About Us
Our Team consists of experts from diverse
backgrounds having fine pedigree and rich experience
Foundation for Development of Rural Value Chains (FDRVC.org) is a Joint Initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development and Tata Trusts set up as a not-for-profit company to support the promotion of professionally managed and producer-owned collective enterprises(PE). PE in select rural value chains in farm and non-farm sectors which are sustainable and profitable. FDRVC is managed by high-quality seasoned professionals working from its head office in New Delhi.
Focus Area
We develop a comprehensive strategy providing technical assurance, capacity building and investment support for Producer Companies. This enables them to have improved market access, processing capabilities, quality control and market information for making business decisions.
Origin
FDRVC us a Not for Profit Company constituted under MoU between Ministry of Rural Development and Tata Trusts launched in 2019. A not-for profit organisation, working towards building sustainable livelihood through multiple large scale producer companies.
Why Us
We stand out in the impact sector landscape with holistic service offerings driven by well-integrated teams. We are uniquely positioned to coordinate with various stakeholders, such as Government bodies, private entities and the ground-level workforce, covering each stage from project planning to implementation as well as policy advocacy.
Board of Directors
Anish Kumar
Director
Jugal Kishore Mohapatra
Chairperson
Pavithra Kumar
Director
Our Team
Bipin Bihari (Chief of Staff)
Bipin Bihari passed out from IIMA (1985-1987 batch). He has over 36 Years of work experience with large Indian Corporates and MNCs in Agriculture and Rural Development, including Dupont-Pioneer, Monsanto, Advanta-UPL, ITC, Technico Pty, Australian JV, Reliance and Agrigenome. His diverse Industry experience in Agri-businesses, especially Inputs (Seeds. Agrochemicals, Fertilizers, Biofertilizers, Value chain development, Inclusive markets, Microenterprise, Small enterprises like Dairy chains and Backyard poultry while working for the livelihood of rural households at the bottom of the pyramid). He led the World Bank-funded project in Jharkhand State for Doubling the Farmers’ Income and has worked closely with APEDA, Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt of India for Farmer Producers Organisation (FPO) formation.
He has served as an ex-member of the Hi-power PAC (Programme Advisory Committee) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for policy formation and approval of Biomass-based Power Cogeneration Projects. He is a visiting faculty at several Agribusiness Management Institutes, a research scholar (PhD ongoing work on Women Empowerment), and has several distinctions, awards, papers, and articles to his credit.
Our Mentors
Experienced professionals with diverse experience across the agriculture value chain who strongly believe in the power of collectives. They volunteered to work hand in hand with our team to make the Producer Companies of Women Farmers sustainable and profitable producer-owned enterprises.
Dhiraj Mani Hazarika
Mr Hazarika is an Agriculture Engineer followed by a post-graduation from IRMA with over 35 Years of experience in marketing in India and Nepal. Started his career with Gujarat Coop Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) and spent about 12 yrs there in Patna and North East. Moved to ITC Limited and handled sales of grocery-focused products like atta, biscuits, chips, soaps and shampoos, tobacco, and confectionaries. Handled ITC business in Kolkata, North East, and Nepal. Retired from ITC very recently.
Ajay Shastry
Mr Shastry completed his post-graduation from IRMA and began his career in the Agri sector. From there, he moved to Olam International in 1995 and worked in India and Africa. He became ‘Country Head’ of Olam in Indonesia and handled multiple agri commodities, including Cocoa, Sugar and Coffee / minor spices, during his tenure in Olam till 2010. Subsequently, he joined Vamara Group in South Africa, handling the FMCG business as CEO.
Saumindra Bhattacharya
An Agriculture Graduate, followed by a post-graduation from IRMA. Started the career with Gujarat Coop Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) and worked with them in Patna and Asansol. Moved to Coca-Cola, India—subsequently headed Coca-Cola business in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Papua New Guinea. Also has gained experience in multiple other countries in Africa and Asia with Coca-Cola. Has worked with Vodafone India as Vice President for a short period. He has set up a few startups in the renewable energy sector in Australia and worked on climate change sustainable goals. Saumindra has been to various International and Indian top-tier management schools, sometimes as a teacher and sometime as a student.
Dr Venkatram V
Dr Venkatram Vasantavada passed out of IRMA. He has over 29 Years of work experience with best-in-class MNCs and large Indian Corporates across Asia and Africa, including Dupont Pioneer, Monsanto, Advanta-UPL, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemical Corporation Ltd, VST Industries, Voltas, and Real Value Appliances.
Basanta Kumar Nayak
Agriculture graduate with post-graduation from IRMA, having more than 30 years of experience in the Agribusiness sector in Sales, Business Development, Supply Chain, Rural Marketing & Strategy. Also have deep insights in FMCG (Frozen Non-Veg Foods) and Agribusiness (Agri inputs, Supply chain of Fresh Produce and Farm Production) in Nagarjuna Fertilisers, DCM Shriram, PI Industries in India, Nutrisource Pte Ltd in Africa, Reliance Retail and Adani Agrifresh. Some of the important positions held by Basanta are ‘Business Head & Wholetime Director’ in Adani Agrifresh and COO- Farming and Innovation (Africa) in Nutrisource Pte Ltd.
Suresh Subramanian
Obtained postgraduation from IRMA, and since then working in the rural and social development domain, beginning his career from the grassroots level in AKRSP(I). Then joined IDE early in the organisation and became the Chief Operating Officer. Later joined Reliance Foundation as Program Leader. Moved into girl education as CEO of ‘Educate Girls’ and build the organisation.
Ashish Athawle
Passed out of IRMA and began his career with NDDB in the Dhara Oil division. From NDDB moved into market research and advertisement. Some well-known organizations Ashish worked for are Mudra Communications and MBL (now TNS). Had a short stint in the middle east and then moved to Lowe Lintas as Vice President handling brands like Future Group, Titan, Britannia, Idea, Dabur, Suzuki, Airtel, and Hitachi. From Lintas moved to Reid & Taylor as Vice President of Marketing and Retail Operations.
Who we work with
At FDRVC, we work with esteemed partners, such as Ministries, State Missions, Multi-Lateral banks and others. These collaborations enable us to leverage their expertise, resources, and networks to create impactful initiatives in rural development. By joining forces with these influential organizations, we can maximize our efforts to empower rural communities, enhance livelihoods, and drive sustainable change across various regions. Together, we strive to build solid partnerships and foster inclusive rural growth for a brighter future.
Mission i
i belongs to everyone.
i is a symbol of individuality and independence.
individuality • independence • identity
‘Mission i’ is A pro-poor initiative which delivers an enterprise solution to the problem with a product-centric/market-ready approach to maximize the consumer money that flows back to the producers and to ensure quality products for the consumers.
The Core Essence - Fortune for the Bottom of the Pyramid
