Neelakanta Ramakrishna Madhava Menon was an Indian civil servant, lawyer and legal educator, considered by many as the father of modern legal education in India. He is the founder of National Law Universities system and first director of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal and the founder-vice-chancellor of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS). He has also served as Chairman of Indian Statistical Institute from 2002 to 2003.
Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from 1994 to 2003. He is presently Chancellor of Central University of Rajasthan and NIIT University. He is the former chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University and the chairman of Karnataka Knowledge Commission. He is a former member of the Rajya Sabha (2003–09) and a former member of the now defunct Planning Commission of India. He was also the director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, from April 2004 to 2009. He is a recipient of the three major civilian awards from the Government of India: the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan.
Udupi Ramachandra Rao was an Indian space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He was also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad and Nehru Planetarium at Bengaluru and chancellor of the Indian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram. He is known as "The Satellite Man of India". He pioneered India's first satellite launch Aryabhata in 1975.
Rajendra Singh Pawar is an Indian entrepreneur, Chairman and Co-Founder of NIIT Limited, established in 1981. He also founded NIIT University, a not-for-profit university in Neemrana, Rajasthan, in 2009.
Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) is a public state university located in Madurai city, in southern Tamil Nadu, India, that was established in 1966. MKU is one of the 15 universities in India with the University with Potential for Excellence status, which was awarded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India. In 2021, the university was awarded an 'A++' grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in its 4th cycle.
Akhlaq Ur Rehman Kidwai was an Indian chemist and politician. He served as governor of the states of Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, from 1999 to 2004. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award.
Abid Hussain was an Indian economist, civil servant and diplomat. He was India's ambassador to the United States of America from 1990 to 1992 and a member of the Planning Commission from 1985 to 1990.
Yash Pal was an Indian scientist, educator and educationist. He was known for his contributions to the study of cosmic rays, as well as for being an institution-builder. In his later years, he became one of the leading science communicators of the country.
D. R. Mehta is a former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He is a founder and chief patron of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), the world's largest organization for the handicapped in terms of free fitment of artificial limbs/callipers (orthotics) etc. Mehta is a recipient of Padma Bhushan, one of the highest Indian civilian awards, for his contribution to social causes.
Venkataraman Krishnamurthy was an Indian civil servant. V. Krishnamurthy is known as the "Father of Public sector undertakings in India" for his leadership and successful contribution in turning around Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and GAIL (India) Limited (GAIL) into the most profit making industry in India and globally. He was chairman and CEO of BHEL, MUL, SAIL, and GAIL. He was Chairman of IIM Bangalore and Ahmedabad; IIT Delhi; Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar; and the Centre for Organization Development, Hyderabad. He has also been Chairman of the Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council. He was Member of the National Advisory Council from 2004 to 2008. Among other positions, he has served as Member, Planning Commission and Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Industry. He was the Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, holding the rank of a Cabinet Minister up to 2014. He was one of the founding trustees of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation headed by Sonia Gandhi with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other distinguished members as its trustees. He began working with the then Madras Electricity Board in 1944. Later he had the privilege of working directly with India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the Planning Commission from 1954 in the Second Five Year plan incharge of power projects and then with former Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Sastri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh in various positions in the Government of India.
Vijay Kumar Saraswat is an Indian scientist who formerly served as the Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Indian Minister of Defence. He retired on 31 May 2003 and presently member of NITI Aayog i.e. Planning Commission of India and Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University. and President of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum
George Joseph is an Indian space scientist, best known for his contributions to the development of remote sensing technology in India, especially in the field of earth observation sensors. He is a former chairman of the Lunar Mission Study Task Force of the Indian Space Research Organization and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian Academy of Sciences and Indian National Academy of Engineering. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 1999.
Hari Shankar Singhania was the President of J.K. Organisation, a leading Indian industrial group, which has its roots extending nearly 100 years, and is one of the largest industrial groups in India. It has multi-business, multi-product and multi-location operations. Most of the companies in the group are public limited entities, with more than 40,000 employees. The group has more than 500,000 shareholders, with a nationwide sales and service network of over 10,000 distributors and many retailers and service centres. The group has export interests in nearly 90 countries across the globe.
Padmakar Ramachandra Dubhashi was an Indian civil servant, administrator, author, social scientist and academician, known for his administrative and academic abilities. He was a pioneer of Cooperative movement and was instrumental in housing the Goa University in a new campus, a feat he accomplished during his tenure as the Vice-Chancellor of the University. The Government of India honoured him, in 2010, with Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, for his services to the nation.
Sarvagya Singh Katiyar FRSC popularly known as S. S. Katiyar, was an Indian scientist specializing in enzymology, and the founder Director of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow. He is a former president of the Association of Indian Universities and a former vice chancellor of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur and Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award, followed by Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 2009.
Atmaram Bhairav Joshi was an Indian agricultural scientist and academic, known for his contributions to the field of wheat and other crop breeding. He was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Phule Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Rahuri and the chairman of the Research Advisory Committee of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1975.
Asis Datta is an Indian biochemist, molecular biologist and genetic engineer, known for his research on genetically modified foods and food nutritional security. He was the founding Director of the National Institute of Plant Genome Research and is credited with the discovery of genes that assist in extended preservation of fruits and vegetables. He is a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, the highest Indian award and in the Science category, and was awarded the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri, by the Government of India, in 1999. In 2008, he was included again in the Republic Day Honours list for the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan.
Sardara Singh Johl is an Indian agriculture economist, writer, politician and the chancellor of the Central University of Punjab. A former National Professor of Agricultural Economics of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, he served as the vice chancellor of the Punjabi University and Punjab Agricultural University during different tenures and chaired the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices set up by the Government of India. He is a former director of the Central Board of Governors of the Reserve Bank of India and a former consultant to international bodies such as Food and Agriculture Organization, World Bank and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2004, for his contributions to Agriculture and agriculture education.
V. Ramachandran (1931–2015) was an Indian civil servant, management expert and the chief secretary of the state of Kerala. He was a member of the Kerala State Planning Board and held the vice-chair of the United Nations Committee on Right to Development from 1980 to 1984. He also served several United Nations agencies such as UNESCAP, UNCHS, United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESC), and UNDP as a consultant, and was the chairman of the Centre for Management Development, Thiruvanathapuram at the time of his death in 2015. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2008, for his contributions to Indian civil service.
