Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao is a mechanical engineer, billionaire industrialist, the founder chairman of

GMR Group GMR Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in New Delhi. The group was founded in 1978 by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (G M Rao) and comprises several companies including GMR Infrastructure, GMR Energy, GMR Airports, GMR En ...

, a global infrastructure developer and operator based in India. 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.

Early life

G M Rao was born on 14 July 1950, in

Rajam 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 associa ...

, Srikakulam district in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. 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

. After graduating from

Andhra University Andhra University ( IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest d ...

, Rao joined a paper mill as a shift engineer and then joined the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

of Andhra Pradesh Government as a junior engineer. 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 Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...

. 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

the leader in India as an airport developer by revenues, asset size, and market capitalization.

Awards

GM Rao received the Economic Times Entrepreneur of the year Award in 2007,.

Charity

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'. In 2013, by donating 740 crores, G. M. Rao was the third generous donor of corporate India for the year as per the China's Harun Report Inc.http://archives.eenadu.net/11-14-2013/news/newsitem.aspx?item=panel&no=10 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.

References

External links

Forbes India's RichestInternational Herald Tribune

Economic Times article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Grandhi Mallikarjuna Indian billionaires 1950 births Businesspeople from Andhra Pradesh Indian chief executives Living people People from Srikakulam district People from Uttarandhra Indian Premier League franchise owners