V. K. R. V. Rao Explained

V. K. R. V. Rao
Birth Name:	Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao
Birth Date:	1908 7, df=yes
Birth Place:	Kancheepuram, Madras Presidency, British India
Occupation:	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

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.

Institute builder

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

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

• 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

He is commemorated by the VKRV Rao prizes in Social Science Research.^[6]

Further reading

• S. L. Rao (ed.) The Partial Memoirs of V.K.R.V. Rao Oxford University Press: USA, 2002 reviewed in Tale of triumph — or disillusionment?, The Hindu, 20 January 2002 accessed at 30 August 2006
• Rao, Jayaram,Rao, Nadkarni and Deshpande (ed)"A Passionate Humanitarian", Academic Foundation, New Delhi 2008.

Notes and References

1. Web site: VKRV Rao . 2023-07-17 . www.isec.ac.in.
2. Book: India's Economy and Growth: Essays in Honour of V K R V Rao. Pulin B Nayaka. Bishwanath Goldar. Pradeep Agrawal. 5 October 2010. SAGE Publishing India. 5 October 2010. 361. 9789386042873.
3. Book: The Partial Memoirs of V.K.R.V. Rao. 1. Vijendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao. S. L. Rao. Oxford University Press. 2002. 9780195658231.
4. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak (Ed.), Multilingualism in India. (Multilingual matters, 61.) Clevedon (UK) & Philadelphia (PA): Multilingual Matters, 1990. Pp. Xii, 116. Pb $19.00.. 10.1017/S0047404500019151. 1995. Kachru. Braj B.. Language in Society. 24. 4. 608–611. 145670855 .
5. Book: Rao . Vijendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja . Greater Delhi: A Study in Urbanisation, 1940-1957 . Desai . Prasannavadan Bhagwanji . 1965 . Asia Publishing House . en . Prasannavadan Bhagwanji Desai.
6. Web site: VKRV Rao Prize.