V. K. R. V. Rao
V. K. R. V. Rao | |
---|---|
Born | Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao 8 July 1908 |
Died | 25 July 1991 | (aged 83)
Occupation(s) | Economist, politician |
Known for | Founder of the Delhi School of Economics |
Awards | Padma Vibhushan (1974) |
Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao (8 July 1908 – 25 July 1991) was an Indian economist, politician and educator.[1]
Early life
[edit]Rao was born in a Kannada speaking Madhwa Brahmin family[2] on 8 July 1908 at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu to Kasturirangachar and Bharati Amma. He had his early schooling in Tindivanam and Madras (Chennai).[3] He was a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan. He served as a Union Minister for the Education in 1971, elected as member for Bellary in 1967 and 1971. He obtained a B.A and M.A in economics from Bombay University before earning another B.A from Cambridge where he was a member of Gonville & Caius College. He was awarded the Ph.D. of Cambridge in 1937; the title of his doctoral thesis was "The national income of British India, 1931-1932". He studied with John Maynard Keynes.[citation needed]
Institute builder
[edit]Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru, an office of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, is considered to be the brainchild of Rao.[4]
Publications
[edit]Notable among his works are: Taxation of Income in India (1931), An essay on India’s National Income -1925-29 – (1936); The National Income of British India (1940); India and International Currency Plans (1945); Post-War Rupee (1948); Greater Delhi A Study in Urbanization 1940-1957 (1965); Gandhian Alternative to Western Socialism (1970); Values and Economic Development – The Indian Challenge (1971); the Nehru Legacy (1971); Swami Vivekananda – Prophet of Vedantic Socialism (1978); Many Languages and One Nation – the Problem of Integration (1979); India’s National Income 1950-80 (1983) Food, Nutrition and Poverty (1982); Indian socialism: Retrospect and Prospect (1982), etc.[5] He was awarded Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 1974.
Positions held
[edit]- Adviser for Planning, Food Department (1945–46)
- Food and Economic Adviser, Government of India at Washington (1946–47)
- Director, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi (1948–57)
- Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi (1957–60)
- Director, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi (1960–63)
- Member, Planning Commission (1963–66)
- Union Cabinet Minister for Transport and Shipping (1967–69)
- Union Cabinet Minister for Education & Youth Services (1969–71)
- Director, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore (1972–77)
- National Professor, Government of India (1985-1990).
Legacy
[edit]He is commemorated by the VKRV Rao prizes in Social Science Research.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "VKRV Rao". www.isec.ac.in. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ Pulin B Nayaka; Bishwanath Goldar; Pradeep Agrawal (5 October 2010). India's Economy and Growth: Essays in Honour of V K R V Rao. SAGE Publishing India. p. 361. ISBN 9789386042873. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
- ^ Vijendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao; S. L. Rao (2002). The Partial Memoirs of V.K.R.V. Rao. Oxford University Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780195658231.
- ^ Kachru, Braj B. (1995). "Debi Prasanna Pattanayak (Ed.), Multilingualism in India. (Multilingual matters, 61.) Clevedon (UK) & Philadelphia (PA): Multilingual Matters, 1990. Pp. Xii, 116. Pb $19.00". Language in Society. 24 (4): 608–611. doi:10.1017/S0047404500019151. S2CID 145670855.
- ^ Rao, Vijendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja; Desai, Prasannavadan Bhagwanji (1965). Greater Delhi: A Study in Urbanisation, 1940-1957. Asia Publishing House.
- ^ "VKRV Rao Prize".
Further reading
[edit]- S. L. Rao (ed.) The Partial Memoirs of V.K.R.V. Rao Oxford University Press: USA, 2002 ISBN 0-19-565823-X reviewed in Tale of triumph — or disillusionment?, The Hindu, 20 January 2002 accessed at [1][usurped] 30 August 2006
- Rao, Jayaram, Rao, Nadkarni and Deshpande (ed)"A Passionate Humanitarian", Academic Foundation, New Delhi 2008.