Amrita Patel

Amrita Patel (born 1943) is an Indian businessperson associated with the cooperative dairy sector as well as an environmentalist. She headed the National Dairy Development Board from 1998 to 2014 which led the world's biggest dairy development program Operation Flood. She chaired several other institutes and has been a member of board of banks. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001.

Early life Amrita Patel was born on 13 November 1943 at 1, Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was the youngest among five daughters of civil servant and politician Hirubhai M. Patel and Savitaben, a Gujarati family. When her father retired, her family moved back to Anand in Gujarat in 1959. She received her higher education from Mumbai and completed her study in Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry. In 1965, she joined Amul, a dairy cooperative, and was trained under Verghese Kurien.

Career After four decades of work in Amul, she served as the chairperson of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in from 1998 to 2014. As the managing director of NDDB, she led Operation Flood, the world's biggest dairy development program.

She also became a chairperson of Mother Dairy, Delhi; the President of Indian National Committee of the International Dairy Federation and later a member of Planning Commission of Government of Himachal Pradesh. She is the Chairman of the Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute, Anand, as well as Charutar Arogya Mandal.

The Government of India awarded her the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award of India, in 2001.