Mr. Uttam Prakash Agarwal

Non-Executive Independent Director, Chairman

Mr. Uttam Prakash Agarwal is a Chartered Accountant with three decades of experience in taxation, finance and restructuring having worked extensively in areas such as statutory audit, income leakage audit, Concurrent Audit, Stock Audit, of public sector banks under RBI’s appointment. He also has experience in Companies Audit and Special Audit of Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil & Larsen Turbo, appointed by the Central Board of Excise & Customs. He has carried out statutory Audits of Public sector undertakings & Mutual Funds appointed by The Comptroller Auditor General of India. He also has rich experience in providing tax and business advisory services to private equity investors, banks, investment banks, brokerage houses, and finance companies.

He was a Technical Advisor on the Board of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Developing Nations Committee (DNC) of IFAC, and Small and Medium Practices Committee (SMP) of IFAC. He has also been a Member of the Central Direct Taxes Advisory Committee (CDTAC) constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Regional Direct Taxes Advisory Committee (RDTAC), New Delhi; the National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India; the Audit Advisory Board and the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board constituted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. He was formerly nominated by the Ministry of Finance between 2009 and 2021 as a member of the Disciplinary Committee constituted by the Council of the Institute of Actuaries of India.

He has been instrumental in introducing a unique concept called UPACA Gurukul situated at Abu Road (Rajasthan). UPACA Gurukul is his effort to provide a comprehensive solution for all the problems faced by CA students. The philosophy that makes it a unique concept is that it provides CA classroom training, hostel facilities, articleship, finishing school, and regular graduation, all under one roof. It incorporates various programs of soft skills and vocational courses which is essential in shaping the overall growth of students with the best surroundings and state-of-the-art facilities.

He has also been the youngest President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in 2009-10 and has been acknowledged by former President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, for his commendable work in the industry and presented with ‘Recognition of Excellence Award’. He was also awarded with “UDAN 2011” by the Times of India Group Newspaper Navbharat Times.

He has also been contributing his expertise as:

• Member on the Board of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Member on the Board of Tariff Advisory Committee of IRDA and also a member of Standing Committee on Accounting Issues (SCAI) constituted by IRDA.
• Member of Sub-Committee (Audit) of the Board for Financial Supervision of Reserve Bank of India.
• Member of IFRS Core Group under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
• Member on the Committee on Internal Audit constituted by the Office of Controller General of Accounts, Government of India.
• Member on the Board of the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) and CAPA Sub-committee on Environmental Accounting.
• Member on the Board of South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and Chairman of SAFA, SMP Committee.
• Advisor to Salasar Techno Engineering Ltd. and Payaash Holdings PTE Limited and Group Advisor to Urja Global Limited.

As a prolific speaker, he has addressed various conferences, seminars, and workshops, organized nationally and internationally by ICAI, and has authored several books as well.

Mr. Avtar Singh Monga

Non-Executive Independent Director

Mr. Avtar Singh Monga has been associated with the Financial/Banking industry for almost 38 years and has worked with some of the best global enterprises in leadership positions both for India as well as the global level. He has spent a considerable amount of time with Bank of America, first as part of their India business and later establishing and scaling their Global Delivery Centres of Expertise as its Managing Director. He has also been part of GE Capital India where he spearheaded SBI Card JV as well as transport Financial Services as CEO. More recently, he has been Chief Operating Officer/Executive Director/Head of Retail Bank with IDFC Bank and was instrumental in launching the bank and building it as a key player in the fintech space.

He has been actively involved while at IDFC and even in a personal capacity to promote digital as well support Fintech and is also an Angel Investor.

He is passionate about building leadership and has been mentoring several successful industry leaders as well as advising a few global and local start-ups.

He holds a Master’s Degree in commerce as well as an MBA in Marketing and Finance and also is a Fellow member of the Institute of Directors.

Dr. Aruna Sharma

Non-Executive Independent Director

Dr. Aruna Sharma an Indian Administrative Officer of 1982 batch Madhya Pradesh Cadre retired after her work as Secretary of Steel and Information Technology in government of India. She has always focused to have a comprehensive approach and establish a system in all her postings for ensuring sustainable quality outcomes. She has books reaching the Last Beneficiary: Resource Convergence Mantra Model (2008) and Impact of Recourse Convergence in Policy Making, Mainstreaming of Resource Convergence in Policy Making Program Design and Execution (2014) released by UNDP. FAO has also published her work on food security. Her latest work is the book U@Game Changer for Inclusive Growth for public representatives. Her article on “The Samagra anti‐poverty program in Madhya Pradesh: Integrating household data, overcoming silo‐problems and leaving nobody behind “is published in electronic version and in print will come in April 2021 in Development Policy Review. Her new book Dancing Towards the $5 Trillion Economy on Holistic Beat.

As Secretary Steel drafted and successfully executed Steel Policy and preferential procurement policy. The GFR amendment set the trend to enhance domestic demand and was key to the revival of the sector. Logistic improvements were planned and envisaged by getting a ‘right of way policy’ from Railways for slurry pipelines and maximum usage of Sagarmala routes.

At State and Center, she has visualized, worked, and implemented successful software like SAMAGRA ( a household wise common database) used by all the individual and family benefit schemes, now implemented in 8 states, Panch Parmeshwar has made the entire working of Panchayat, Block and district for all works executed cashlessly. This graduated to Priya Soft. The software is real-time data of all the receipts expenditures by the Panchayat irrespective of the source of funding. Besides, all receipts and payments are cashless. It generates all the statutory 8 reports required by CAG in auto mode. The Panchayat only must enter the project estimates, cash book, and upload bills and photographs of the status of work. It is online on the web and any Panchayat can be viewed and monitored. The financial inclusion model involving all kinds of financial institutions to ensure access in 5km radius was developed along with the popularization RuPay card. Besides, envisaged and by coordination developed have a common National Scholarship portal and GeM portal for procurement to list a few. She was Secretary of Information Technology and later Secretary Steel in the government of India. She was instrumental to bring in a comprehensive approach and has visualized and drafted the National Steel Policy 2017 and a clear policy on preference for local manufacturing that has enabled the complete revival of the sector. The amendment to GFR rules by adding the life cycle cost has been the game-changer.

She was also Director General Doordarshan where she gave world-class coverage to Commonwealth Games 2010 and that sent benchmark. Doordarshan channels went up in TRP and revenue generation in her tenure. Her focus of work is also in the area of Water Security and enhancing local jobs. Access to preventive health care has been the focus when she worked as Secretary of Health and Family Welfare. The focus has been on holistic care in terms of drinking water, sanitation, preventive hygiene and vaccination, and access to inpatient. She has been a member of the National Knowledge Commission on health care and education. Her doctoral work is on psycho-barriers in access to public health care. She has worked extensively with policymakers for the revival of mining in Goa and the new draft of the proposed mining policy.

She was in the 5 member High-Level RBI committee on Deepening of Digital Payments constituted by the Reserve Bank of India- a report that had immediate execution.

She is a Fellow with the University of Bath in the UK and working on accelerating the success and sustainability of SDGs by resorting to the common household database. She is an alumnus of Harvard Kennedy School. Her forte is development, core sectors, and environmental issues. She regularly writes for Financial Express, Economic Times, and CNBC 18. She is an independent director with SRO of MFIN, Welspun Infra, Arjas Steel Pvt Limited, IQuippino besides a lot of pro bono work in the field of development, core sector, and environment.

Dr. Madan Bhalchadra Gosavi

Non-Executive Independent Director

Dr. Madan Bhalchandra Gosavi is a purpose-driven leader committed to making a significant positive impact on society through ethical principles. His motivation stems from his humble family background. A keen observer of life, Dr. Gosavi believes that education is key to societal growth and that the strength of the country lies in its diverse local culture and deep cultural roots.

Dr. Gosavi is a committed legal professional with nearly 40 years of experience in various sectors, holding multiple senior management positions. His extensive experience has equipped him to handle special cases within the Indian Judiciary amidst critical situations. He likes to address himself as a statesman, combining loyalty with extensive legal knowledge.

Career Summary

1985-1991: Advocate, Bombay High Court.

1986-1990: Part-time lecturer, Business Laws, Rizavi College of Commerce.

1992-2004: Civil Judge & Judicial Magistrate (FC), Indian Legal System.

2004: Promoted to Sr. Civil Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate.

2010: Promoted to District & Sessions Judge.

2014: Special Judge (CBI), overseeing sensitive cases such as the Soharabuddin Shaikh and Tulasi Prajapathi encounters, monitored by the Supreme Court of India.

2017: Joint Secretary – cum – Legal Adviser, Department of Law & Justice, State of Maharashtra.

2018-Present: Member (Judicial), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

As a member of the NCLT, Dr. Gosavi has presided over multiple benches for the past five years. During the pandemic, he managed the work of four NCLT benches single-handedly for over six months.

PhD: “Legal Analysis of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 in the Light of Emerging Issues: A Study with Specific Reference to Problems and Prospects” from Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Amravati (Maharashtra).

Mr. Umesh Mehta

Non-Executive Director

Umesh Mehta is a seasoned turnaround strategist and technology leader with experience across multiple industries, including Automobile, Agrochemicals, Pharma, Retail, and QSR. As a Chief Information Officer (CIO), he demonstrates profound business acumen and adeptly integrates technology with strategic business objectives. With over 35 years of experience in Information Technology, Umesh has held pivotal roles in renowned manufacturing organizations such as Maruti Suzuki, Fiat Group, Essar Group, Jubilant Group, and PI Group. His career spans both domestic and international IT assignments, where he effectively leverages technology for strategic business advantages. Throughout his career, Umesh has been honored with numerous prestigious awards, including the “CIO Sammaan” for being one of India’s top 5 CIOs in 2019 by CIO & Leader – 9.9 Group, the “CIO Hall of Fame” Award from IDG, and IDC Insight Awards for Excellence in Innovation. He has also been featured in the CIO Power List and CIO 100 multiple times by IDG. In addition to his accolades, Umesh serves as the President of the Governing Body of CIO Association (CIO Klub), the largest association of Chief Information Officers globally, with over 2000 members across 16 chapters in India, UAE, and Bangladesh. Umesh Mehta actively contributes to the industry as a board member of INDUS – SAP User Group of India Subcontinent and as a subject matter expert for IT projects in Meghalaya with Meghalaya Industrial Development Corporation. He also participates in various Customer Advisory Boards for technology products and services companies. Umesh holds a degree in Computer Science from Delhi University and is an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur.

Ambarish Dasgupta

Additional Non-Executive Director

Ambarish Dasgupta, a management consultant with more than 30 years of experience, is the senior partner and founder of Intueri Consulting LLP. He was the Partner and National Leader of Consulting of KPMG India. He was a member of the Global Management Consulting leadership team of KPMG. He was also a member of the India Leadership Team and Advisory Leadership Team, KPMG India. Before that, he was a Partner and National Leader of the Consulting Practice of PwC India. He was also a member of the India Leadership Team and Advisory Leadership Team, PwC India. He was also a part of the Global Management Consulting leadership team of PwC. Education: Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur University.

Professional Affiliation, Publication and Recognition:

State Public Policy and Strategy Planning Board member, Govt. of West Bengal (ex)

Principal Advisor of West Bengal IT department (ex)

An Executive Committee member of United Ways (UWOK), Kolkata Chapter Associated with Advisory Committee of some Institutes and Universities

He was the President of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce (BCCI) for 2015-16

Past National Executive Board Member of AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce) India and Past Chairman of AMCHAM – Kolkata Chapter

Past Chairman of the Eastern Regional Council of NASSCOM

Past President of The Bengal Club