Mr. Vijay Mahajan, Chairman

Social Entrepreneur – One of the pioneers of micro finance sector. He has over 25 years experience in promoting organizations such as  PRADAN and BASIX. He served on the Rangarajan Committee on Financial Inclusion and the Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms.  He co-authored a book “The Forgotten Sector” and has written more than 60 articles. He is Chair of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a global microfinance forum, comprising of nearly 40 bilateral, multilateral and foundations in development.

Mr. Vitthalbhai Patel (Treasurer & Member)
Retired Civil Servant and Engineering Consultant – He served as  Secretary Water Resources, Govt. of Gujarat and was the Chairman of Central Water Commission.  He is known for his expertise at the state and national level and is invited as a member in several policy making forums.

Ms. Indira Hirway
Academician – She served as a  Professor of Economics, Gandhi Labour Institute, Ahmedabad and currently the Director of Centre for Development Alternatives (CFDA)  Specializes conducting research studies  in Rural Development and environmentally sustainable development programmes. She has presented several papers at national and international seminars. She is often invited by the State and Central Governments in policy making forums.

Ms. Jayanti Ravi
Civil Servant - She is an officer of the Indian Administrative Services and currently the Commissioner, Higher Education. She has wide experience of planning and implementing rural development programmes in the State.

Ms. Nafisa Barot
Gender Specialist and Social Worker - More than 25 years experience in community based development projects, especially with women groups and drinking water projects.  At present the Managing Trustee of Utthan a voluntary organisation working in the coastal and tribal areas of Gujarat.

Ms. Sandra Shroff
Industrialist - Vice Chairperson of United Phosphorus Ltd. She is actively involved in Rural Development for more than two decades. Closely associated with some of the reputed NGOs in the State such as VRTI & Shrujan Trust in Kutch.

Dr. Sudarshan Iyengar
Academician - Economist of eminence. He is the Vice Chancellor of Gujaraqt Vidyapith and was the Director of Gujarat Institute of Development Research. He has also made a pioneering contribution to the role of civil society in development

Prof. Tushaar Shah
Academician and Expert on Water Management. He serves as Principal Researcher at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). He has served as a member of several State and Central Committees on Groundwater Management.

Shri Girish Godbole

Mr Godbole has been a development professional for the last 30 years. He has done his graduation in Agriculture Sciences from Indore and Masters in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.  He had worked with L&T, PRADAN and then as a the India Director for Save the Children Fund, Canada. He became a freelance development consultant facilitating developmental organisations.  He had worked together with Mr Mahajan in making the strategic plans for the Sir Ratan Tata Trust in 1995 and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in 2005. Mr Girish Godbole had also made a film on microfinance and was presently on the Board of The Ratnakar Bank Ltd, Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

Prof Arvind Gupta

Arvind Gupta, a Fellow from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad with specialization in Marketing and Agri-business, has 25 years hands-on industry experience, with focus on Rural Livelihoods, Agriculture & Allied industries. Subsequently  he was Professor at the Institute of Rural Management, Anand. He was involved with many national/international studies. Presently he is Visiting Faculty to two national level Institutions viz. VAMNICOM, Pune and MANAGE, Hyderabad. He also sits on boards of several development organizations including Indian Grameen Services (IGS). His special area of interest are Institution Building and Collectives.

Mr. Sachin Oza, Member Secretary  & Executive Director

Social worker - Has 20 years of experience in the voluntary sector. He has been a trainer on issues such as people’s participation and institution development. He represents the organization in several policy making forums at the state and national level.

Research Advisory Committee of DSC

1. Dr. Indira Hirway, Director, Centre for Development Alternatives (CFDA), Chairperson, DSC Research Advisory Committee
2. Dr. Sudarshan Iyengar, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapith
3. Dr. R Parthasarthy, Professor CEPT University, Ahmedabad and Former Director, Gujarat Institute for Development Research (GIDR),
4. Dr. Astad Pastakia, Freelance Consultant and development researcher
5. Dr. Amita Shah,  Professor & Director, Gujarat Institute of Development Research
6. Ms Gauri Trivedi, Ex Director of SIRD-SPIPA, Ahmedabad

Management Committee of DSC

1. Mr. Sachin Oza           -  Executive Director
2. Mr. Mohan Sharma     -  Director Programmes
3. Mr. Rajesh Mehta       -  Senior Manager (Finance & Administration)
4. Mr. Paresh Dave         -  Programme Manager (Communication)
5. Mr Bhagirath Sathvara- Programme Manager (PIM)
6. Ms Manju Ravi           - Programme Manager (Gender issues)