About
Towards Rural Economic Prosperity

Samir Somaiya

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Samir Somaiya is a visionary leader with extensive experience across multiple sectors. As the Chairman and Managing Director of Godavari Biorefineries Ltd., he spearheads the company's initiatives in sustainable renewable chemicals and biofuels. He also serves as the Chancellor of Somaiya Vidyavihar University and President of Somaiya Vidyavihar, driving forward educational excellence and development. Additionally, as the President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, he actively advocates for economic growth and trade. 

Samir's achievements have earned him several prestigious awards, including the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy, recognising his international collaboration efforts, and the Lala Shriram National Award for Leadership in the Chemical Industry. With an impressive academic background, including a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, as well as an MBA, a Master of Chemical Engineering, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, Samir Somaiya is a proven leader who has made a positive impact across diverse fields. 

Dilip Piramal

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Arun Kumar Purwar

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Mr. Arun Kumar Purwar is the Chairman and Independent Director of IIFL Finance, Jindal Panther Cement as well as ERoute Technologies Pvt. Ltd. He is an Independent Director in companies across diverse sectors like finance, pharma, media, engineering consultancy, investment banking, fintech sectors. He also acts as an advisor to Mizuho Securities, Japan. He was the Chairman of the State Bank of India (‘SBI’) from 2002 to 2006 and the Chairman of the Indian Bank Association from 2005 to 2006. He has previously held positions such as Managing Director of the State Bank of Patiala and was also associated with the setting up of SBI Life. Post his retirement from SBI, he was associated with a leading industry house in setting up the first healthcare-focused private equity fund as well as a non-banking finance company focused on funding real estate projects as well as educational institutions. He has won several awards, including the ‘CEO of the Year’ award from the Institute of Technology and Management (2004), ‘Outstanding Achiever of the Year’ award from the Indian Banks’ Association (2004), and ‘Finance Man of the Year’ award by the Bombay Management Association in 2006. 

Mukesh Mehta

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Mukesh Mehta, the Chairman of M M Project Consultants Pvt. Ltd. (MMPCPL), stands as a distinguished architect and urban planning luminary with over 50 years of successful entrepreneurship. His noteworthy contribution includes spearheading the renowned Dharavi Redevelopment Project, a subject of study at prestigious institutions like the Harvard Business School. He holds copyrights on urban transformation, specialising in slum-free cities and sustainable redevelopment. His commitment extends to serving on boards for education and environmental causes.

Subodh Kumar

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Mr. Subodh Kumar (IAS-Retd) holds an M.Sc. in Physics and several diplomas and management certificates from IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C, Harvard Business School, IDS Sussex, and IMF amongst other Ivy League institutions. Mr. Kumar had one of the most illustrious careers in the Indian Administrative Service, spanning 35 years, heading various key government agencies with stellar integrity and transparency. He also served as Municipal Commissioner of Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

Sachin Nanavati

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Govind Agrawal

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Arun Hardikar

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Arun Hardikar is an agriculture expert with mastery in international trade and commerce and experience in export import laws, consulting for ministry of commerce, industry, finance, ordnance factories etc. He has contributed as a consultant for chemical industries, banks, portfolio management firms and more.

Alok Sinha

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Alok is Technology solutions catalyst. He has held multiple CXO positions in global companies in the immediate past, including Chairman and CEO of a listed software company with entities around the globe. A hands-on leader in the Technology and Software industry with nearly 35 years of track record in driving successful outcomes in the areas of leadership, business management and strategy, he has profitably ramped and managed many end-to-end businesses. He is as an active investor and advisor to several start-ups.

Puneet Raman

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Puneet is a Regional Representative at PUM Netherlands. He is also a director at Qualitech India Consultants (P) Ltd. PUM offers advice to SMEs in emerging markets or developing countries. Their experts share knowledge with local entrepreneurs in 45 sectors and 35 countries across the globe.

Bharat Dabholkar

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Adv. Siddharth Mehta

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Siddharth Mehta is the Managing Partner of Mehta & Padamsey, one of the oldest Mumbai-based full-service law firms which, in addition to other conventional offerings across practice verticals, also focuses on policy and advocacy in India. Mental health legislation has been an area of great interest for him and he has represented various stakeholders in this field. Siddharth has lived and worked in Delhi, New York, San Francisco, London and Singapore before returning to Mumbai. He is also a director on the board of a number of public listed companies.

Dr. Bhagyashree Patil

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Dr. Patil leads India's largest plant biotech organization and has reached the pinnacle of success in the field of Biotech, Floriculture and Horticulture. She is also Prochancellor of Dr. D Y Patil Vidyapeeth Pimpri Pune. She is an educationist, philanthropist and Agriculturist. She is professionally passionate about the women empowerment & upliftment of the grass root level farming community.

Vishal Tulsyan

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Dr. Sudhir Kumar Goel

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Dr. Sudhir Kumar Goel has occupied various senior positions in the state of Maharashtra, mostly linked to the field of Agriculture & Cooperation, including 7 years as Agriculture Commissioner. He was deputed as Commissioner and Secretary, Cooperatives, Principal Secretary and then Additional Chief Secretary of Agriculture.

Dr. K G Karmakar

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Sompal Shastri

Accounts & Finance Advisor

He has been the Minister for Agriculture for the government of India and a member of the Planning Commission. With a background with NITI Aayog, Sompal Shastri brings to us the wealth of planning, management and execution strategy.

Ravindra Chamaria

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Ravindra Chamaria is Chairman and Managing Director of Infinity Group which is known for sustainable and green real estate. He is also the Vice Chairman on the advisory board of Akshaya Patra and serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees in Akshaya Patra UK. He is also attached to several other social and philanthropic organizations and initiatives such as Institute of Neurosciences Kolkata, The Jaipur Foot, Udayan Care, Round Table India, etc.

Vivek Bharti

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Vivek Bharati, an Economist and External affairs expert, was previously the Executive Director External Affairs, PepsiCo India. Bharati has been associated with FICCI as Advisor-National Policy & Programmes. He also worked with the World Bank as Advisor to the Country Director. Prior to his stint at the World Bank, Bharati has held various senior editorial roles in The Economic Times, The Times of India and Hindustan Times.

Ambrish Karvat

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Ambrish is farmer and one of the largest importers of fruits in India & has pioneered in Californian Strawberry farming. He has also been a trail blazer in the business of fresh fruit import from across the world. He started his career in 1980 with export of fresh flowers to Middle East by contract farming, it was in 1989 that Ambrish Karvat decided to switch on to his own farming of fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Smiti Khanna

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Dr. Vivek Damle

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Vivek Damle is an experienced Chairperson with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. Strong business development professional skilled in Business Intelligence, Business Development, Analytics, Business Strategy, and Business Analysis.

Samir Shah

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Samir has been involved in global public and private markets for the past twenty six years, at leading institutions including Goldman Sachs (Hong Kong), Deutsche Bank (New York) and Saloman Brothers (New York). He graduated with an MBA (with distinction) from Wharton, and holds a Law degree and Bachelor of Commerce degree from Bombay University. He is a certified Chartered Accountant.

Amal Parikh

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Rajendra Khaitan

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Mr. R.P Khaitan, is a progressive thinker, philanthropist and an industrialist, Founder & Chairman of RAL Consumer Products Ltd. company that has diverse interests ranging from solar solutions, LED products, baby care to personal grooming products. He was the mastermind behind the launch of Sony Ericsson in India and ensured it became one of the market leaders in mobile brands. He is on the management committee board of Chinmaya Mission, Ramakrishna Mission, and Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College. He actively contributes towards the betterment of the underprivileged.

Ramesh Tainwala

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Mr. Tainwala is a leading business personality with a philanthrophic approach towards social work for the benefit of farmers and the environment. Within business, he has led with roles of strategic planning and operations globally.

Sandeep Singh

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Sandeep Singh joined the Alkem Board in the year 2013; currently, he is serving the organization as its Managing Director. Singh has over 17 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He spearheads the domestic as well as the international operations of the organization. In the year 2016, he was presented with the Emerging Pharma Leader of 2016 Award by the Pharma Leaders in association with the Ministry of Health & Family Affairs, Government of India.

Rajendra Agarwal

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Rajendra Agarwal is the Director General Elect of Rotary Club 3141. He is amongst the charter members of Rotary Club of Bombay Queen City club. In 2005-06, he rose to become the club President. Rajendra Agarwal was associated with Suditi Sports Apparel Ltd. which was 2nd Biggest exporter of Knitted fabrics. He has held important positions as Trustee in Haryana Bhavan at Kandivali, Mumbai President of Akhil Bhartiya Agarwal Sammelan, Trustee of Vaish Mahavidyalaya in Bhiwani, and many more.

D. P. Agarwal

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Mr. D. P. Agarwal is the Chairman and Managing Director of TCI. Mr. Agarwal has been associated with the transport industry for more than 52 years. He has been contributing towards developing the unorganized logistics sector into an organized one. Mr. Agarwal is also associated with various Chambers of Commerce including CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM & PHDCCI. He also takes active participation in many social and philanthropic activities for common good.

Nandkishor Kagliwal

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Nandkishor Kagliwal's Nath Group of industries has strong presence in seeds & foods industries. He has pursued his MS in management from USA, & is a first generation entrepreneur. Nath Seeds is an intensely research oriented pioneering seed company in India.

Madhusudan Agrawal

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Madhusudan Agrawal is the Vice Chairman of Ajanta Pharma. He has the honour of being conferred and appointed as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Uganda for the Western Zone of India. He has also received accolades for social work at the hands of then Honourable Home Minister of India, Mr. Lal Krishna Advani and also from the Honourable Mr. Ratan Tata. 

D. Sivanandhan

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Sivanandhan is an ex - Mumbai Police Commissioner devoted for nation building. He brings strategic planning and decision making in our development.

Asmita Bhatia

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Gopal Sutariya

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Gopalbhai is the founder of Bansi Gir Gaushala in Ahmedabad. He has dedicated his life to the revival of Bharat's ancient Gau-Sanskriti, where Gaumata (“Cow” as divine mother) is at the centre of all life activities. The gaushala works closely with various local and national level educational, social and religious organisations, and has achieved remarkable results in the fields of gopalan, agriculture, healthcare and education, blending modern scientific insight with ancient vedic wisdom.

Ashok Goel

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Ashok Goel is a serial entrepreneur with various businesses. Currently he is investing in different businesses of finance, manufacturing and start-ups which have positive social and environmental impact.

Dr. Indra Mani

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Dr. Indra Mani currently serves as the Hon. Vice-Chancellor at Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani. With over 29 years of expertise in agricultural machinery development, he has significantly contributed to agro-residue management, dryland agriculture, and small-farm mechanization.

A former Joint Director of Research at IARI, New Delhi, Dr. Mani has developed technologies scaled across 18 Indian states and guided 20 Ph.D. and 12 M.Tech. students. He has published over 140 research papers and established a Design Innovation Centre with IIT. His coordination of IARI’s NEH, TSP, and MGMG programs has improved livelihoods in tribal and northeastern hill regions.

Dr. Mani has chaired committees for agricultural drone policy and mentored farm tech startups under RKVY-RAFTAAR and TIFAN. His accolades include the ICAR-Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam Outstanding Teacher Award and the ASABE (USA) Presidential Citation Award. He has also been a visiting faculty in various countries worldwide.

Shailesh Haribhakti

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Haribhakti is a well-known thought leader on the Indian Economy and Public Policy. He is a Chartered and Cost Accountant, an Internal Auditor and a Certified Financial Planner & Fraud Examiner. He is a Board Chairman, Audit Committee Chair and Independent Director at some of the country's most preeminent organizations. He is an ExTech (Exponential Technologies), ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) & IR (Integrated Reporting) Evangelist.

Anand Rathi

Accounts & Finance Advisor

A respected member of ICAI, Mr. Anand Rathi is a Gold Medalist Chartered Accountant with over 40 years of experience. As a veteran in the financial services industry, Mr. Rathi is not just a renowned face in the financial circuits, but is also among the most sought-after speakers on macroeconomic matters related to policies, manufacturing, and their socio-economic impact. He is also very popular socially, and is active in philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Vallabh Bhanshali

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Vallabh Bhanshali is a well-known Thought leader and Investment banker. He is the Co-founder of ENAM group, a reputed home grown investment banking. He has played a significant role in the development of leading business houses such as Infosys, Reliance, Sterlite, Zee, Thermax, etc. and even Govt. companies such as NTPC, PTC, PFC, etc.

Ravi Jhunjhunwala

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Ravi Jhunjhunwala is a Businessperson who has been the head of 9 different companies. Presently, he holds the position of Chairman for AD Hydro Power Ltd., Chairman of LNJ Bhilwara Group, Chairman at Bhilwara Energy Ltd., Chairman & Managing Director at Malana Power Co. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Bhilwara Energy Ltd.) and Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & MD at HEG Ltd. He is also Member of World Presidents' Organization (India) and on the board of 14 other companies.

Pradeep Kheruka

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Pradeep Kheruka is skilled in Negotiation, Business Planning, Business Development, Strategic Planning, and International Business. Experienced Chairman with a demonstrated history of working in the glass industry. Strong business development professional with a B. Com (Hons.) focused in Commercial Studies including law and Economics from St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Kolkata, India.

Raamdeo Agrawal

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Raamdeo Agrawal is the Chairman of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited (MOFSL) and the driving force behind the company s approach to investing. MOFSL is a well-diversified financial services firm offering a range of products and services in securities, commodities, investment banking, asset management and venture capital.

Sandra Shroff

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Sandra Shroff is a Deep Thinker on Corporate Social Responsibility. She has been closely associated with ICMA (now known as ICC), FICCI, Assochem and CHEMEXCIL. She is also Instrumental in resolving the problems faced by the chemical industry throughout India. She also helms the Enviro Technology Limited and Bharuch Enviro Infrastructure Limited as Director

Sushil Jiwarajka

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Sushil Kumar Jiwarajka, a distinguished industrialist with over 50 years of diverse industry experience, is the Chairman of the Advisory Board at Global Vikas Trust. He is also the Chairman of Essjay Telecom & IT Services Pvt Ltd, a company that has been pivotal in the evolution of India's telecom sector since 1970, and the Infrastructure Corporation of Africa, which focuses on digital infrastructure development in Africa. Additionally, he is the co-founder of OMC Power Pvt Ltd, the world's largest solar mini-grid company.

Mr. Jiwarajka has held numerous influential positions, including Chairman of FICCI-WRC and President of the International Chamber of Commerce-India. His contributions as the Hon. Consul General of Greece in Mumbai have significantly boosted Indo-Greek trade, investments, and cultural exchange.

Beyond his corporate achievements, he is deeply committed to social welfare, supporting initiatives like the Global Vikas Trust for rural transformation, Roti Bank for feeding the needy, and EmpowHer India for women's empowerment. Additionally, he backs IDEI to enhance the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers.

Mayank Gandhi

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Mayank Gandhi, an international urban planner and member of the advisory body of the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), made a paradigm shift in his professional pursuits in 2003. He shifted focus towards working on transformative reforms in public life with the aim of bringing justice to the common Indian. He was an integral part of the team that collaborated with Anna Hazare to draft and pass the Maharashtra RTI. As part of his zeal to transform the country, he initiated the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement along with Arvind Kejriwal and Anna Hazare. This movement then morphed into the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and he became a member of the National Executive. As his involvement in politics increased, he realized that the movement to transform the political narrative and culture, was changing into a power game, something he wasn’t interested in being a part of. Thus, in 2015 he quit politics completely. "There are more ways to serve the nation, politics is but a path", was his justification for such a radical decision. He took the leap of faith, sold his house In Mumbai, and started working in some of the worst-hit villages of the Marathwada (Maharashtra). From there commenced the journey of the Global Vikas Trust (GVT). He is inspired by Gandhiji's words, "The soul of India lives in its villages". And, he believes that the only way India could become a global power again is by empowering rural India. Pursuing his passion to holistically uplift the farmers of the country, Mayank Gandhi forges ahead with his motto and core mantra, “India can wait no more!”

Bhavna Doshi

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Bhavna Doshi, a founding partner of Bhavna Doshi Associates LLP, brings extensive experience to the table as a former partner of a KPMG member firm in India. Specializing in taxation and corporate restructuring, she has provided advisory services to national and multinational entities for over 30 years. Holding a master’s degree in commerce from the University of Mumbai, she currently serves as an independent director on the boards of several listed companies. Notably, she was elected to the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for four terms, each spanning three years. Additionally, she has contributed her expertise as a member of the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board established by the Controller and Auditor General of India, and as a Member of the Compliance Advisory Panel of the International Federation of Accountants, headquartered in New York. Bhavna's leadership extends beyond corporate realms; she has served as President of the Indian Merchants’ Chamber and remains actively involved in its initiatives. Furthermore, she holds esteemed positions as a Board Member of the ICAI Accounting Research Foundation and the Atal Innovation Centre, NMIMS. Passionate about women and child empowerment, she dedicates time to various social activities supporting these causes. 

Rakesh Gupta

Accounts & Finance Advisor

Rakeshh Gupta, an accomplished International Investment Management expert with over 20 years of experience in banking & finance, and specializes in Fundraising, M&A, and geo-economic strategies. He has advised multi-billion-dollar institutions and hosted the World Economic Forum’s first Fundraising roundtable in 2020. Rakeshh has participated in key delegations with India’s Prime Minister and President.