S. K. Tuteja

Rajesh Srivastav

Chairman

Rajesh is a career corporate and investment banker with decades of experience. As a founding member of Rabobank in India, he has 23 years of dedicated experience in food and agribusiness heading Corporate Banking, Corporate Finance, Strategic Advisory, and Private Equity. He has advised the Government of India and several state governments on agri and food processing strategies. He sits on CII’s National Council and National Committees and is a go-to authority on agribusiness. As Chairman, he guides, helms, and mentors the team, especially on strategy.

Mr. S. K. Tuteja served as Secretary in the Department of Food & Public Distribution to the Government of India till, he superannuated from his role in June 2005, after 37 years of Civil Service.

He was a member of the 1968 Batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Punjab Cadre. He started his career as a Lecturer in Commerce in the Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi where he was earlier a student. He holds a Masters degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi, graduating top of the University. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, New Delhi.

Mr. Tuteja has earlier served on different posts in the Government of India, and Government of Punjab. Key positions include Secretary – Ministry of Small Scale Industries and Agro & Rural Industries, Chairman Central Warehousing Corporation, Development Commissioner – Small Scale Industries and Secretary – Public Enterprises Selection Board. In the Government of Punjab, he has served as Managing Director – Punjab State Industries Development Corporation Ltd, Principal Secretary – Finance, Chairman – Punjab State Electricity Board, Chairman – Pay Commission of the Government of Punjab, and Principal Secretary – Industries and Commerce.. In the year 1992, he was awarded the “Dayanand Munjal Award” for “Manager of the Year” by the Ludhiana Management Association.

Mr. Tuteja has also acted as a Consultant to the World Bank for designing a Data Bank System for selection to the Board of Directors and Chief Executives of Public Enterprises in Uganda and the UNIDO as International Consultant on “Strategy & Technological Partnership” with the International Center of Medicine Biotechnology, Moscow and for the “Programming Mission on Indian Experts” to Minsk to develop Belarus/India Partnership Programme in the area of Commercialization of New Technologies and Innovations.

He was the Chairman of the Committee on Revitalization of the Sugar Industry set up in 2004 and later a member of the Group of Experts constituted by the Government of India on the Sugar Sector in 2007. He was also the Chairman of the Pay Commission of the Government of Punjab (2006- 09), and a member of the High-Level Panel on the financial position of Distribution Utilities constituted by the Planning Commission.

Mr. Tuteja has contributed to several national/international seminars/conferences in India and abroad. He participated as a Member of the India Delegation in the Fourth Ministerial Conference of WTO held in Doha, Qatar and was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Sugar Organisation, London and the International Grain Council, London.

He is presently an Independent Director in SML Isuzu Ltd, Shree Renuka Sugars, A2Z Infra Engineering Ltd., and Intas Pharmaceuticals, among others. In addition, he is also the Chairman/Director of multiple other public and private-limited corporations.

A widely travelled person, Mr. Tuteja is involved with several Institutions in the field of Academics, Research and Corporate Management.

Saurabh Chandra

Mr. Saurabh Chandra superannuated as Secretary in the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas to the Government of India, after working for about 37 years in the Indian Administrative Service(IAS)

He was a member of the 1978 Batch of the IAS, and belonged to the Uttar Pradesh Cadre.

Mr. Chandra holds a degree in Electrical Engineering (First class with distinction) from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur.

In his diverse career spanning 37 years, he has held several prestigious positions, both in the Government of India(GOI) and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Mr. Chandra has served for about 16 years in key economic ministries in GOI. The other key positions held by him during this period were Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Director in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

In the Government of Uttar Pradesh, his key assignments were Principal Secretary to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Secretary to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Divisional Commissioner of Lucknow and Varanasi Division, and District Magistrate of Varanasi.

His vast experience in policy formulation and implementation is demonstrated by a long record of successful outcomes in multiple areas and sectors like oil and gas, industry, disinvestment, foreign direct investment, intellectual property, and successful execution of large-scale projects. He has received State Awards and President’s Medal for Census operations. The arrangements made during his tenure as District Magistrate, Varanasi for Kalachakra Initiation at Sarnath in 1991, were termed by his Holiness the Dalai Lama as ‘One of the best I have observed so far.’

During his tenure as Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, major reforms to substantially reduce the subsidy outgo through Diesel Deregulation, PAHAL and Give Up schemes were introduced. Diesel deregulation stands out as a single decision, without comparison, to have had a significant sustainable, beneficial impact on the fiscal. PAHAL is the largest cash transfer scheme in the world and finds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. As a result of implementation of PAHAL, 4.49 crore dummy LPG connections were weeded out. The Give Up campaign has saved an outgo of Rs.71,301 crore from the Central exchequer. Major policy decisions having far-reaching impacts such as boosting the City Gas Distribution network, establishment of a National Gas Grid increasing the availability of LPG to the marginal sections of the society were also taken during this period.

In his earlier tenures, Mr. Chandra been associated with the formulation and implementation of the National Manufacturing Policy, preparation of the White Paper on Disinvestment, launching and activation of the National Investment Fund, ushering of reforms in the FDI policy which included Single Brand Retail Trading, opening up the multi-brand retail and civil aviation sectors to foreign investment, operationalizing the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Project and setting up of the very successful overseas Oman India Fertilizer Project.

Mr Chandra is currently serving as the Chairman and Public Interest Director of Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX) and is an Independent Director on the Boards of J.K. Cement Ltd., Vacmet India Ltd. and SBI Pension Funds Pvt. Ltd.,

At present, Mr. Chandra is also a Member of the Advisory Board of the School of Medical Research and Technology (SMRT), IIT Kanpur and Special Invitee to the Governing Body of the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He delivers lectures, renders advice in his areas of specialisation and comments on policy issues.

In the past, Mr. Chandra has served as the Chairman of various companies and organizations such as Petronet LNG Ltd., the Oil Industry Development Board, the Petroleum Conservation Research Association, and Governing Council of Centre for Higher Technology. He was on the boards of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., EXIM Bank, Madras Fertilizers Ltd., Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd., Hindustan Fertilizers Corporation Ltd., Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd., HMT Ltd., and the Asian Productivity Organisation. He has also been as an ex-officio member of Telecom Commission and National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council. Mr. Chandra was the first Chief Executive Officer of the National Investment Fund. As Managing Director of UP Small Industries Corporation Ltd. during 1988-1990, he was able to turn this loss making company into a profitable venture during a short period of two years.

J. P. Meena

Mr. Jagdish Prasad Meena served as Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs and Ministry of Food Processing Industries in the Government of India till, he superannuated from his role in August 2018, after 35 years of civil service.

He was a member of the 1983 Batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Assam-Meghalaya Cadre. Prior to this, He graduated from Government College, Dausa, and earned his master’s in Sociology from Rajasthan University, Jaipur. He also pursued M.A in Rural Social Development from the University of Reading, the United Kingdom, an M.Phil in Social Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration from the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi.

His key positions in the Central Government also include Secretary – Department of Consumer Affairs, and he has also served in the Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Home Affairs. He has served in various capacities in the State Government including Principal Secretary – Autonomous District Council, Principal Secretary – Agriculture and Department of Welfare of Plains Tribes and Backward Classes, Secretary – Industries & Commerce, Agricultural Production Commissioner, Sub-Division Magistrate, and District Magistrate.

During his service career, spanning more than 35 years, Mr. Meena has gained considerable experience in Policy Planning and Project Execution in various fields, particularly in Agriculture and Food Processing. He has executed various crop production programmes in mission mode like Oilseeds Mission, Cotton Mission, Jute Mission, etc. in the Ministry of Agriculture. While working in various capacities as Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary, and Secretary in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, he has contributed immensely by introducing various new programmes for the promotion and development of food processing in the country. He also served as Chancellor, National Institute of Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Management, a deemed university, and Chairman, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology.

Presently, he is working as Secretary-General, Indian Beverage Association, and as a Senior Advisor to the National Cooperative Development Corporation, a statutory organisation of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

He has represented the Government of India in various international organisations, seminars, and bilateral meetings. He has also undergone training relating to policy planning, leadership development, and food & agri-business management in the world’s prestigious institutions like Cornell University (USA), Cambridge University (UK), Columbia University (USA), Harvard University (USA). For his contribution to the value chain development in horticulture crops in the country, he has been conferred ‘Honoured Fellow’ by the Confederation of Horticulture Associations of India in 2019.

Mr Arun Sharma

Mr. Arun Sharma is the current president of Grovepike Associates. He acts an advisor to senior leadership of global corporations, international agencies, and non-profits focused on development and execution of innovative business models, forging viable partnerships with strategically important institutions, deepening existing relationships. The current role also consists of support to CEOs in refining and articulating corporate messages in addressing regulators and official agencies, and other constituencies. Clients served include Zurich Insurance, Mastercard, Standard Chartered, Rabobank, AXA XL, International Finance Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and Tata Group.

The principal content of my current work comprises adding to management bandwidth for support to mission critical projects that need ongoing attention and oversight to succeed in a reasonable time frame. This is achieved by my support being delivered as a member of internal teams tasked with specific objectives with clear goals and timelines rather than an external consultant. This work also involves mentoring of senior leadership teams at the portfolio company levels or supporting them with the achievement of specific business objectives.

Between 2007-2019, He acted as the chief investment officer of the International Finance Corporation where his key roles included building and deepening relationships with global and regional clients with a view to generating new and repeat business and helping clients in their sustainability journey in line with IFC performance standards and broader sustainability initiatives.

Managed relationships with key clients like Fairfax group, Rabobank, Standard Chartered, Euler Hermes, Bank of America, Société Generale, Saudi British Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat, Tata Capital, Bangkok Bank, Orix Corporation, Standard Bank of South Africa and many others. Also develop excellent advisory relationships with government agencies in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Egypt, Palestine, Maldives, South Africa, United States, Germany, Denmark, UK, and several others.

Developed a deep understanding of positioning private sector initiatives and activities in the priorities of government, regulatory and other official authorities in order to achieve rapid and sustained buy in that survived transition of individual officials across administration changes.

1991-2007: Various roles in IFC focused on building and scaling new businesses across the world in a constantly changing global economic environment.

The key areas of focus in this regard were:

Development of IFC’s privatization business
Development of IFC’s financial institution equity and debt business
Development of IFC’s distressed assets business
Development of IFC’s securitization and structured finance business
Development of IFC’s climate finance business
Development of IFC’s blended finance business