Dr Yukteshwar Kumar joined the Department in November 2007. Formerly, he was Reader at University of Delhi, Department of East Asian Studies and prior to this he was also a Reader/Associate professor at the Department of Chinese Language & Culture, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, a central university of India.

He studied and researched at Peking University, China and JNU, India and has been involved in teaching Chinese literature, Chinese language pedagogy and translation and interpreting activities for more than 25 years. He has interpreted for top Chinese and Indian political and business leaders and authored several articles and books on social, political and diplomatic aspect of China and learning Chinese.

Aside from interpreting at several international conferences, he has also translated several academic articles from Chinese into English and contributed in international journals and books. He is also a regular commentator on China, working with both print and electronic media and has been interviewed by BBC, CCTV and many other International TV channels.

Dr Kumar has also held visiting academic positions at some Chinese Universities including Tianjin Univesity of Technology.