Late President Honoraire N.D. Gulhati was born in Lahore (now in Pakistan) on 15 November 1904. He took his technical education at the Thomson College of Civil Engineering, Roorkee (now Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee) and passed out with honours in 1926. He was appointed to the Indian Service of Engineers in October 1927 and posted to the Irrigation Branch of the Public Works Department, Punjab. From August 1945 to March 1949, he was Secretary of the Central Board of Irrigation and Power.

In 1950 he was responsible, as the Chief of the Natural Resources Division in the Planning Commission, Government of India, for initiating proposals relating to the development of irrigation and power, soil conservation and mineral development in the First Five-Year Plan. He was made Chief Engineer and Joint Secretary in 1953 and Additional Secretary to Government of India in 1958. From 1952 until the lndus Waters Treaty was concluded in 1960 (and ratified in 1961), Mr. Gulhati was lndia's Chief Representative on the Indus Waters negotiations conducted under the aegis of IBRD. He represented India in many international engineering conferences.

He was awarded the high distinction of "PADMA BHUSHAN" by the President of India in 1961 "for distinguished services of a high order".

After retirement President Honoraire Gulhati worked as Water Resources Consultant to many State Governments in India and as Consultant to IBRD (1963), as Consultant to the International Development Association (1963-1973), and as Consultant to United Nations (Economic Commission for Asia and Far East, now ESCAP) in 1969.

He has been rightly called the "Father" of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, as it was he who conceived this organization. The proposal of setting up of the Commission was mooted to the Government of India by him in 1946. The Commission was set up in the year 1950 and Mr. Gulhati was elected as its first Secretary General. He served ICID as founder Secretary General from 1950 to 1957, as Vice President from 1957 to 1960, and as President from 1960 to 1963.

Besides engineering and scientific papers contributed to the national institutes (e.g. Punjab Engineering Congress; Institution of Engineers, India) and the American Society of Civil Engineers, Mr. Gulhati had some 20 books and publications to his name.

Mr. Gulhati was always amongst the foremost supporters of ICID and did everything possible to promote the objects of ICID. He was the founder Editor of the ICID Bulletin. He was responsible for getting the land for the office building of the Central Office of the Commission in the prestigious Diplomatic Enclave. His mature leadership, dynamic personality and diplomatic and adroit handling of all matters won him universal respect and endearment with all the members of the International Executive Council.

Mr. Yadava Mohan born in 1906, had an excellent academic career. In 1928 he was recruited to the Indian Service of Engineers and joined the UP Irrigation Department. He served in UP (his home state) in various capacities till 1953., when he joined the Planning Commission , Government of India, in the Chief, Natural Resources Division. Mr. Yadava Mohan was elected in 1957 to the Office of the Secretary General, ICID a post he continued to hold up to 1963. He was appointed Member of the Central Water and Power Commission, Government of India in 1958, and the Chairman and Administrator, Rajasthan Canal Project at Jaipur in 1962. He was elected to the Office of Vice President of the ICID from 1963-1966, where he continued until 1966. All those who came in contact with Mr. Yadava Mohan during his tenures in offices remember his amiable personality and the efforts he made to raise the image of the Commission. He retired from active service in 1970 after a distinguished professional career of about 42 years.

Dr. Framji (1908-1994) was Secretary General of ICID from 1963 to 1988.. A graduate of civil engineering from King's College, London University, he entered into the service of the Government of India, where he held senior positions such as Director of the Indian Waterways and Navigation Experiment Station (now Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune), Chief Engineer and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Water and Power, Government of India. He was the recipient of many awards and honors including Member of the British Empire, Chevalier du Mérite Agricole and the Olympia Prize, and is listed in various editions of the International Who's Who. At the 39th meeting of the ICID international Executive Council held in 1988, Dr. Framji was designated President Hon. ICID as a special case for his distinguished and dedicated services to the Commission over a quarter century.

Dr. R.S. Varshney, born May 1930, obtained his B.E. (Civil) with Honours (1952), M.E. (1962) and Ph.D. (1972), joined the U.P. Irrigation Department (India) in 1953 and rose to the top post of Engineer-in-Chief and Head of that Department in 1987; worked with Government of Mauritius as Advisor/Projects Coordinator; has rich and varied experience of over 35 years of planning, design, construction and management of river valley projects; and has been selected for Jawahar Lal Nehru Research Award 1988 in recognition of his contributions to irrigation research in India.

Dr. Madhav A. Chitale joined as ICID Secretary-General with effect from 1 January 1993. Dr. Chitale, born in 1934, graduated with distinction in Civil Engineering in 1955 and joined the Maharashtra State Engineering Service (Class I) in 1956, where he held engineering posts at various levels associated with planning, investigation and construction of river valley projects and then worked as Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra (1981-1983), before moving over to the Government of India in 1984, as Commissioner, River Basins. He was appointed as Chairman, Central Water Commission (apex body of India's water sector) and Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India in 1985 and thereafter as Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India from 1989. He retired from Government service in August 1992.

Dr. Chitale was Chairman of Indian National Committee on Large Dams (1986-1987), Indian National Committee of ICID (1986-1987), and Indian National Committee on Hydrology (1985-1988), President, Indian Water Resources Society (1989-1990), and a Vice President, International Water Resources Association (1989-1991). He is member of the United Nations Environmental Program's Water Advisory Committee (since 1989) and Vice President of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (1992-1993). He was honoured with the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by the Jawahar Lal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad in 1989. Member of the United Nations Environment Program's Water Advisory Committee (1989-92). Member of the Scientific and Programme Committee of the International Lake Environment Foundation (ILEC) since May 1995. Member of the Interim Foundation Committee for World Water Council since April 1995 and then Member of the Interim Board of Governors of WWC since March 1996 and of the Executive Committee of WWC since June 1996. Chairman, Maharashtra State (2nd) Irrigation Commission since January 1996. Dr. Chitale was awarded Stockholm Water Prize in 1993 for his contribution to the conservation of the worlds water resources and public education programmes.

Dr. Chandrakant Damodar Thatte joined the Commission on 01 September 1997 for a smooth transition in taking over the heavy responsibility of Secretary General,

Born in September 1935, Dr. C.D. Thatte graduated in Civil Engineering from Pune University in 1956. He has done Post Graduate Courses in the subject of Soil Mechanics. Foundation Engineering, Ground Water Hydrology & others, and Ph.D. in Hydraulic Modelling. From the beginning of his career with the Government, he has held several posts such as Executive Engineer, Superintending Engineer, Director and Chief Engineer in the State of Gujarat and then joined the Central Water Commission, the apex water organisation of the Government of India as Member (Design and Research). After three years, he became the Chairman of the Commission and later took over as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Water Resources, from where he retired in September 1993 from the government service.

Dr. Thatte was thereafter conferred the position of Scientist Emeritus of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to work for the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur and other water resources related National Institutions. He served on various Government of India Expert Committees viz. landslides, land and water systems analysis, Himalayan glaciers etc. He is working as Task Leader for Evaluation of Irrigation through Indira Gandhi Nehar Project Stage 1 studies which cover environmental concerns besides problem of O&M, settlement, waterlogging and economic analysis. He also worked as an expert for UNDP and UNEP on certain issues relating to international river water sharing and Global Freshwater Programme. He has been closely associated with several NGOs in the country.

Dr. Thatte has published more than 125 technical papers in India and abroad. He is a recipient of several awards such as CBIP's Anand Award, Cash Your Ideas Award, Nehru Centenary Award, Certificates of Merit for the Technical Papers etc. He has also been honoured by several Indian Professional Societies.

Er. M. Gopalakrishnan (born 28.1.1943) holds Master of Engineering (Honours) in Water Resources Development from University of Roorkee (now, IIT-R). His remarkable academic performance yielded him both Khosla Gold Medal and University Gold Medal for the top position in both P.G.Dip (Hons) and M.E levels with record breaking scores. He entered the Central Water Engineering Services as the topper of his batch (1966) in the then Central Water & Power Commission. He retired on 31 January 2003 as a Member, Central Water Commission (CWC). Er. Gopalakrishnan served as the Coordinator of Government of India's multi-disciplinary High Level Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers in 2003 and helped formulating two Action Plans on Interlinking of Rivers that were submitted as per the ToR set for the Task Force by the Government of India. With over four and a half decades of rich experience in the field of Water Resources Development and Management in India and abroad Er. Gopalakrishnan continues to serve his profession in many forms.

Er. Gopalakrishnan served as one of the Governors of the World Water Council during 2003-06. He is a member of Technical Advisory Committee of UNESCO which brings out World Water Development Reports once in three years, with the last one WWDR 3, released in March 2009 during the World Water Forum 5. Er. Gopalakrishnan serves as a member of the Committee constituted by the Indian Ministry of Water Resources on "National Mission on Water" and is also a member in the sub committee on surface water under the main committee.

Er. Gopalakrishnan holds several distinguished honorary positions like the President, Indian Water Resources Society (since 2004), President of the New Delhi Associate Centre of World Water Council (since 2006), Co-Chairman of the Institution of Engineers (India)'s Special Committee on Interlinking of Indian Rivers (since 2005). He is a Life Member of several leading Indian Professional Bodies like IWRS, IAH, ISET, IGS. Er. Gopalakrishnan was also inducted as a fellow in the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) acknowledging his significant contribution to the profession.

A member of several Expert Committees constituted to advise on hydro projects in Himalayas by developers, both public and private, (he was the Chairman of the Group in three cases) he guides Water Sector in India remarkably. Er. Gopalakrishnan is the Chairman of the Dams and Seismicity Committee of Indian National Committee on Large Dams for over a decade and represents the country in the ICOLD Committee on the subject.

Er. Gopalakrishnan has been associated with Global Water Partnership (GWP) bridging the interests of ICID and GWP. He had also been closely associated with World Water Council as one of the Governors (2004-06) by contributing on legal and financial matters.

He has published about hundred papers (or other contributions) touching upon many water related issues, design aspects and policies, in Seminars, Workshops, Congresses, journals and other publications.

Er. Avinash. C. Tyagi, a 1973 graduate from University of Roorkee, India and a post graduate from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, has 37 years of experience dealing with various facets of water resources management. He has worked in water resources sector for Government of India for 28 years at Central Water Commission (CWC), Inter-state Tungabhadra Board, and Ministry of Water Resources. For the last 9 years, at the World Meteorological Organization, he has developed an intimate knowledge of issues related to water resources management in developing countries around the world.

Er. Tyagi was the Director of the Climate and Water Department of the World Meteorological Organization, a specialized UN Agency, and is responsible for providing support to the countries in the field of water resources management including flood management and adaptations to climate change particularly in the water and agriculture sectors.

Er. Tyagi has been involved in the investigations, planning and design of irrigation and flood management projects, development of the National Water Policy (2002), and operation and management of one of the major inter-state multi-purpose projects. He was closely associated with the formulation of the Andhra Pradesh Participatory Irrigation Management Act 1997, and was instrumental in initiating Benchmarking of Irrigation Systems in India.

Worked at the World Meteorological Organizations, for nine years he has developed professional network, working closely with various UN agencies; with International Institutions such as World Bank, African Development Bank, European Commission, and African Union; regional institutions such as Nile Basin Authority, Niger Basin Authority, Lake Chad Basin Authority, Zambezi River Commission; non-governmental organizations such as GWP, WWC, IAHS, IAHR etc and has proactively collaborated with the various international programs on water and climate change issues. He is presently the coordinator of UN-Water Thematic Priority Area on Water and Climate Change.

At WMO, he was spearheaded a major initiative on climate change with a vision to establish a Global Framework for Climate Services to support various development sectors, including the water and agriculture sector in climate risk management; established an international program on flood management developing the concept of Integrated Flood Management; and is presently developing another international program on Integrated Drought Management in close collaboration with various international partners.

Er. Tyagi has been associated with activities of ICID in the past as an observer in its Working Groups on flood management and climate change and strived for closer relationship between ICID and WMO.