Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao | |
---|---|
Born | Rajam, Madras State, India | 14 July 1950
Nationality | Indian |
Occupation | Chairman of GMR Group |
Website | G.M. Rao |
Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (born 14 July 1950) is a mechanical engineer, billionaire industrialist, the founder chairman of GMR Group, [1] a global infrastructure developer and operator based in India. [2] [3] Started in 1978, GMR Group is now present in 7 countries, active in energy, highways, large urban development and airports sectors, known for building and operating world-class national assets. [4]
Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao was born on 14 July 1950, in Rajam, Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, India. [5] He was born in an upper-middle-class family whose main business interests involved commodities trading and a small-scale jewelry business started by his father in Rajam. After graduating from Andhra University, Rao joined a paper mill as a shift engineer and then joined the Public Works Department of the Andhra Pradesh Government as a junior engineer. [6]
He soon entered the trading of commodities, as his mother had insisted. After developing good relations with suppliers and customers in the business of commodities trading, he acquired a failing jute mill at a bargain, this venture proved to be lucrative and allowed GM Rao to use this leverage from local banks to acquire other assets. Eventually, GM Rao divested his stake in a multitude of industries and started a bank named Vysya Bank in collaboration with ING. [7]
Rao eventually diluted his stake in ING Vysya by selling his stake in whole for 340 crores. The cash from the bank stake sale allowed his entry into the power business allowed Rao to build what would become India leading infrastructure asset developer, as GMR's most relevant competitor, GVK, is 6 times smaller by market capitalization, making GMR Group the leader in India as an airport developer by revenues, asset size, and market capitalization.
In 2014, he was appointed as the chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation. The government plans to invest ₹ 700 crore in the skill development initiative, which will train approximately two crore people in 10 years. [8]
GM Rao received the Economic Times Entrepreneur of the year Award in 2007,. [9]
Its CSR arm, GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, currently serves the underserved sections of society in 22 locations. In 2012, he donated ₹1,540 crores for charitable purposes. He mentioned in an interview that Warren Buffett is an inspiration for him to pledge his money in support of 'Giving back to society'. [10] [11]
GMR Varalakshmi Foundation (GMRVF), is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the GMR Group. Its objectives are to develop social infrastructure and enhance the quality of life of communities around the locations that has the Group's presence. This non-profit (Section 25) company has its own staff and is Governed by Group Chairman, GMR Group. [12]
Ajay Gopikisan Piramal is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman of the Piramal Group, a conglomerate with interests in pharmaceutical, financial services, real estate, healthcare analytics and glass packaging. As of July 2024, his net worth is estimated at US$2.8 billion.
Srikakulam district is a district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Uttarandhra region of the state, with its headquarters located at Srikakulam. It is one of the six districts, located in the extreme northeastern direction of the state. It was formerly known as Chicacole, and was under Ganjam district till 1 April 1936, then merged under Vizagapatam district. Srikakulam district forms the core area of Kalinga where most of its historical capitals like Kalinganagari, pithunda, Dantapuram are located.
Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai. It offers banking products and financial services for corporate and retail customers in the areas of personal finance, investment banking, life insurance, and wealth management. As of December 2023, the bank has 1,869 branches and 3,239 ATMs, including branches in GIFT City and DIFC (Dubai).
Andhra University College of Engineering, also known as AU College of Engineering, is an autonomous college and extension campus of the Andhra University located at Visakhapatnam, India. It is the first Indian institution to have a Department of Chemical Engineering.
Kumar Mangalam Birla is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerates in India. He is the chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani and ex-chairman of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. In 2023, Birla received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in India.
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is an international airport that serves Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Shamshabad, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Hyderabad and it was opened on 23 March 2008 to replace Begumpet Airport, which was till then the sole civilian airport serving Hyderabad. It is named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India. Built over an area of 5,500 acres (2,200 ha), it is the largest airport of India by area. It is owned and operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), a public–private consortium. It was the first airport in India to launch domestic e-boarding facility in December 2015 and international e-boarding facility in October 2020. It has ranked in AirHelp's list of top 10 airports in the world. The fourth busiest airport in India by passengers traffic, it handled over 25 million passengers and around 150,000 tonnes of cargo between April 2023 and March 2024.
Rajam is a town in Vizianagaram District of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a nagar panchayat and the headquarters of Rajam mandal. It is situated at a distance of 51 km from the district headquarters. The place has nostalgic association with Thandra Paparaya, the valiant Sardar of Bobbili and who is credited with slaying of Vijayaramaraju, the Maharaja of Vijayanagaram at the end of the Battle of Bobbili in 1757.
TV9 Telugu is an Indian Telugu-language 24-hour news channel focusing on the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It formally launched on 1 February 2004 with a 15-day trial run before the formal launch. It is headquartered in Hyderabad. Along with its rival ETV2, it is the oldest 24-hour news channel in Telugu.
GMR Institute of Technology (GMRIT) is an engineering college in India. It is in the Rajam, Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. It is affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada.
ING Vysya Bank was a privately owned Indian multinational bank based in Bangalore, with retail, wholesale, and private banking platforms formed from the 2002 purchase of an equity stake in Vysya Bank by the Dutch ING Group. This merger marked the first between an Indian bank and a foreign bank. Prior to this transaction, Vysya Bank had a seven-year-old strategic alliance and shareholding arrangement with erstwhile Belgian bank Banque Bruxelles Lambert, which was also acquired by ING Group in 1998.
Gangavaram Port is a port located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Inaugurated in July 2009, it has a depth of 21m. It is managed by Gangavaram Port Ltd., a special-purpose company floated by Mr. DVS Raju and cousin Mr.Datla Sreenu. Mr. DVS Raju serves as its chairman and managing director. The company is owned by the DVS Raju Group (58.1%), Adani Ports (31.5%) and the Andhra Pradesh Government (10.4%).
GMR Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in New Delhi. The group was founded in 1978 by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao and comprises several companies including GMR Infrastructure, GMR Energy, GMR Airports, and GMR Enterprises. Employing the public-private partnership model, the Group has implemented several infrastructure projects in India. The Group also has a global presence with infrastructure operating assets and projects in several countries including Philippines and Greece.
Geojit Financial Services Ltd. is an investment services company in India headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. It operates a network of offices across India and the Middle East. Geojit was the first company in India to launch online-trading facilities, develop franchise models of sub-broking, form joint ventures in West Asia and the first to begin commodity futures trading in pepper, cardamom, gold and silver in India.
Viswanathan Raghunathan is an academic, businessman, author, and columnist. He is currently director of the Schulich School of Business, India. Since 2013, for three consecutive years, Raghunathan has been featured in the list of top 50 thinkers in management across India and the Indian diaspora. Since 2005, he is also the CEO of GMR Varalakshmi Foundation. Earlier he was president, ING Vysya Bank (2001–2004) and managing director, GMR Industries Ltd (2007–2008), GMR Group. He has been an adjunct professor at the Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, since 1990, and Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada. He taught finance and accounting at IIM, Ahmedabad from 1982 to 2001, where he held various positions, including chair, of the postgraduate program.
The Komati is a trading community which is currently organised as a caste. They are primarily found in Central and South Indian states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Karnataka. Small communities of Komati's are also present in the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Chattisgarh. The members of the Komati caste are commonly engaged as moneylenders, businessmen, and shopkeepers. The community consists of many sects who are followers of Hinduism, namely the Gomata, the Thrivarnika, and the Kalinga, along with the Jaina Komatis who are followers of Jainism. Traditionally, most Komatis are vegetarian due to their belief in ahimsa (nonviolence).
Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport is an international airport and a greenfield airport under construction at Bhogapuram in the Vizianagaram district. The airport is operated by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited. The airport is named after Indian Independence revolutionary and freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju.
Edelweiss Group is an investment and financial services company based in Mumbai. It was co-founded by Rashesh Shah and Venkat Ramaswamy.
Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) is an Indian renewable energy company, headquartered in Ahmedabad, India. It is majority-owned by Indian conglomerate Adani Group and minority-owned by TotalEnergies. The company operates Kamuthi Solar Power Project, one of the largest solar photovoltaic plants in the world.
Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, formerly known as Adani Transmission Ltd, is an electric power transmission company headquartered in Ahmedabad. Currently, it is one of the largest private sector power transmission companies operating in India. As of July 2020, the company operates a cumulative network of 12,200 circuit kilometers, and more than 3,200 circuit kilometers are under various stages of construction.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)