SAMEER SHARMA (PhD in metropolitan development, University of Cincinnati, USA) is Chief Secretary Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP). He has been First Missions Director India: Smart City Mission AMRUT & Capacity Building for Urban Development. He is also a researcher in metropolitan and regional development as well as a practitioner in urban development. He has taught courses on 'spatial structures' and 'statistics for urban planners' to postgraduate students in the USA. He has published several academic papers, research papers on spatial economics, social capital and metropolitan development, contributed several articles to many widely read newspapers, written two books, and contributed chapters in many books. He has also worked as Municipal Commissioner of three cities in India. He has won more than seven awards and appreciations, including the President's Award for Best State in the promotion of Community Organisations in slums (2014) and the V. Ramachandran Award for Excellence in implementation of urban decentralisation.