Mandar Agashe

Mandar Dnyaneshwar Agashe
Born	(1969-05-24) May 24, 1969 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, music director, former performing artist
Years active	1990s–present
Known for	Founder and managing director of Sarvatra Technologies; Hindi and English pop and rock albums; Marathi ghazal music direction

Mandar Dnyaneshwar Agashe (born 24 May 1969) is an entrepreneur from India, recognized as a music director and former performing artist. He established Sarvatra Technologies in 2000 and has continuously held the position of managing director since its founding.

In his musical career, Agashe gained recognition for his Hindi and English pop and rock albums released under Sony BMG during the 1990s and early 2000s. He later directed Marathi ghazal projects for artists such as Asha Bhosle in 2016 and Rahul Deshpande in 2021.

Early life and family: 1969–1991

Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Agashe belongs to a business-oriented Chitpavan Brahmin lineage led by industrialist Dnyaneshwar Agashe of the Mangdari-based Agashe gharana, and Rekha Gogte from the Gogte gharana of Belgaum.

His familial connections include being the grandson of Chandrashekhar Agashe, nephew to Panditrao Agashe and Shakuntala Karandikar, and sibling to Ashutosh Agashe and Sheetal Agashe. The extended family features prominent individuals such as general Bapu Gokhale, musician Ashutosh Phatak, historian Dinkar G. Kelkar, and scientist P. K. Kelkar.

On his maternal side, he is the great-nephew of industrialist B. M. Gogte, cousin to poet Rashmi Parekh, and linked to the Latey (Bhagwat) family, along with business figures like Dilip Dandekar of Kokuyo Camlin and scholar Jyoti Gogte.

Agashe completed a Bachelor of Engineering degree specializing in software engineering from the Pune Institute of Computer Technology in 1990. He married Aparna Pandharkar (now Jiza Agashe) in 1996, with whom he has two children.

Early business career: 1991–2008

Starting in 1991, Agashe became a member of the board of directors at his grandfather's enterprise, the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate, advancing to joint managing director by 1994. That same year, he was appointed as a director at his father's institution, Suvarna Sahakari Bank. Within the Brihans Group, he initiated multiple ventures including Brihans Pharmaceuticals, an ayurvedic medicine company launched in 1998, and musicurry.com, an internet radio service started in 1999. He stepped down from his joint managing director role at the syndicate in 1999.

By late 1999, Agashe collaborated with CEO Gautam Godse and California-based Questionable Ventures to expand musicurry.com. Early in 2000, they brought on board creative consultant Usha Mangeshkar, planning to digitize and upload archives from the Mangeshkar family. The platform officially debuted on 13 January 2000.

In April 2000, he founded Brihans Natural Products, focusing on skincare manufacturing, introducing an aloe vera line by 2002. Two months later, Agashe established Sarvatra Technologies, which developed banking software tailored for Suvarna Sahakari Bank. Concurrently, he founded fintech companies EBZ Online and Codito Technologies within the same year. In 2002, he acquired shares in Deepak Ghaisas' firm I-flex Solutions, collaborated with Codito Technologies, and joined I-flex’s board. That April, he authored an essay titled My Father for his father's commemorative volume.

Agashe introduced "Anywhere Money" point-of-sale terminals through Sarvatra Technologies in 2006, securing endorsement from political leaders including Maharashtra’s Shankarrao Gadakh. By 2007, he consolidated EBZ Technologies and Codito into Sarvatra Technologies and formed a partnership with Oracle Corporation’s Larry Ellison to deploy banking software solutions aimed at rural Indian markets. This initiative received backing from Reserve Bank of India governor Y. V. Reddy and economist Raghuram Rajan in early 2008.

Allegations in Suvarna Sahakari Bank scam: 2008–2009

In November 2008, Agashe was named as a director involved in the purported ₹4.3 billion fraud at Suvarna Sahakari Bank. Authorities arrested him along with other board members on accusations of abusing their positions to approve loans to companies they controlled, which later defaulted, causing losses to depositors. At that time, Agashe was abroad in Germany and came back to India for his father’s funeral in January 2009.

By February 2009, Agashe was placed under judicial custody. Following his father's passing, aggrieved depositors demanded recovery of unpaid loans. In March 2009, after his bail application was denied, he was sent to magisterial custody over allegations of approving forged loan documents totaling ₹1.13 billion. Although granted bail on 11 March, he remained confined at home until the bank’s merger process concluded. Subsequently, Suvarna Sahakari Bank was shut down and integrated into Indian Overseas Bank in May 2009.

Subsequent business pursuits: 2009–present

In 2011, Agashe spearheaded the introduction of Sarvatra’s POS terminals to urban co-operative banks within Solapur district. Serving as vice-chairman from 2018 and later as chairman, he oversaw Sarvatra’s financial switch linking 450 co-operative banks by 2018 and expanding to connect 50 urban co-operative banks by 2020 with India's National Electronic Funds Transfer system.

At the start of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, Agashe planned for half his employees to work remotely after lockdowns, foreseeing increased adoption of cashless payments due to health concerns and social distancing measures. In February 2021, he participated as a panelist at a fintech conference organized by Businessworld. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Agashe was frequently referenced as an authority in banking software and fintech innovation. In March 2023, he highlighted Sarvatra Technologies’ focus on demonstrating its Unified Payments Interface solutions during the G20 summit held in New Delhi. By September 2023, he contributed to a Banca d'Italia panel in Rome discussing the Payment Services Directive.

In June 2024, Agashe joined a delegation that met with Trinidad & Tobago’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley to discuss implementing Sarvatra’s digital payment technologies there. In August 2024, he delivered a speech at Mumbai’s 9th Global Economic Summit addressing emerging fintech advancements. Later in October 2024, the Maharashtra Brahmin Mandal recognized Agashe with an entrepreneurship award presented at Tilak Smarak Ranga Mandir.

Musical career

During his final year of college, Agashe met Hridaynath Mangeshkar, who invited him to compose music for the Marathi poem Khulya Khulya Re Pavasa, performed by Asha Bhosle for the Marathi film Hey Geet Jeevanache (1995). In 1994, he recorded an English-language rock music album in Indianapolis, drawing inspiration from The Beatles.

Agashe’s debut Marathi album Achanak () was released in 1997, followed by his first Hindi album Nazar Nazar () in 1998. Produced by Ashutosh Phatak and Dhruv Ghanekar, it was distributed across India by Sony BMG.

In 2003, he launched a new age-techno single titled I Need Someone in Germany. Two years later, in 2005, he released a dual-themed album Two of Us, consisting of the Hindi pop collection Jaan Le () alongside an English rock album called F. C. Road.

April 2016 saw Agashe music directing a western pop album featuring Marathi ghazals penned by Suresh Bhat and sung by Asha Bhosle titled 82, named after Bhosle’s age during recording sessions. Completed within one week, it included ghazals authored by Bhat and featured a launch event that hosted a fan-made music video contest.

During the COVID-19 lockdown in India in June 2021, Agashe directed a Marathi retro album entitled Theek Aahe, Chaan Aahe, Masta Aahe (), based on Suresh Bhat’s poems and ghazals. Produced by Vivek Paranjape, it showcased guest vocal performances from artists such as Aarya Ambekar, Dhanashree Deshpande-Ganatra, and Pranjali Barve.

Solo Releases

• Achanak (1997)
• Nazar Nazar (1998)
• I Need Someone – Single (2003)
• Two of Us (2005)

As Music Director

• 82 (2016), performed by Asha Bhosle
• Theek Aahe, Chaan Aahe, Masta Aahe (2021), featuring Rahul Deshpande

Essays

• Mandar Agashe, "My Father," included in Putra Vishwastacha: A Festschrift to Dnyaneshwar Agashe (2002; 2nd edition 2022), issued by The Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd., Pune.

Bibliography

• Trupti Agashe & Gopal Agashe, Genealogy of the Agashe Family (2006), Surbhi Graphics, Hyderabad.
• D. K. Barve, Sagarmegh: The Physical and Spiritual Invention of B. M. "Raosaheb" Gogte (1982), Bombay Book Depot.
• Ramesh Barve, Taraprakash Vartak & Sharchandra Belvalkar (eds.), Putra Vishwastacha: A Festschrift to Dnyaneshwar Agashe (2002), Jñāneśvara Āgāśe Gaurava Samitī, Pune.
• The Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd., Putra Vishwastacha: A Festschrift to Dnyaneshwar Agashe (2nd ed., 2022), Pune.
• Business World, Ananda Bazar Patrika Limited, Calcutta (2000).
• Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Company News and Notes (1999–2000).
• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Economy Wrap: Synopsis of Main Developments (2021), New Delhi.
• Kavita A. Jain & Pratima, "Digital Payment: The Future of Payment in Pandemic Covid-19," Remarking an Analisation, Baba Mastnath University, Rohtak (2022).
• K. T. Hari & Mansi Kukreja, "Adapting to Change: Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Payment Systems Worldwide," International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, CMS Business School, Bangalore (2024).
• M. V. Kamath, The Makings of a Millionaire: A Tribute to Raosaheb B.M. Gogte (1991), Jaico Publishing House, Mumbai.
• Shakuntala Karandikar, Viśvasta (1992) and its English edition Vishwasta – The Trustee: The Life of Industrialist Chandrashekhar Agashe (2022), Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd., Pune.
• Bhaskar Kelkar et al., Genealogy of the Kelkar Family (1993), Yashoda Typesetting, Pune.
• Hui Pan (ed.), India Weekly Telecom Newsletter (2006), Information Gatekeepers Inc., Boston.
• Gangadhar Pathak, Genealogy of the Gokhale Family (1978), Gokhale Kulavr̥ttānta Kāryakārī Maṇdaḷa, Pune.
• Sadashiv Ranade, Genealogy of the Chitpavan Agashe Family (1974) and Genealogy of the Phatak Family (1982), Phāṭaka Kula Samitī, Pune.
• Sudha Subramanium (ed.), BAF Times Vol IV Issue VII (2023), M.L. Dahanukar College of Commerce, Mumbai.
• Gogaṭe Kulamaṇḍala, Genealogy of the Gogte Family (2006), Mumbai.

Conferences

• 9th Global Economic Summit – Panel Discussion I: Critical Emerging Technologies – Global Collaboration, held on 8 August 2024 at Mumbai’s World Trade Centre
• Peer-to-Peer Financial Systems 2023 – Panel: From PSD2 to PSD3; from Open Banking to Open Finance, conducted on 26 September 2023 in Rome at Banca d'Italia
• Global FinTech Fest 2020 – Taking off: payments for the masses, hosted in Kolkata by Ernst & Young
• Festival of FinTech Conclave Awards 2021 – Opportunities for Tech Organizations in FinTech Ecosystem, held on 12 February 2021 in Mumbai by Businessworld