnanath, K., Rajeev, M.S., Vinod Mathew, S., Ajith Kumar, R., Rajasekharan, P., and Nagesh, S.S, Enhancing coconut productivity in Kerala: A simple solution to the complex problem. Indian Coconut Journal, 5. (2020)
- Rajasekharan, P., Nair, K. M., Susan John, K., Suresh Kumar, P., Narayanan Kutty, M. C., & Ajith Kumar (2014). Soil fertility related constraints to crop production in Kerala. Indian Journal of Fertilisers, 10(11), 56-62.
- G. S. Sreedaya, R. Ajith Kumar, Archana T Shaji, Riza Mathew, Exploring Urban Agriculture’s Impact on Ecosystem Services and Beneficiary Characteristics, Journal of Agricultural Extension Management, Vol. 24 No. 2 (2023)
Conference Proceedings
- Ajith Kumar R, Jagathy Raj, V. P., Adoption of mobile Apps by farmers in 5 agro-ecological zones in Kerala for Agricultural Information Management – A statistical model validation , 11th International Conference on Ecological Informatics (ICEI2020+1), 2021, Elsevier Publications
- R AjithKumar, et al, A statistical analysis of soil fertility of Thrissur district, Kerala, International Conference on Data Science and Engineering (ICDSE), 1-5, 2016, IEEE Publications
- Vidya Vinodini M.D, Reshmi Nair L.R, Aiswaria Lakshmi K.G, Anitha V.R, Reshma P, R Ajith Kumar, Dr. T.K Manojkumar, “Modeling of Rice Productivity in India”, IEEE International Conference on Data Science and Engineering (ICDSE), 8/26, 2024 , 2014, IEEE Publications
- Anil Prasad V A, Radhakrishnan T, Manoj Kumar T.K, Ajith Kumar R, Sam Mathew Saji, “Spatial Prediction of Soil Properties/Nutrients of Alappuzha District Using Hybrid Machine Learning Algorithms”, 11th International Conference on Ecological Informatics, Elsevier, 2021
- Sam Mathew Saji, Radhakrishnan T, Manoj Kumar T.K, Ajith Kumar R, Anil Prasad V A,” Machine Learning Based Spatial Prediction of Soil Properties/Nutrients of Alappuzha District using Dynamic Environmental Covariates”, 11th International Conference on Ecological Informatics, Elsevier, 2021
- e-Samrudha – RFID based Animal Traceability and integrated e-Health and Digital Veterinary care management system – (Funded by Department of Animal Husbandry- GOK/World Bank), (2023- Ongoing)
- Design, development and implementation of an integrated Digital platform for Special Livestock Breeding Program (SLBP). (Funded by Department of AH, GOK), (2024-ongoing)
- Design, development and implementation of Digital Animal Herd Register for effective breeding plan management – (Funded by Department of AH, GOK), (2024- ongoing)
- Development of Centralised Digital Ticketing and Aggregation platform for Govt of Kerala (Funded by KSFDC, GOK), (2025- ongoing)
- KARMASRI- Design, Development and implementation of e-services delivery portal for All lndia Service Officers under Kerala cadre. (Funded by GAD, GOK), (2025- ongoing)
- Development of AI Assisted Mobile app for MILMA supply chain management. (Funded by MILMA), (2026 ongoing)
- Space Scholar – AI driven Intelligent Knowledge Discovery platform for VSSC, ISRO (Funded by VSSC, Department of Space GOI), (2023- Ongoing)
- Digital Workforce Management System – An AI driven Digital platform that connects all stakeholders in creating a knowledge-based ecosystem. Funded by Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission) (2022- 2025)
- Implementation of Palliative CARE Grid in Kerala. Funded by Kerala State Health Mission, Department of Health, GOK) (2025-Ongoing)
- Integrated Academic ERP system for Sree Narayana Guru Open University (SNGOU) – (Funded by SNGOU) (2022- ongoing)
- “e-Toddy” – Digital Transformation or Online Sale and Auction of toddy shops in Kerala through integrated digital platform (Funded by Excise department)
- Design and Development of an Online Digital Service Delivery platform for Animal Husbandry Department (Funded by Department of AH, GOK) (2024- ongoing)
- Design and Development of Digital herd Register for Animal Husbandry Department (Funded by Department of AH, GOK) (2024- ongoing)
- Loka Keralam Online – An Innovative Digital Platform for Global Keralites across the globe. Funded by NORKA, GOK) (2024 – ongoing)
- PLANSPACE – An Integrated Online Plan Monitoring System for Govt of Kerala (Implemented across 225 Departments and agencies), Funded by Kerala State Planning Board. (2008- Continuing)
- KISSAN Kerala – A Multi-Modal Agricultural Information System, Funded by Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt. Of Kerala (2003- Continuing)
- CROPSS – Crop Pest Surveillance System : An intelligent, spatial enabled decision support system for effective crop pest and disease management, Funded by Department of Agriculture Govt. of Kerala. (2021-Continuing)
- Soil based Plant Nutrient Management Information System : for Kerala , Funded by Department of of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2015-2024)
- Design, Development & Implementation of Kerala State SDG Analytical Dashboard. (Funded by Department of Planning, GOK) (2024- ongoing)
- Kissan Krishideepam : The Digital media management project in Agriculture with active corporate partnership with Asianet /Star Communications Ltd and Google YouTube, Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2003-Continuing)
- “Re-designing the farmer-extension- agricultural research/education Continuum in India with ICT-mediated Knowledge Management”- A consortium project under National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) component – 1, Funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), 2009-2010. (Major collaborators, IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, ICRISAT)
- Soil based Plant Nutrient Management Information System for Coffee Funded by Coffee Board, Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India, (2018)
- Chief Minister Office – Project Management and Monitoring System, Funded by Department of Planning and Economic Affairs, Govt. of Kerala (2018-2020)
- Integrated Project Management Information System for Life Mission Kerala (A Mission Project of Govt of Kerala for livelihood inclusion and Financial empowerment) (2019-2024)
- Research project on “Enhancing the economic viability of coconut based land use systems for land use planning in Kerala State”, Funded by Kerala State Planning Board. (2014- 2016)
- Knowledge Management System for High Tech Agriculture in Kerala, Funded by Department of of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2016)
- Design and Implementation of Mobile-Governance(m-Governance) infrastructure for Farmer advisory system, Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2008-2010)
- Design and Development of Database Series on State Plan For Human Development for UNDP. Funded by Kerala State Planning Board (2011)
- Development of Database on Agro Ecological planning for Kerala Funded by Kerala State Planning Board (2015)
- Virtual University for Agricultural Trade (VUAT) – An integrated e-Learning platform , Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2008-2010)
- ATMA Kerala : A state level monitoring System for ATMA Kerala Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala
- Coconut Planting material production and Traceability System, Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala
- Establishment of Center for Agri Informatics and Agri Business Management funded by Planning Board, Government of Kerala (State Plan Fund)
- e-Krishi : A virtual platform for farmers and traders for commodity aggregation and trading, Funded by Kerala State IT Mission.
- Project Design for the implementation of ERP and Liquor supply chain management System for Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) : Scope of Work – System Process study, Preparation of Functional/technical Requirements, preparation of RFP for software and hardware, implementation of SDWAN based network solutions, Hyper convergence based Data centre infrastructure solutions, project management and monitoring ( Funded by KSBC)
- ERP Process study for MILMA – Scope of Work – Process study on MILMA production, operations and supply chain systems (Funded by MILMA)
- Digital transformation study for Kudumbashree Mission (- Scope of Work : Preparation of Digital Transformation roadmap for Kudumbashree Mission and the implementation of its various schemes
- Digital Transformation and Process study for the implementation ERP for 9 selected PSUs in Kerala under Department of Industries and Commerce.
- Project Management Consultancy for Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority – Kerala (K-RERA) for the implementation of Online Information System
- Process study and Preparation of Functional requirement Document for KAMCO ERP
Major Infrastructure based projects and Funding agencies
- Design and implementation of fully SMART Hybrid Cloud Data Centre at Digital University Kerala with Tier 3 Certification from Uptime Institute USA. Funded by MeITY, GOI/GOK) (2023- On Going),
- Design and implementation of Data Centre for Kerala Genome Data Project
- Design and Implementation of AR/VR Studio and Lab with fully integrated production facility (State Plan Fund 2024 – ongoing)
Digital Innovation Products Developed
- PayFlask – An integrated multi PG based Digital Payment Orchestration Platform (CDIPD, DUK)
- RFID based Animal traceability solution (CDIPD, DUK)
- SMART Live-Stock Health Monitoring System (CDIPD, DUK – in progress)
- IOT Based Cold Chain Monitoring system (in collaboration with CSN labs, DUK)
- IOT based live refrigerator temperature monitoring system for Vaccine monitoring for Veterinary healthcare hospitals (in collaboration with CSN labs, DUK)
- Digital India Platinum National Award Received from Hon. President of India for designing the Digital Workforce Management System. (2022)
- Kerala State e-Governance Award (2025)
- Appreciation Citation from Chief Minister of Kerala (2015) for the design and implementation of PLANSPACE Project (State Level)
- Manthan Award Asia Pacific 2012 under the category e- Agriculture for Soil Nutrient Management Information System project of Kerala (International)
- Stockholm Challenge Award 2010 : “Honorable mention” for KISSAN Kerala Project. Stockholm Challenge is Considered to be the highest recognition in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiative worldwide (Internal National)
- E-india national award 2009 : Best ICT enabled Agriculture Initiative of the year for Kissan Kerala Project (National Level)
- First Kerala State e-governance Award – 2009 for the implementation of Online farmer centric e-governance services (State Level)
- Manthan Award South Asia – 2008 for Design and Development of integrated, multi-modal agricultural information system for Kerala (International Level)
- PC QUEST Best IT implementation of the year – 2007 : for Kissan Kerala Project under Govt category (National Level)
- Recipient of IIITM-K Director’s Commendation Certificate – 2008
- MONSANTO Above and Beyond Award – 2001 : MONSANTO GLOBAl TECHNOLGY AWARD from MONSANTO Inc, USA for the outstanding performance and innovation.
- MONSANTO GKEP integrity Award- 2000 : For the best team player in Monsanto Genomics group, Monsanto Research Centre, IISc, Bangalore.
