Dr. Himanshu Pathak graduated from IARI, New Delhi and has post-doctoral experience as Humboldt Fellow (Germany) & BOYSCAST Fellow (United Kingdom). He was visiting scientist at IRRI, Manila and CSIRO, Australia. He is currently serving as Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Govt. of India and Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Earlier he served as Director of ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Odisha and Director of ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Maharashtra, India. He has over three decades of experience in the areas of agricultural research, education and extension. He is a fellow of Indian National Science Academy; National Academy of Science, India; National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Humboldt Foundation and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Awardee of Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He is a scientist of global repute working in the area of Abiotic stress, Climate change and Soil science. Dr. W. S. Lakra graduated from University of Delhi and obtained Ph.D and D.Sc degree from HNB Garhwal University. He has post-doc trainings from CSIRO , Australia and Harvard University, USA. He has served as Director, National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, and Director and Vice Chancellor of the Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai. He has several awards and honours to his credit, including Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Best Indian Fisheries Scientist Award, Vasvik Award, Hari Om Ashram Trust Award of ICAR. He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. His research areas include fisheries, aquaculture genetics, biotechnology and biodiversity. Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan graduated from Maharaja's College, Ernakulam and currently serving as the Director of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Kochi since 2013. His career includes notable roles at the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) and various leadership positions in fisheries organizations. Dr. Gopalakrishnan has received numerous awards, including the Asian Fisheries Society (AFS) Gold Medal Award in 2016 and the VASVIK Award in Agriculture Science & Technology in 2020. His extensive involvement in policy committees, editorial boards, and research areas such as Fish Conservation Genetics and Population Genomics reflects his significant contributions to the field. Prof. K. C. Bansal graduated from IARI, New Delhi and has post-doctoral experience from Harvard University, USA. He is a Board Director at the Global Plant Council and former Director of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR), New Delhi. He is an elected Fellow and Secretary of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Fellow of the National Academy of Science, India. He is on the Board of Directors of the Global Plant Council, and Board of Trustees of MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. His research interests include, among others, molecular biology, plant genetic engineering, agricultural biotechnology, and gene editing for sustainable agriculture.
