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.

Anju Bist is the Senior Manager with Food Safety & Quality Vertical of CII FACE. With over 25 years of experience in the organisation, she specialises in Operations management, stakeholder liaison, strategic planning and implementation, promotion of Capacity Building trainings and conference with a consistent record of delivering results. Anju holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Delhi University and Post Graduation Diploma in Business Management from SCDL, Pune.

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 Ganguly is an agriculture and food policy specialist with over 20 years of experience in research, strategy, and policy advocacy. Her work focuses on agricultural markets, food systems, nutrition, and innovation-led transformation within the agri-food ecosystem. Kavery has held leadership roles with national and international research institutions and policy think tanks, and has undertaken consulting assignments with multilateral and academic organizations. Her work spans evidence generation, programme design, and policy engagement across diverse contexts. She has led multi-stakeholder initiatives that bring together government, industry, academia, and development partners to advance agri-innovation and nutrition agendas. Stakeholder engagement, institutional partnerships, and resource mobilization have been integral to her portfolio. She has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed articles, policy reports, and opinion pieces, and co-edited an empirical volume on agricultural value chains. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics, with Specialization in International Trade, from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In her free time, she enjoys painting and reading.

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 an Executive at CII FACE, associated with the Regulatory vertical. She contributes to policy advocacy and works on various capacitybuilding initiatives aimed at strengthening stakeholders’ understanding of food regulations. With her background in the food manufacturing sector, she brings handson expertise in food safety, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance. She holds a Master’s degree in Nutrition from the University of Delhi. Prior to joining FACE, she gained over three years of professional experience in the food manufacturing industry, where she worked extensively on food regulations, safety systems, and quality management frameworks. Shailly’s strong understanding of both national and international food regulatory standards enables her to support effective programme execution and deliver regulatory excellence across initiatives.

Sam Thomas John is a seasoned Food Safety & Quality professional with over 22 years of experience in the Food & Agriculture sector. He currently serves as Counsellor – Food Safety & Quality at CII FACE, where he plays a key role in strengthening industry standards and promoting excellence across the food value chain. At CII FACE, he is actively involved as a Senior Assessor for CII Awards for Food Safety Assessments, leading evaluation initiatives across the country to benchmark and elevate food safety practices. He is also recognized as an FSSAI National Level Resource Person (NLRP) and approved FoSTaC trainer for the Advanced Manufacturing, Retail, and Catering sectors, contributing to national capacity-building efforts in food safety. Sam is an approved Lead Auditor for multiple global food safety standards and has led numerous training and consulting assignments on HACCP, ISO 22000:2015, FSSC 22000, ISO 17025:2017, and SQF Standards. His expertise spans food processing, regulatory compliance, quality systems implementation, laboratory systems, and risk-based food safety management. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Agricultural Engineering from University of Allahabad. Prior to joining CII FACE, Sam has held key roles with leading organizations including LMJ International Ltd, SGS India Pvt Ltd, Diversey India Pvt Ltd, and Sealed Air India Pvt Ltd.

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. 

Deepti Mehra is a seasoned policy and advocacy professional with over 15 years of experience working closely with central and state governments, industry leaders, corporates, and multilateral organisations. She currently serves as Deputy Director at CII- FACEC, where she works across the agri and allied sectors. Her core areas of expertise include government liaison, stakeholder engagement, policy advocacy, sectoral research, and the design and execution of high-impact programmes. She holds an MBA in Agribusiness and a B.Sc. in Home Science from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar. Beyond work she enjoys travelling, reading, cooking and listening to music.

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.

Pawan Kumar Pareek is a seasoned Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory professional with over 20 years of experience across pharmaceutical research and the food industry. He holds a Master’s degree in Microbiology and began his career in global antibiotic drug discovery, leading programs on novel antimicrobial development. His work spanned pre-clinical research, pharmacokinetics, biomarker evaluation in higher animal species, and translational dose optimization, resulting in international patents and peer-reviewed publications. After transitioning to the food sector, he has led initiatives in quality systems, regulatory compliance, R&D-driven innovation, and operational excellence across dairy, infant nutrition, and health supplements. His focus areas include strengthening governance frameworks, implementing HACCP-based systems, leveraging data-driven tools, and embedding a culture of continuous improvement through Lean methodologies such as 3M, 5S, and Kaizen. Currently with CII Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence (CII-FACE), he drives national platforms and industry collaborations on food safety transformation, ESG integration, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) stewardship in animal agriculture, working closely with policymakers, global institutions, academia, and industry leaders. He also serves as an Ambassador for AMR Insights, promoting responsible antibiotic stewardship globally.

Shruti Sharma is a Project Manager with the Dairy Investment Accelerator program, where she manages innovative pilot initiatives, supply chain studies,  government relations, private investment facilitation, and vendor engagements across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh. She holds a bachelor’s degree in food technology from the University of Delhi and dual postgraduate degrees, specializing in Food Technology from Allahabad Agricultural University and International Business and Consumer Studies from the University of Kassel, Germany. Shruti brings experience in project management, investment facilitation, policy advocacy, trade analysis, and skill development. Outside of work, she enjoys sketching, cooking, and creating handcrafted d?cor for her home.

Akul Singh is an Executive at CII FACE, associated with the Food Safety & Quality vertical, In his current role, he manages finance, marketing, and administrative functions while supporting effective programme coordination and execution across key initiatives. He holds a graduation in Economics from the University of Delhi. He brings over three years of diverse professional experience across the Corporate and Development sectors. In the IT and consulting domain, he has worked as a Project Manager, while in the development space he has served in HR roles. His cross- functional exposure enables him to contribute effectively to operations, stakeholder coordination, and programme delivery.

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.