Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao contributed to establishment of the Delhi School of Economics (where he had appointed former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh as a professor); Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi; Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru; Indian Council of Social Science Research; 15 agro-economic centres; National Sample Survey Organisation; 18 population research centres; and Central Institute of Indian Languages.
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Former education minister and Congress leader B.K. Chandrashekar, former ISEC director R. S. Deshpande and former ISEC professor N. Sivanna have proposed that Dr. V. K. R. V. Rao’s name will be most appropriate for Bengaluru City University, and not that of former prime minister Manmohan Singh.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in his budget for 2025-26, proposed to rename Bangalore City University as Dr. Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University.
According to the academicians, Dr. V. K. R. V. Rao was born in a Kannada-speaking family. He obtained his B.A. and the Ph.D. degrees from Cambridge University, UK, in 1937. The title of his doctoral thesis was ‘The National Income of British India, 1931-1932’ and John Maynard Keynes was among his teachers.
On his return to India, Dr. Rao served as the vice-chancellor of Delhi University and as a member of the Planning Commission while Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the PM. He was Union Minister of Education in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet during 1967-71. He was elected to Parliament from Ballari constituency in Karnataka from the Congress party.
Dr. Rao was an exemplary institution builder. He contributed to establishment of the Delhi School of Economics (where he had appointed former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh as a professor); Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi; Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru; Indian Council of Social Science Research; 15 agro-economic centres; National Sample Survey Organisation; 18 population research centres; and Central Institute of Indian Languages.
Dr. Rao stayed in a simple house at Jayanagar in Bengaluru till his demise (25th July, 1991). Through these institutions, he was instrumental in building the careers of many economists and policy-makers, including many members of the Planning Commission, economic advisors, they said.
Published – March 11, 2025 05:07 pm IST
