Prof V G Dhanakumar, Director, Indian Institute of Plantation Management Bengaluru (IIPMB) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, will superannuate on April 7 after serving the apex management school for plantation and agri-business for over 25 years.

Dhanakumar will handover charge of the IIPMB to Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Professor and Dean, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFI), New Delhi on Thursday, IIPMB statement said.

An alumnus of Cornell, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northern Illinois University and TNAU, Dhanakumar also launched the first-of-its-kind PGDM programmes at IIPMB on Food Processing & Business Management (FP&BM) and Agricultural Export & Business Management (AE&BM) during the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Key achievements

Under Dhanakumar, IIPMB saw several key developments, the most striking being the overall financial stability and sustenance of the organisation. He has also played a major role in the development and setting up of the Centre for Tea Tasting & Marketing, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Coffee, National Centre for Export Management Research & Studies, Spices Exporters Entrepreneurship Facilities, Livelihood Business Incubators, Agri-food related technical labs for product innovations among others.

These centres were successfully implemented based on the guidelines of sponsoring agencies through multidisciplinary faculty convergence.

The Board of Governors and members of IIPMB Society placed on record its gratitude and appreciation for the immense contribution made by Dhanakumar in the development, growth and self-sufficiency of the institute through his leadership role over the last one and half decades. The Board also gave him a lead role in helping to set up IIPMB centres in Assam and Andhra Pradesh and initiatives to convert IIPMB status into National Institute of Importance.

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