M. V. Rao, PhD, is presently working as director general of the National Institute of Rural Development and also as chief executive of National Fisheries Development Board, Ministry of Fisheries, Government of India. He obtained his doctoral degree in development administration from Sambalpur University, Sambalpur, Odisha, India. He belongs to the 1988 Batch of Indian Administrative Service and served the state and the nation in different capacities for the uplifting of rural communities. As District Magistrate of the largest district in India, with a population of one million, and as Commissioner of Rural Development, Government of West Bengal, he has helped millions of small and marginal resource-poor farmers in alleviation of poverty and enhancing their standard of living. Publications in which he has been involved include Community Health in Community Hands, Development for the People: Innovations in Administration, Persistence and Change in Tribal India-Saga of Tribal People of West Midnapore, and Panchayats and Building of Model Villages. V. Suresh Babu, PhD, is currently associate professor at the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad, India. He earned a doctoral degree in agronomy from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka. He has worked at the Regional Centre of the National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board (NAEB) in Bangalore. His published books include Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge for Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture, Agrarian Crisis in India, The Way Out, Comparative Assessment of Success or Failure of JFM and Its Impact on Natural Forest cover in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Role of Tree Shelterbelts in Coastal Areas in Mitigating Harsh Effects of Cyclones in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and Risk, Vulnerability and Coping Mechanisms in Rainfed Agriculture-A Study in Three States. He currently teaches agriculture course
