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From a project executive to Dr Kurien's successor: the rise and rise of Dr Amrita Patel

Dr Amrita Patel has taken over as the chairperson of the National Dairy Development Board. She succeeds founder chairman Dr Verghese Kurien, who has stepped down after serving for 33 years.

She was the managing director of NDDB for about ten years. She had also held several high-profile posts in different categories in the NDDB and at the secretary level in the government offices.

Dr Patel is the daughter of former finance minister H M Patel.

Dr Patel was born on November 13, 1943 at Vidyanagar village in Kheda district of south Gujarat. She completed her secondary school from Convent of Jesus and Mary, New Delhi in 1958. She did her bachelors in veterinary science and honours in agriculture from the Bombay Veterinary College in 1965.

Dr Patel has also successfully completed advanced training in animal nutrition at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, the UK under an FAO Fellowship from October 1966 to March 1968.

After completing advanced training in animal nutrition, Dr Patel joined Kaira District Ccooperative Milk Producers' Union Limited in their cattle feed factory at Kanjari as animal nutrition officer on November 4, 1965.

She joined the National Dairy Development Board as project executive in 1971. During the same period she was given a special assignment to assist the Achievement Audit Committee for the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal.

In 1972, she was appointed as assistant director of International Dairy Congress. Later on she was promoted as deputy director in the Congress secretariat and ultimately took over as secretary-general in 1973 till the Congress was over in 1975.

As soon as the Congress session was over, she was appointed administrative and commercial director of NDDB. She was later transferred to Delhi as regional director of NDDB where she also worked as executive director.

In 1983, Dr Patel was appointed additional secretary, NDDB and regional head of Indian Dairy Corporation in Delhi. In 1986, she was appointed as chief executive of NDDB.

In 1988, she was appointed as managing director (operations). She also worked as additional secretary in the ministry of agriculture from June 19, 1989.

In September 1990, she took over as managing director of NDDB.

Dr Patel also held the post of chairperson of nine major institutions in the fields of dairying, animal disease and prevention, animal nutrition, financial institutions and human health. She has been on the managing committees of 15 other institutions and organisations.

UNI

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