Our Team

Neha Aggarwal had done her Master’s in Information Technology from Manipal University and graduated in commerce stream from Delhi University. She has been with CII since the last 17 years and working in different streams and majorly in Food Regulation domain.

Handling Food Regulatory aspects, as part of her work at FACE involves evidence-based policy advocacy with Government at both the center and state level. She closely works with FSSAI, BIS & Legal Metrology on Food related Regulations/ Standards domestically and internationally.

Saurabh Dwivedi is a seasoned sustainability and CSR professional with a Post Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Development Practices and over a decade of experience working across civil society organizations, corporate CSR, and sustainability domains. He has successfully led impactful projects, including an EU-supported water governance initiative in Rajasthan, and has spearheaded carbon footprint assessments, and the development of sustainable and traceable supply chains, notably managing a large-scale mint farming project. His expertise spans CDP disclosures, ECOVADIS reporting, SBTi Target Setting, Product LCA, grievance redressal mechanisms, and ESG KPI communication with international stakeholders.

Kavery has 18 years of professional experience in the area of agriculture and food policy research and advocacy. She has worked with leading global and national thinktanks – IFPRI, ICRIER, NCAER, in managerial as well as lead program and strategy roles. She has also worked as short-term consultant with ADB, UNU-WIDER & Cornell University.

During her professional career, she has worked on research projects focusing on policy issues related to agricultural markets, food and nutrition, and innovations. In her lead roles, she co-created platforms on agri innovation, and nutrition alliance. Stakeholder engagement and fund mobilization have been integral to her portfolio. With hands on experience in analytics and strong connect with on ground stakeholders, she has been working in the policy advocacy arena. Kavery has authored/co-authored peer review articles, reports, and media articles. She has co-edited a book on agricultural value chains published by Springer in 2022.

Dr Indrani Ghose, Strategic Advisor, Food Safety and Quality of CII's Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence, is a National Level Resource Person for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI)'s Food Safety Training and Certification Program (FoSTaC) in the Manufacturing, Catering and Bakery sectors.

One of her key focus areas is the design, development and continual improvement of the unique CII Food Safety Maturity Model and institutionalized CII Award Program for Food Safety in the Indian Industry since 2010. Indrani has also facilitated successful introduction of the Cluster Approach in Indian Food Processing units for implementing HACCP and global standards of Food Safety Management Systems using TQM tools and techniques. She works extensively on establishing Global and National collaborative networks for promoting best practices , developing and deploying new Services and promoting Capacity building and Science behind Food Safety and Quality across the country in both the organized and informal sector.

Shailly Jain is a dedicated professional with a Master’s degree in Nutrition from the University of Delhi. With over 3 years of experience in the food manufacturing sector, she has honed her expertise in food regulations, safety, and quality assurance. At FACE, she is currently working for policy advocacy and various capacity building initiatives to develop deeper understanding of food regulations among stakeholders. Her comprehension of both national and international food regulations ensures that she brings excellence to her work.

Debanjana has completed her UG in Food Science and Nutrition Management from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. She has completed her PG in Nutrition & Dietetics specializing in Food Safety and Quality Management from Symbiosis International University, Pune. She is having internship experience at The Healthy Binge (True AgroRoots Pvt. Ltd.), NAFARI (National Agriculture and Food Analysis and Research Institute) and Narayana Superspeciality Hospital with experience in the domain of Food Safety and Nutrition. She is also a classical dancer with expertise in Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Kathak, and Rabindranritya. 

Varsha Mishra is a food technologist with +8 of experience in Agri-food exports, trade facilitation, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to this, she served at APEDA, Ministry of Commerce & Industry where she worked on export promotion and global outreach for Indian Agriculture and Processed food Products. She has also worked with M/s Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd where she handled export QA, QC and export regulatory compliances. She holds an M.Tech in Food Technology from Jamia Hamdard and a B.Tech from Delhi University.

Mayur has deep expertise in AgTech, Post-harvest, Cold Chain, Renewable Energy & IoT. He is about to finish PhD from IIT Bombay, where he researched solar-powered cold chains for agricultural produce. Across both academic and professional settings, he has conducted detailed value chain assessments for various horticultural crops using extensive primary and secondary research to identify post-harvest challenges and design effective interventions. He has worked in the AgTech startup ecosystem and the development sector, implementing solar-powered cold storages, reefer vans, sorting-grading machines, food processing units, and bulk milk chillers. Mayur’s work is built on cross-functional collaboration and multi-stakeholder engagement, working with farmers, NGOs, government bodies, and private partners to deliver scalable, impact-driven value chain solutions.

Roli Pande is an MBA-Agri Business Management from MANAGE, Hyderabad and a graduate in Agriculture from GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology. She has been with CII since the last 10+ years working in the agriculture domain.

Roli’s role involves evidence-based policy advocacy with Government at both the center and state level. She is also deeply involved in the research portfolio and has contributed to agri specific research reports at FACE. She is also handling the CII Farmer Producer Company program deployment.

Shruti holds dual postgraduate degrees in International Business and Food Science from Kassel University. She brings with her Four years of experience in Investment Facilitation, Policy Advocacy, Skilling and Export due dilligence, having previously worked with Invest India and Sector skill council. Outside of work, Shruti enjoys sketching, cooking, and engaging in DIY arts and crafts to decorate her home.

Atreyee Talapatra is the Secretary for the Tractor and Mechanization Association. She steers the association towards creating conducive policy platforms that aims to transform the Indian Farm Mechanization industry into a self – reliant agricultural economy.

Atreyee has been with CII for more than a decade handling very large initiatives like Make in India, Regulatory and Corporate Governance and the Services sector. She has engaged extensively with several Central Ministries, State Governments, Foreign and Indian Missions.

Manish Whorra is a Post Graduate, who studied Business Management, prior to completing a MS in Consultancy Management from the Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences (BITS), Pilani. He is a Professional member of Consultancy Development Centre (CDC) and the All India Management Association (AIMA), New Delhi

He has been with CII since the last more than 23 years, engaged in various initiatives and programmes for the SMEs, within India and abroad. At FACE, currently he is engaged in policy advocacy with Government at both center and state level as well as coordinating the secretariat for the CII National Food Processing committee and the CII National Committee on Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy and driving key investment facilitation and market access initiatives

Rajamany holds a diploma in computer applications and a graduate in Maths. She has been with CII for the last 25 years.

At FACE, she is handling the Agri Allied sectors covering Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying. Her core work involves engagement with various stakeholders viz. national and state-level government, farmers, agri & food industry leaders, technology and service providers, financiers, and various multilateral agencies to work to towards boosting the growth of Agri Allied sectors.

She has also extensive experience in working with the International Department of CII focused on enhancement of bilateral relations between India and ASEAN, Asia Pacific countries and in expanding business opportunities for Industry through a range of specialized networking events and global linkages.