B. V. Rao
Banda Vasudev Rao | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 November 1935 |
| Died | 26 January 1996 (aged 60) |
| Years active | 1970–1996 |
| Spouse(s) | Uttara Devi, Roopa Rao |
| Awards | Padma Shri WPSA International Hall of Fame |
Banda Vasudev Rao (1935–1996)[1]was an Indian entrepreneur and agriculturalist,[2] considered by many as the father of the poultry industry in India.[3][4] He founded the V H Group, an Indian poultry industry conglomerate, in 1971. He was also the founder chairman of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC)[3] and was a 2004 inductee of the International Poultry Hall of Fame of the World Poultry Science Association.[5] The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 1990. His company directly employed around 5000 employees by 1996.[6] When he died, the combined fortune of his family was $325 million (₹1300 crore).
Early and personal life
B. V. Rao was born into a Munnuru kapu family[7] on 6 November 1935 at Chanchalguda, in Hyderabad, in the Princely Indian state of Hyderabad (presently in Telangana).[4]
Career
After working in a range of different roles: as a telephone operator, railway police staff and as personal secretary to a state minister, Rao enrolled for a short-length course at Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar. He successfully completed a training program in dairy and poultry farming where he had the opportunity to learn under an American teacher, Moore.[4] His first business venture was with 500 birds entrusted to him by Moore for tending and soon Rao started his own venture on a 7-acre plot, for which funds were raised by selling his wife's jewelry.[4] The business, started in 1970, grew over the years to the present V H Group, a US$2 billion conglomerate with interests in poultry, meat, pharmaceuticals, cattle feed, sports and with presence in India, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Vietnam, and Brazil.[8]
When the price of eggs went down in the early 1980s, Rao gathered farmers together and founded the National Egg Coordination Committee in 1982 and became the first chairman.[9] He was also associated with the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA) and headed the India chapter from 1993 to 1996.[4] He was one of the key figures in the organization of the World Poultry Conference in New Delhi in 1996.[5] He also founded a higher education institution, Dr B.V. Rao Institute of Poultry Management and Technology.[10] The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 1990.[6] The World Poultry Science Association inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2004.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Poultry Farmers across the country, today, paid tribute to the 26th Death Anniversary of Padma Shri. Dr. B. V. Rao". Retrieved 6 November 2025.
- ^ "Newly Carved Telangana CM Opened Basket of Fruits for Poultry Industry". Poultry Express. 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Father of Indian poultry industry remembered". The Hindu. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "B.V. Rao - 'Father of Indian Poultry Industry'" (PDF). Livelihoods.net. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ a b c "International Poultry Hall of Fame". World Poultry Science Association. 2015. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ Damodaran, Harish (25 November 2018). India's New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation. Hachette India. ISBN 978-93-5195-280-0.
- ^ "About us". Venky's. 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "The beginning". NECC. 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "Dr B.V. Rao Institute of Poultry management and Technology". India Study Channel. 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.