Prof. (Dr.) Shilohu Rao N J P is a distinguished technocrat-jurist who bridges the worlds of Law, Technology and Management. With over 25 years of experience driving national-scale digital transformations, he joined National Law University, Jodhpur, to lead the institution’s research at the intersection of Law and Technology.

His expertise is globally recognised. Prof. Rao was invited as an expert by the Council of Europe (Strasbourg, France) to the Octopus Cybercrime Conference, where he represented India in high-level discussions on leveraging Artificial Intelligence for cybercrime investigations. 

Further, Prof. Rao has been admitted as a Distinguished Academic Member of CyAN (Cybersecurity Advisors Network), a global trust network based in Paris. In this capacity, he serves as a technical and ethical advisor on AI safety and secure systems. 

Prof. Rao steered the first LL.M. in Law and Technology course, which focuses on AI, FinTech, and Data Protection. And assisted in establishing the permanent joint Law and Tech Academic hub co-governed by an NLU Jodhpur and IIT Jodhpur.

His extensive experience in Government, Industry, and Academia has equipped him with a unique perspective on the intersection of law and technology. Prof. Rao has made significant contributions to the field of Law & Technology, and Governance, particularly in the areas of cybercrime, data protection, and digital governance. 

Prof. Rao holds the following additional responsibilities:

1. Research Director: He heads the Centre of Excellence for Research and Application (CERA) at NLU Jodhpur, steering the university towards practical, impactful legal research. 
2. Director: Centre for Law and Technology: He established this new hub in January 2025 to lead research on AI, FinTech/MedTech, and Data Protection. 

1. Architecting GST 2.0: As Senior Vice-President at the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) (2023–2024), he led the Legal, Procurement, and Contract divisions. He spearheaded the complex negotiations for the ?4,000 Crore GST 2.0 project, managing the legal frameworks for India’s next-generation tax system.
2. GST Appellate Tribunal: Managed the GST Appellate Tribunal Programme as Nodal Officer. Prof. Rao facilitated approval for the project proposal from the Government of India. Notably, this project marked the first instance of an Opex model being implemented for IT infrastructure within a judicial services project for the Indian Judicial Segment.
3. Digital India Mission: Serving as General Manager at the National E-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics & IT (2016–2023), he built systems capacity building in governance. He was the Chief Investigator for the Learning Management System (LMS) for e-Governance, a platform now used by over 5.5 million learners across India. As part of the Digital India celebrations, this project has been recognised as the 11^th best national-level e-governance application.
4. Cyber Law Enforcement: He led the “CytrainSetu” Program in association with NLIU Bhopal, a capacity-building initiative that trained over 2,500 judges, prosecutors, and police officers in cyber law, forensics and digital evidence handling.
5. Data Governance and Data Protection: Prof. Rao contributed to the development of legal frameworks for multilateral data governance and protection. A pioneer in legal thought, Prof. Rao holds the copyright for the concept of “Data Constitutionalism” (Reg. L-124594/2023). He advocates that digital architectures must be built with constitutional values.
6. Startup Mentorship: Prof. Rao mentored the development of the native DIVYA Video Conference Solution, which played a vital role in the Faceless Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal.
7. Teaching Experience: At the Military College of Telecom Engineering, Prof. Rao trained Indian Army Signal Corps officers and cadets. He also instructed defence personnel from South Asia and Africa on Telecom and IT technologies. 

1. ICT Government Leader by E-Governance Academy (eGA), Estonia.
2. Governance Leader by the National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore.
3. Digital Transformation for Strategic Leaders by Harvard Business, USA.
4. Trusted Partner Award from the GSTN/Government of India.
5. Top 50 Impactful Knowledge Management Professionals from the World Educational Congress.

1 Rao, Shilohu N. J. P “Public Policy on Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025”. The paper circulated in the following Elsevier network journals through SSRN: 

1. Distributed in Innovation Law & Policy eJournal
    Vol 13, Issue 85, May 07, 2025 
2. Distributed in Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Law & Policy eJournal
    Vol 10, Issue 32, May 12, 2025
3. Distributed in the Information Privacy Law eJournal
    Vol 18, Issue 29, May 14, 2025 
4. Distributed in Legal Information, Technology & Law Librarianship eJournal
    Vol 16, Issue 24, May 21, 2025.
5. Distributed in Protected Lands Law & Policy eJournal
    Vol 14, Issue 4, May 12, 2025 
6. Distributed in Cybersecurity, Privacy, & Networks eJournal
   Vol 8, Issue 172, October 20, 2025 

2. Rao, Shilohu N. J. P “Digital India: Transforming Capacity Building in Government.” International Journal of Transparency and Accountability in Governance, vol. 6, no. 1, 2020, National Law University, Delhi (UGC CARE List Journal).
3. Rao, Shilohu N. J. P “Online Capacity Building on Cyber Law, Cybercrimes Investigation and Digital Forensics under the Digital India Program.” GFCE Global Cyber Expertise Magazine, vol. 7, April 2020.
4. Rao, Shilohu N. J. P “Introduction to Blockchain-Powered Governance.” Indian Law Review, National Law Institute University, Bhopal (NLIU), vol. 9-12, 2017-2020.
5. Rao, Shilohu N. J. P “Learning Management System: Development and Implementation.” International Journal of Library Information Network and Knowledge, vol. 3, no. 2, 2018.
6. Rao, Shilohu N. J. P. “Knowledge Management System for Governance: Transformational Approach Creating Knowledge as Product for Governance.” In Crowdsourcing and Knowledge Management in Contemporary Business Environments, edited by Regina Lenart-Gansiniec, Jagiellonian University, Poland, 2019. (Scopus Indexed)
7. Rao, Shilohu N. J. P “Learning Management System Under Digital India Program: Blended Learning Platform for Digital Governance” for Sustainable Educational Development, edited by Dr. Purnendu Tripathi, Siran Mukerji, Arab Open University, Saudi Arabia,2018. (Scopus Indexed) 
   
8. D. Area of Interest
9. AI Governance and Ethics
10. Technology Law and e-Governance
11. Data Governance and Privacy
12. Cyber Law and Cybercrime
13. Blockchain Technology and Smart Contracts.