Nirupama Rao

Biography

Nirupama Rao (66), was appointed as a Non-Executive Independent Director on the Board of ITC effective April 8, 2016. A Graduate in English Literature, she was a Fellow of the Harvard University (1992-93), Fellow of the Brown University, Fellow of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a recipient of the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) from the Pondicherry University. She was conferred with the Vanitha Ratna by the Government of Kerala in 2016. A career diplomat from the Indian Foreign Service from 1973 to 2011, she served the Government in several important positions including that of the Foreign Secretary of India. She has represented India in several countries during her distinguished career and was the first Indian woman to be appointed High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Ambassador to China. She was also the first woman spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. After her retirement, she was appointed Ambassador of India to the United States for a tenure of two years. She is also on the Boards of KEC International Limited, Network18 Media & Investments Limited and TV18 Broadcast Limited among others.

Research Interest

 FOOD SCIENCE