B. V. Rao
Banda Vasudev Rao | |
---|---|
Born | 1935 |
Years active | 1970–2004 |
Spouse(s) | Uttara Devi, Roopa Rao |
Children | Anuradha Desai Venkatesh Rao Balaji Rao |
Awards | Padma Shri WPSA International Hall of Fame |
Banda Vasudev Rao was an Indian agriculturalist and poultry farmer,[1] considered by many as the father of poultry farming in India.[2][3] He was the founder chairman of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC)[2] and was a 2004 inductee of the International Poultry Hall of Fame of the World Poultry Science Association.[4] The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990.[5]
Biography
B. V. Rao was born in 1935, at Chanchalguda, in Hyderabad, in the undivided south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (presently in Telangana).[3] After working in many capacities such as a telephone operator, Railway police staff and as a personal secretary to a state minister, he joined Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, to successfully complete a training programme in dairy and poultry farming where he had the opportunity to learn under an American teacher, Moore.[3] His first business venture was with 500 birds entrusted by Moore for tending and, soon, Rao started his own venture in a 7 acre plot, for which the funds were raised by selling the jewelry of his wife.[3] The business, started in 1970, grew over the years to the present V H Group, a US$1 billion conglomerate with interests in Poultry, Meat, Pharmaceuticals, Cattle feed and Sports and has presence in India, Bangladesh, UK, Singapore, Vietnam and Brazil.[6] They hold a 99.9 percent stake in the English Premier League team, Blackburn Rovers F.C., since 2010.[7]
When the price of eggs went down in the early 1980s, Rao gathered farmers together and founded the National Egg Coordination Committee in 1982 and was its founder chairman.[8] He was also associated with the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA) and headed its India chapter from 1993 to 1996.[3] He was one of the key figures in the organization of the World Poultry Conference in New Delhi in 1996.[4] He also founded a higher education institution, Dr B.V. Rao Institute of Poultry Management and Technology, which conducts higher courses in the subject.[9] The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 1990.[5] The World Poultry Science Association inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2004 but he died before the investiture ceremony could take place.[4]
Rao was married to Uttara Devi, who is no more, and the couple had a daughter, Anuradha Desai, and two sons, Venkatesh Rao and Balaji Rao.[6] Anuradha Desai succeeded her father and heads the Group as its chairperson.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "Newly Carved Telangana CM Opened Basket of Fruits for Poultry Industry". Poultry Express. 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ a b "Father of Indian poultry industry remembered". The Hindu. 7 November 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "B.V. Rao - 'Father of Indian Poultry Industry'" (PDF). Livelihoods.net. 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ a b c "International Poultry Hall of Fame". World Poultry Science Association. 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ^ a b "About us". Venky's. 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ "Rao family buy Blackburn Rovers from Jack Walker Trust". BBC Sports. 19 November 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ "The beginning". NECC. 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ "Dr B.V. Rao Institute of Poultry management and Technology". India Study Channel. 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ "Indian poultry group closes in on Blackburn". Financial Times. 26 October 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2015.