As a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, R.V. Deshpande presently serves as the Minister for Higher Education and Tourism for the Government of Karnataka. In addition to his currently role, he has served in multiple roles for the Government of Karnataka, including Trustee of the TTD Board, President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries and Infrastructure Development, Minister for Cooperation, Minister for Agriculture, Minister of Urban Development, and more.
His years of public service gave him the experience and inspiration to found the Shri V.R. Deshpande Memorial Trust, which works extensively in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka to provide vocational training, self-employment training and healthcare.