Ms. Shweta Kulkarni

Shweta Kulkarni is an astronomer, dark-sky policy and astrotourism strategist, and Founder & CEO of AstronEra. She is regarded as one of the leading pioneers of India’s dark-sky movement, working at the intersection of astronomy, sustainability, policy, and community development.

Through AstronEra, the sole Indian partner organization of DarkSky International, she leads initiatives focused on dark-sky preservation, sustainable lighting advocacy, astrotourism development, and public engagement across India. Her work explores how protecting natural night skies can support biodiversity conservation, cultural heritage, scientific awareness, rural livelihoods, and sustainable tourism.

Shweta has collaborated with government bodies, tourism departments, forest departments, research institutions, and local communities to advance dark-sky conservation frameworks and pilot projects across India. Her initiatives include awareness campaigns, policy consultations, astrotourism development models, and community-based training programs such as AstroTribe, which empowers indigenous youth as astronomy and astrotourism guides.

Her work has received support from the Department of Science & Technology (Government of India), the Tribal Development Department of Maharashtra, and the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development. She has also represented India’s dark-sky initiatives at international conferences and outreach forums. Shweta is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS) and recipient of the Dark Sky Defender Award – Asia (2024), becoming the first Indian to receive the honour. Her mission is to position dark skies as a shared ecological, scientific, and cultural heritage worthy of long-term protection.