Shri SV Ranganath served as the Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka. In addition, he served as the Chairman of the Board at IFCI Limited and was also the Additional Independent Director. In his career, he worked in various capacities with both the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka. Some of the key ones include Principal Secretary to various Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Department of Space, and Member (Finance) of the Space Commission, Atomic Energy Commission, and Earth Commission. During his tenure as the Chief Secretary, he encouraged the involvement of think tanks in enriching government policymaking.