♦ Cherukumalli Srinivas Rao was appointed as the Director of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi on 26 December 2024.

♦ He is the first Telugu person to be appointed IARI director. 

♦ Currently he is serving as director of the National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM). 

♦ Srinivas Rao was born on 4 October 1965, in Anigandlapadu, Krishna district.