Madhu Pandit Dasa started Akshaya Patra in the year 2000. Passionate about science, he did his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT-Bombay. He came across the teachings of Srila Prabhupada during his days at IIT-Bombay and decided to dedicate his life to the latter’s mission. Madhu Pandit Dasa has over three decades of selfless work behind him, conceiving and implementing several social initiatives that impact millions of people in the country, giving them a better quality of life. The Government of India has conferred upon him the prestigious Padma Shri in recognition of the distinguished service rendered by Akshaya Patra for the children of India.

Chanchalapathi Dasa has been working in the field of spiritual education since 1984 and social development since 2000. He pursued his Bachelor’s Degree in PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, where he came in touch with ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada’s mission. Later, he joined the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to pursue his Masters in Electrical Communication Engineering. He has combined the spirit of compassion with his education in technology and applied it to social development. He is currently involved in strategy, planning and governance of Akshaya Patra.

Satya Gaura Chandra Dasa is a Gold Medalist in B.Tech Mechanical at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University – Kakinada. He eventually did his M.Tech from IIT-Chennai and worked in a multinational IT firm in Bengaluru for a couple of years before deciding to dedicate his life to serving humanity. The first Akshaya Patra kitchen in unified Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana) was set up in Hyderabad in 2008 under his leadership. He also oversaw the setting up of the Foundation’s high-tech mega kitchen in Kandi, Telangana, in association with the Infosys Foundation in 2018. Currently, he is serving as the President for Akshaya Patra Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Bharatarshabha Dasa chose the path of spirituality in 1992 while studying B.Tech in Computer Science from REC Calicut. At Akshaya Patra, he has been handling various important areas related to public affairs, strategic outreach, policy planning and implementation, programme management and humanitarian food relief. He has been instrumental in the commencement of the organisation’s feeding operations in various parts of India, including Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and NCR region, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. Bharatarshabha Dasa currently serves as the Regional President for Akshaya Patra’s feeding initiatives in Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Anil Swarup is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre 1981 batch. In a career spanning 38 years, he has held various assignments with the Government of India as well as the Government of Uttar Pradesh, including the Secretary for Coal from 2014 to 2016 and Secretary for School Education between 2016 and 2018. During his tenure as the Secretary School Education, he fostered public-private partnerships to improve quality of school education by involving NGOs. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Allahabad University and has authored two books, Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant and Not Just a Civil Servant. He is the Founder Chairman of Nexus of Good: an initiative towards recognising positive action and providing inspiration to the society at large to replicate them.

KV Chowdary is an officer of the 1978 batch of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) who has served as the Chairman of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). He has worked in the Department of Revenue as an Under Secretary and the Department of Company Affairs as a Deputy Secretary. A graduate in Mathematics from Loyola College, Chennai, and Post-Graduate in Mathematics from IIT Madras, he has held several executive positions in the Income Tax Department. An eloquent orator, he regularly addresses trade associations and chambers of commerce, including FICCI, CII and Indo American Chamber of Commerce, delivering talks on issues relating to integrity, anti-corruption, transparency and governance, etc. Currently, he holds directorship in CCL Products (India) Limited and Reliance Industries Limited.

MS Unnikrishnan is the CEO of IITB – Monash Research Academy and the former Managing Director & CEO of Thermax, an engineering company providing sustainable solutions in energy and the environment. He is a mechanical engineer from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) – Nagpur and has done Advanced Management Programme from the Harvard Business School, USA. He has served on various policy-making and consultative bodies. He has co-chaired the CII’s National Committee on Industrial Relations and chaired the Capital Goods Sectoral Skills Council of FICCI, CII’s National Committee of Capital Goods & Engineering and BRICS Business Council.

G Raghuram was a faculty member at IIM-Ahmedabad for 32 years. He has done his B.Tech from IIT-Madras and PGDM from IIM-Ahmedabad. He has a PhD from Kellogg Management School, Northwestern University, USA. His specialisations include infrastructure and transport systems and logistics and supply chain management. Raghuram has to his credit six co-authored books, numerous journal articles, papers, newspaper and magazine articles, and case studies. Among his many accolades are the ‘MC Puri Memorial Award’ for contribution to operational research in India in 2016 and the ‘Academician of the Year’ by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in 2012.

Vidya Shah has previously worked with large financial institutions such as ICICI, Peregrine and NM Rothschild India as an investment banker. She holds a postgraduate degree in Master of Business Administration from IIM-Ahmedabad and a graduate degree in B.Com from RA Podar College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. In 2019, Vidya received recognition as India’s Top 100 Women in Finance by the Association of International Wealth Management of India (AIWMI). Furthermore, she was conferred the Woman Achiever of the Year Award by ABP Group during BFSI Awards in 2017 and the Financial Inclusion Award by CNBC TV 18 in 2016.