Dr. Venkatesh Tagat, Director., (Post Graduate in Agronomy; Ph. D in Soil and Water Management from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi; DSE from Germany in Land Use Planning for Rural Development and Monitoring Evaluation in Development Projects). He had a stint as CGM, Bengaluru Regional Office. He was also Director on the Board of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd, Mumbai and also a member on the Inter Ministerial Group on Agricultural Marketing, New Delhi. He retired as Chief General Manager, Business Initiatives Department of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Head Office, Mumbai.