Work Experience

Director, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR), Hyderabad, 2021 till 26th May 2026; Principal Scientist (Biotechnology), Crop Improvement Section, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR), Hyderabad, 2014 to 2021. Senior Scientist (Biotechnology), ICAR-IIRR (formerly known was Directorate of Rice Research), Hyderabad, 2008 to 2014; IUSSTF Post Doctoral Fellow, Iowa State University and Cornell University, USA, 2012, Scientist (Sr. Scale; Biotechnology), ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad, 2004 to 2008; USAID-ABSPII Research Fellow, Cornell University, USA, 2005, Scientist (Biotechnology), ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad, 1998 to 2004; Senior Assistant Manager (Technical), Central Warehousing Corporation, New Delhi, 1997 to 1998.

Areas of Interest:

Crop biotechnology, Rice genetics, Rice molecular breeding.

Awards/Honours:

Department of Biotechnology, Government of India Award for Biotech Product and Process Commercialization, 2016; PN Behl Award for the Biennium 2012-13 for Excellence in Crop Sciences, awarded by ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI), New Delhi, 2015; DST-Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation grant for CONNECT Program for attending 6th Indo-German Frontiers in Engineering Symposium, 2014; CSIR Award for S & T Innovations in Rural Development (CAIRD), 2013; Indo-US Science and Technology Fellowship, 2012; Hari Om Ashram Trust Award of ICAR for the Biennium 2010-12; Lal Bahadur Shastri Outstanding Young Scientist Award of ICAR, 2010; Prof. SVS Shastri Outstanding scientist Award of ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR), Hyderabad for the year 2015, USAID-ABSPII Research Fellow, 2005; Best worker (Scientist) of ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad (2017-18), Team Member/Expert, Crop group (Rice) for developing DNA fingerprinting protocol constituted by ICAR, 2018; External Subject Expert (Plant Biotechnology) at Kerala Agricultural University, 2018; External Member, Technical Advisory Committee, M/s Metahelix Life Sciences Limited, Bangalore, 2016 to date; Member, Expert Committee on Crop Molecular Breeding, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, 2014 to 2016; Member, Project Monitoring and Site Committee, BIRAC-DBT, Govt. of India, 2015 to date; DBT Nominee, Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC), Xylem Seeds and Tierra Seeds, 2014 to date; External Expert, IBSC; Biosco Biosciences, Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds, 2016 to date; Chief Editor, Journal of Rice Research; 2018, Editor, Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology (A Springer Journal), 2018; Academic Editor, PLoS One; 2018; Recipient of DBT Merit Fellowship, M.Sc. (Agri) studies, 1994 to 1996; Govt. of Puducherry Merit Fellowship, B.Sc. (Agri) studies, 1990 to 1994.

Fellow:

National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India; National Academy of Sciences, India; Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding (ISGPB); Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, United States