Anumolu Ramakrishna (20 December 1939 – 20 August 2013) was an Indian civil and structural engineer, corporate executive and the deputy managing director of Larsen & Toubro Construction, the largest construction company in India as per 2013 statistics. He was credited with the introduction of system

formwork Formwork is Molding (process), molds into which concrete or similar materials are either precast concrete, precast or cast-in-place concrete, cast-in-place. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering mold ...

and precast and

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially prestressed (Compression (physics), compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-t ...

technologies in Indian construction industry, procedures which helped increase productivity, and was a co-founder of the India chapter of ''FSL - Global Forum on Structural Longevity''. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

, posthumously in 2014, for his contributions to science and technology.

Biography

Born on 20 December 1939 in Punadipadu, a small village near

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

Krishna district Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is surrounded on the East by Bay of Bengal, West by Guntur district, Guntur, Bapatla distric ...

, in the south Indian state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, Ramakrishna graduated in Civil Engineering from

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

and secured a master's degree (MSc) in Structural Engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy of

Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

. His career started at the construction division of

Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro Limited, abbreviated as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate, with interests in industrial technology, heavy industry, engineering, construction, manufacturing, power, information technology, defence and financial se ...

, then known as ''Engineering Construction Corporation Limited'', in 1962 but continued his education by undergoing advanced training in structural engineering in the former

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

in 1966, after obtaining a sponsorship from the Government of India. He served L&T for 42 years during which time, he held various positions such as that of a member of the Board of Directors (1962), President (Operations) of ECC Construction Division (1995) and the Deputy Managing Director (2000). By the time he retired from L&T service in 2004, the revenue of the construction division reportedly grew from 4.5 billion to over 55 billion (2004), registering a 40 percent growth in volume of business. Ramakrishna, who oversaw the construction of several major projects in India such as cement and steel plants, refineries and petrochemical complexes, seaports, airports and nuclear power plants, served as a director board member of many corporate entities; Ramco Industries, TAJGVK Hotels & Resorts, Ramco Cements, Andhra Petrochemicals, Andhra Sugars, Jaipur-Kishangarh Expressway, Mumbai International Airport Limited,

UltraTech Cement UltraTech Cement Limited is an Indian multinational cement company based in Mumbai. It is the largest manufacturer of grey cement, ready-mix concrete (RMC) and white cement in India, and the fifth largest in the world, with an installed capaci ...

and Brigade Group are some of the notable ones among them. Among the honors he received, ICI- Fosroc Award for Outstanding Concrete Technologist (1993),

Institution of Engineers (India) The Institution of Engineers (India), the IEI, is a national organization for engineers in India. It is the world's largest multi-disciplinary engineering professional society. It has more than one million members in 15 engineering disciplines ...

Prestressed Concrete Design Award (1995), Eminent Engineering Personality award (1998) and World Federation of Engineering Organizations Hassib Sabbagh Award (2007) were for technological excellence and Outstanding Contribution to Construction Industry Award of Builders’ Association of India (1993), Davidson Frame Award (1997),

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

Outstanding efforts in Business Ethics award (2000) and Rotary International For the Sake of Honour’ Award (2001) were for excellence in corporate management. His alma mater, Andhra University, conferred the

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

degree of Doctor of Science on him in 1997 and he received another honorary degree, Doctor of Philosophy, from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in 2004. He died on 20 August 2013, succumbing to a cardiac arrest, at the age of 73. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of the

posthumously in 2014.

Biography

See also

References

External links

Further reading