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Vimal Chawda

Managing Director

Vimal Chawda is Managing Director of VNR Seeds, which is currently India’s one of the fastest growing seed company. VNR Seed is a socially and environmentally responsible organization with a leading presence in agriculture sector of the Indian economy.

Early days of entrepreneurial spirits:

Vimal graduated in agriculture with Honours – awarded Vice-Chancellors Silver medal – from prestigious G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in 1993. He returned to Chhattisgarh the same year and joined father Narayan Chawda’s farm which was at that time, a farm of 36 acres having a modest turnover of INR 2 million. With small infusion of funds from family savings, he started vegetable cultivation at 30 acres lease land in summer season at village Berla. Limitation of funds could barely make the ends meet. This first independent attempt turned out to be a failure due to outage of electricity for 2 days and crop dried due to shortage of water. Vimal learnt his first lesson about lack of planning and risk mitigation i.e. pre-arrange availability of generator at farm location. The disappointment of failure lead to a dilemma – whether to continue with vegetable cultivation or search for alternatives. He took the challenge to pursue the first option—his passion for agriculture.

Having treaded through rough waters – he forayed into large scale vegetable cultivation to break the earlier set myth – “vegetable cultivation can be done only in peri-urban area and in small acreage”. While establishing the infrastructure needs of a large-scale cultivation project – he devised a 7-step plan, addressing core requirements:

  • Multiple cropping patterns
  • Scientific plot layout and roads for accessibility
  • Plots designed for mechanized operations
  • Drip irrigation system with automation for less consumption of energy
  • Modern agriculture implements and failover arrangements
  • Housing facility for manpower engagement
  • Shaded floors for grading and packaging of produce

With his acumen and expertise in agriculture production technology, he breached the barriers of average production volume per acres in many crop segments. He achieved highest recorded yields – In tomato 100 tonnes per acre against average yield of 40 tonnes per acre, similarly in Hot pepper highest yield of 42 tonnes against an average of 24 tonnes, Bitter gourd 16 tonnes against an average of 10 tonnes per acre. The list goes on to Bottle gourd, cabbage, cauliflower, cowpea, pointed gourd etc.

Major milestones & breakthroughs:

The milestones that majorly impacted the professional career graph of Vimal and are spread across decades of his enduring efforts. 

Establishing drip irrigation:

In 1988, while studying in class 10th Vimal got his hands on a literature about significance of micro-irrigation in agriculture; brought by Narayan Chawda from Micro Irrigation congress held at Australia. Having developed specific interest in drip irrigation, he visited Gujarat to understand and learn the technology. Though drip irrigation was earlier adapted in Chhattisgarh during the year 1986, but all 3 installations failed due to lack of technical and agronomic guidance – no awareness about maintenance of sub-surface drip line and usage of drip for fertigation apart from watering. Post studying and analyzing the technicalities and finer details of drip irrigation, he installed the first successful usage of drip irrigation in Chhattisgarh. This initiative helped him to understand the importance of adhering to details and adaptiveness towards local conditions.

Identification of Gynoecious line in Bitter Gourd:

In 1995, during his farming venture at Berla, he planted bitter gourd in 4 acres of land. He was very attentive towards his crop and use to stroll in every row of plants—keenly observing and noting physiological changes in plants. During one such walk, he saw a plant with only female flowers – which was not a routine character. He could immediately sense an opportunity, but the challenge was to maintain the line and establish the protocol. He researched and did sibmating to maintain that line. This led to a rare phenomenon of that time – development of Gynoecious line in bitter gourd. With this breakthrough, VNR became the least cost producer of bitter gourd seed, securing good value by selling at an average industry price. It was a differentiator which brought the much-awaited success.

Establishment of new vegetable seed production center:

In 2009, when there was a shortage of sponge gourd seed, Vimal decided to produce it, at one of its testing sites in tribal region of Chhattisgarh. As the protocols of seed production were stabilized and well monitored, an output of 1000 kgs. per acre was achieved, instead of regular 300 kgs. His acute understanding of seed production could instantly corelate it with impact of environment in a favorable agro-climatic zone. In no time, he started mobilizing resources, increasing production area by enrolling local tribal farmers for undertaking more profitable activity of seed production. As a result, VNR now has more than 2000 acres of seed production bank under its umbrella from northern to southern tribal region of Chhattisgarh. This created a mutually beneficial situation for both VNR and tribal farmers. It also gave him a sense of deep satisfaction by paying back to farming community – as tribal farmers, who could barely meet their daily necessities were now able to build pucca houses, install fencing, setup advance irrigation facilities and get their children educated in city institutes.

Apart from earlier constrained region in Telangana-Karimnagar and Karnataka-Ranebennuru; this initiative of Vimal, led to setting up of new seed production area in Chhattisgarh for industry as whole—which is currently spread across 3000 acres of fertile land in unexplored tribal zone.

Leadership skills & learning abilities:

Vimal initiated the execution of VNR’s backward integration journey – from farming to seed and further onto scientific research, biotech and production management. Under the astute and inclusive leadership of Vimal, VNR has grown inorganically, seizing opportunities across dominating vegetable and field crop segments. VNR has maintained CAGR of more than 30% since a decade and is currently poised to cross INR 3000 million mark.

Under Vimal’s leadership, VNR has developed a very strong, engaged and ambitious team, where everyone considers it, as their extended family. Being an early adapter of technology, he has ensured that every aspect of organizational value chain is adaptive to innovation and develop progressive mindset towards embracing change.

Vimal—a good listener, soft spoken, has an eye for detailing, carries deep passion for learning and commitment to upgrade; these qualities have taken him places across the globe to quench his thirst of knowledge. As part of organizational growth, he ensures that his team members and he himself regularly attend seminars, conferences, symposiums, training workshops and represent VNR at various international and domestic forums.

Out of his many international sojourn – few are: International Horti Fair at Amsterdam Netherlands, International Symposium on Guava at Petrolina Brazil, International Pepper Conference at Naples Florida, US Vegetable Seed Industry tour organized by APSA, International Symposium on Tropical & Subtropical Horticulture held at Cairns Australia, The World Vegetable Centre & Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Station in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Awards, Recognitions & Honors:

Vimal has won recognitions for his exemplary contribution to agriculture, leadership and organisation building. Selective list, as under:

  • Conferred with prestigious “Honorary Fellowship” of Horticulture Society of India for the year 2018 for his distinguished contributions in Horticulture Research and Development, by Shri. Bhupesh Baghel, Hon’ble Chief Minister – Chhattisgarh State at IGKV Campus, Raipur during 8th Indian Horticulture Congress 2019
  • Recipient of N.G. Ranga Farmer of the year Award in 2002 for his innovative practices in diversified agriculture by Shri. Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Union Agriculture Minister – Govt. of India
  • Received AAAP Young Achiever Award at AAAP Annual Meet in 2012 at New Delhi by Agri Alumni Association of Pant Nagar
  • Co-Recipient of ASPEE L.M. Patel Farmer of the year award for the year 2002 by ASPEE Research and Development Foundation, Mumbai
  • Recipient of Ten Outstanding Young Indians Award in 2001 by Indian Junior Chamber during its 46th National Convention at Indore

Advisor, Speaker & Invitations:

  • Appointed as chairperson for the vegetable group committee of Federation of Seed Industry of India
  • Invited by Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of Chhattisgarh for suggestions and discussion
  • Invited by Ministry of Land Revenue, Govt. of Chhattisgarh for discussion on Land Ceiling
  • Invited by Project Directorate of Vegetable Research for dissemination of knowledge and experience with fellow farmers on vegetable cultivation
  • Invited by Central Bank of India to deliver talk on Hi-tech agriculture for zonal bank officials
  • Delivered lectures to several Farmer groups for dissemination of knowledge on Fertigation, Irrigation, Vegetable grafting, Vegetable Cultivation under Drip Irrigation & protected farming in various districts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh
  • Regular invitee at Kisan TV programs, Agriculture shows of Doordarshan and AIR for promotion of horticulture in Chhattisgarh
  • Delivered talk on entrepreneurship at IIM, Raipur during orientation program

Life Memberships:

  • Member International Society of Horticulture Sciences, Belgium
  • Member of Indian Society of Vegetable Sciences, Varanasi
  • Member of Horticultural Society of India, New Delhi
  • Producer Member of Naveen Beej Utpadak Sahakari Samiti, Raipur
  • Society for promotion of Horticulture, Bengaluru
  • Manage-National Institute of Agriculture Extension Management, Hyderabad

Family – Nature’s masterpiece:

Vimal lives out of suitcase and continuously travels for work, but always ensure spending quality time with family. While father and son exchange notes on research and production at breakfast table, mother Velu ensures that everyone gets a healthy treat. Vimal’s wife Hema, is a co-director at VNR and his pillar of strength in every sense—sharing professional, social and personal responsibilities. Vimal is a doting & loving father to daughters Khushi and Aanvee.

Being a university swimming champion and a captain, he’s still an avid swimmer and regularly covers 40 laps of half Olympic size pool.

Vimal is well read and always carries a book on varied topics. Whenever he finds time, listens to old songs and never misses an opportunity going for a long drive.

In words of daughter Khushi – “He tries hard not to leave things unfinished”.

CA Arvind Kumar Agrawal

Director

Arvind Agrawal is a founder member of VNR group. He is responsible for strategic planning, corporate finance, financial control, compliance, assurance risk management, governance system and process development.

Under his guidance and leadership, there has been many process development, improvement initiatives being taken up and successfully implemented at VNR. He is the constant in the upward growth trajectory of VNR, throughout these years he has made valuable contributions in every discipline of business and solidified the business operations of the organization.

He has represented VNR, in many domestic and International forums. He is a regular participant at APSA and ISC conferences, since a decade. He has attended workshops and study courses on Food & Agribusiness management at Cornell University Ithaca NY, USA, GA3 International Symposium Taiwan, Cash Flow Management at Singapore etc. Exclusively travelled throughout the world to get inside of Agriculture and Technology. His contribution to VNR & Entrepreneurship has been accorded by E.O. Raipur by extending him prestigious “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” by honorable CM of Chhattisgarh.

He is being regularly invited by institutes, apex bodies and forums to deliver the talks on the subjects related to agricultural funding and compliance matters. Few recent ones are; Panel discussion at Agri and Food Summit organized by VCCircle at New Delhi, Speaker at Agri and Food Investment Summit at Mumbai, Make in India & FDI in retail in Raipur, Roadshow on World Food India by CII Raipur, Transitions to GST conference organised by CII Raipur, Speaker in ICAI- Panel discussion interactive meet with CEO/CFO, PHD chambers of commerce and Industry as a speaker in guidelines and procedures of startups, ‘Role of technology in food industries’, ”Facilitating credits to MSME in Chhattisgarh”, In a Panel discussion with Leading Print Media Group India Today on ‘Agriculture and Forestry first economic development in Chattisgarh.

During his career he contributed in the agricultural sector by playing a major role in the upliftment of farmers of Chhattisgarh by supporting them in implementation of innovative and mechanized farming through Agriculture financing for beneficial operations. Also motivated thousands of farmers towards Agripreneurship.

Mr. Agarwal has been a scholar throughout his academic career. He is armed with a diploma in Information System Audit from ICAI and done QMS Lead Auditor Course from Nigel Bauer & Associates UK. Has been a gold medalist in the bachelor of commerce with specialization in Management. A twin Konark Chakra Awardee during higher secondary school.

He is actively participating in ICAI activities served various roles in the Raipur Branch of ICAI. He is a senator member of Junior Chamber International, Member of Income Tax Bar Association Raipur, Founder Member of C.G state Archery Association, He is state Council Member of CII continuously since 2017. He is the founder of Young Arm Foundation, a nonprofit association aims for the establishment of self sustain empowered society.

A sports enthusiast -badminton champion at University level. He is based in Raipur, married to Mukta Mani and has one equally talented son Swapnil.

Dr. K. C. Upadhyay

Head: Research & Development

Dr. Krishan Chandra Upadhyay is at the helm of the research and development team at VNR Seeds. He joined the company as Principal Breeder and started building on the cereal crop research vertical of organization.

As the brain behind strategy, initiation, coordination and analysis of breeding and its support functions, Dr. KC has been responsible for the development and release of 18 hybrids in VNR and for 3 notifications from the Central Variety Release Committee (CVRC), India.

Dr. KC, who had a successful career of 10-years at Bayer CropScience, has helped VNR set up key rice, maize and bajra breeding programmes.

As a young scientist, Upadhyay started his career as Research Associate with Proagro, where he was subsequently promoted to the rank of Junior Breeder and then went on to become a member of the Senior Breeders team. His deep-seated dedication and commitment inspired him to stay on with Proagro throughout his tenure, but various acquisitions gave him the opportunity to work with Hybrid Rice International, Agrevo, Aventis and, later, Bayer CropScience.

Having earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture & Animal Husbandry from the reputed G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, he went on to complete his Masters in Agriculture (Plant Breeding) from the same university. Years later, he was awarded with PhD in Agricultural Botany from Chaudhary Charan Singh University.

Always open to learning and acquiring knowledge, Dr. KC has been a regular at national and international workshops, symposiums and consortium meetings on agriculture. He is a life member of Oryza, an international journal on rice, and Journal of Rice Research. His areas of interests include learning about and analyzing the evolution of crops, societies, and nations.

Dr. KC lives in Hyderabad with wife Neelam, a Zoology post-graduate from Kumaon University, daughter Mridini and son Tarun.

Atul Sah

Business Head: Sales & Marketing

Atul Sah joined VNR as Business Development Manager in 2008, and was made Business Head, Sales, in 2009.

Apart from leading his team in achieving sales and income numbers, profit and loss, Sah is responsible for developing business strategies for VNR in unrepresented territories in India and targeted countries as well as in creating  alternative distribution channels, working on product advancement and life cycle management, and enabling revenue optimization. He is also entrusted with the responsibility of mentoring and shaping leaders in the company’s ecosystem.

Armed with several years of experience and having worked with major MNC, Sah has played a key role in structuring the sales, marketing and product development functions in VNR.

Under his guidance the sales team has not only maintained the targeted Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for VNR, but also ensured steady cash flow. He has initiated training programmes as well as helped in right product identification and placement for the company.

A graduate in Agriculture & Animal Husbandry, and a post-graduate in Agricultural Statistics from the G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Sah’s career trajectory took off at Monsanto as a product development (PD) executive trainee. His efficiency and dedication soon saw him take the next step up as Regional Technology Development Manager with additional responsibility as Data Coordinator for Asia Pacific region. Sah became the first recipient of Distinguished Development Award, the highest recognition globally in the field of PD conferred by Monsanto India Ltd. Sah moved to the sales function in 2003 and worked in various geographies like Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. His last assignment with Monsanto was as Regional Manager, Sales, for Madhya Pradesh and south Rajasthan.

Sah is an active member of the Asia & Pacific Seed Association and the National Seed Congress. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Utkal Management Institute.

Sah’s hobbies include cooking, travelling, listening to music and playing musical instruments. He lives in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, with his wife and two kids.

S. Rudraprakash

Head: Supply Chain Management

S. Rudrapraksh, currently heads the supply chain with Departments of Foundation Seed Production, Seed Production, Processing and Quality assurance in the ambit. A graduate in Agriculture from Pantnagar with a PG Diploma in management Rudraprakash has shouldered the growth path of VNR with an association spanning 10 plus years.

Rudraprakash a native of Tamilnadu, and a ten year experience in the Tea plantation Industry has taken to the seed industry since 2007. Rudy as he is known to colleagues, brought in a mix of farm practices and system centric work patterns which he borrows heavily from his experience of cultivating tea in terrain hostile to habitation, and his early exposure to process certifications like ISO. A stint as a quality control personnel early in his career gives him a nose for effectively pursuing and implementing quality assurance norms. VNR has steadily grown in its production, from less than 1000 acres of paddy to over 12000 acres of paddy from processing 500Mt to 6000Mt, from make shift labs to sophisticated and reliable labs with the efforts of teams co-opted by Rudraprakash. Noteworthy is the shift from manual labels to digitised barcode enabled warehousing which has seen the light of the day in VNR storage facilties. Rudy has been trained in Hybrid Paddy seed production under APSA and in seed production principles at University of California.

Rudraprakash has always been an enthusiast of technology based improvisations and carries this streak into work functions. The enthusiasm manifests in support to colleagues and nudges the entire organization into being cutting edge.

Raj Kumar Kundu

Lead – Supply Chain Management

Raj Kumar Kundu is Lead – Supply Chain Management. He handles a wide and varied functional work portfolio covering seed production research (SPR), breeder seed department, cereal crops seed production along with core processing & packing facilities.

Raj Kumar Kundu is a technology enthusiast and is an early adopter of innovative products. He carries a go-getter attitude and has demonstrable project management skills, proven when he spearheaded the project of VNR’s first state-of-art processing plant – automated and SCADA integrated in a pressing timeline of 150 days! Being a self-starter, he keeps his co-workers motivated to achieve the best in their work spheres. He carries VNR’s baton of inclusivity and gender parity wherein he trained a lady member to become the First Female forklift operator of Chhattisgarh state. VNR’s governance model focuses on supporting local community by creating a pool of trained and skilled resources, Raj Kumar adopted it and have employed people from adjoining peripheral villages at various functions in plant and field operations.

Raj Kumar has spearheaded the cereal crop seed production and achieved more than 100% growth by progressively doubling up the paddy and maize seed production from 8000MT to 17000MT with production area acreage breaching 20,000+. To keep up with the pace of organizational development, one needs to continuously re-skill and up-skill, Raj Kumar hand holds his team members to adopt & keep learning in changing business environment. He regularly organises training programs for his team in core & allied activities ranging from advance inventory management to fire and safety management.

Raj Kumar is B.Tech in agricultural engineering from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. After completing his graduation in 1996, he joined the promising agriculture sector and worked at grass root levels, his initial foray was into micro-irrigation and landscaping irrigation. Later, he started his seed industry career with Hybrid Rice International (Now, Bayer CropScience) and worked his way up with Dhaanya seed. Prior to joining VNR Seeds, he was on an international assignment for setting up rice plants at Lagos, Nigeria for Stallion Group. During his vast experience of 25+ years, he has worked in various capacities and acquired critical skills of seed industry.

Raj Kumar believes in team spirit and carries undying enthusiasm for cricket. He has led VNR cricket team to championship in inter-departmental and inter-company seed industry premier league tournaments. Socially, he is a cheerful person and popular among his colleagues. When with family, he discusses upcoming technologies with his engineer daughters – Reeya & Shreya, where life partner Sudesh is a good support

Parag Agarwal

Lead – R&D, Vegetables

Mr. Parag Agarwal is an eminent professional, holding a position of great responsibility as the Lead in Research and Development (R&D) for Vegetable crops at VNR Seeds. His academic journey has been nothing short of outstanding, marked by a consistent display of excellence, securing top positions throughout his educational career. This remarkable academic prowess laid the foundation for his successful and impactful career in the agricultural sector.

With extensive national and international exposure in the breeding of vegetable crops, Parag has significantly contributed to the growth and success of R&D activities at VNR Seeds. His role has been pivotal in fostering a robust product pipeline, which has propelled the company to new heights within the industry.

A standout quality of Mr. Parag Agarwal is his meticulous and perfectionist approach towards his work. This characteristic enables him to discern weak links within programs effectively. Through this keen eye for detail, he has played a critical role in building strong and efficient systems within the R&D department. His ability to see the bigger picture while focusing on minute intricacies has been instrumental in the continued success of the department.

As a leader, Mr. Parag skillfully guides and motivates a diverse team of researchers, each specializing in crucial areas such as breeding, biotechnology, pathology, entomology and product development. He has successfully fostered a collaborative work environment where individual strengths combine to create a formidable team. This collective effort is the driving force behind the development of a strong product pipeline for VNR Seeds, ensuring the company remains competitive and innovative in the market.

Mr. Parag’s educational background is rooted in excellence, having studied at prestigious universities like G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology and PBA, UC Davis. These institutions have not only imparted knowledge but have also shaped his values and approach towards his professional life.

In his journey to success, Mr. Parag Agarwal acknowledges and deeply appreciates the mentorship and guidance he received from Dr. Narayan Chawda, the founder breeder of VNR Seeds. Parag regards Dr. Narayan Chawda, the Founder, as his Guru, attributing a significant portion of his professional acumen and approach to the invaluable lessons learned under his mentorship.

Mr. Parag Agarwal stands as a beacon of excellence in the field of agricultural research and development. His dedication, meticulousness and commitment to innovation continue to drive the growth of VNR Seeds, shaping the future of vegetable crop breeding and positively impacting the agricultural industry as a whole.

Beyond his professional life, Mr. Parag Agarwal finds immense support and strength from his family. His wife, Raashi, is a source of unwavering support, expertly managing their household while also contributing to society as a dedicated Social Science teacher at DPS, Hyderabad. Their journey as parents is a source of pride, with their daughter, Apurva, pursuing studies in the field of Commerce  and son Keshav, exploring opportunities in the technology and aviation sector.