Marpadi Veerappa Moily (born 12 January 1940) is an Indian politician belonging to the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

from the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. Moily was the former

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

(and the first ethnic

Tuluva The Tulu people or Tuluvas are an ethno-linguistic and ethno-cultural group from Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts ...

CM) of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

(19 November 1992 – 11 December 1994). He was elected to Karnataka state legislative assembly from

Karkala Karkala ( ) ( ) is a town and the headquarters of eponymous Karkala taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka state in India. It lies near the foothills of the Western Ghats, Karkala has a number of natural and historical landmarks, and is a m ...

constituency of

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

district. From 2009 to 2019, he represented the

Chikballapur Chikkaballapur or Chikkaballāpura is the district headquarters of the newly created Chikkaballapur district in the state of Karnataka, India, which was carved out from Kolar district. It is located within 3 km of Muddenahalli (the birthp ...

constituency in Lok Sabha. But he lost in 2019 to a

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Since 2014, ...

candidate when BJP won 25 seats out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. He was the former Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Power in the Indian government. He is also currently serving as the All India Congress Committee General Secretary in charge 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 ...

. He is regarded as one of the senior members of the Congress Party, and a close adviser for the Congress Leader

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi (, ; ; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a big-tent liberal political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history. ...

. He announced formal retirement from electoral politics in 2024 prior to the 18th Lok Sabha Elections.

Early life and education

Veerappa Moily was born in a Tulu-speaking family in Marpadi Village,

Moodbidri Moodubidire (''Mūḍubidire''; also called Mudbidri, Moodbidri and Bedra) is a town and taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. It lies 34 km northeast of the district headquarters, Mangalore, in Karnataka, India. Because of widely grown b ...

erstwhile

South Canara South Canara (South Kannada) was a district of the Madras Presidency of British Raj, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the administration at Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the mos ...

. He belongs to

Devadiga Devadiga () also known as Moily, Sherigar is a Hindu Community or Caste. Devadigas were traditionally temple servants and musicians in Hindu temples. Devadigas are originally from the land stretching between Karwar in Uttara Kannada district of K ...

community. He did his B.A. from Government College (now known as University College) situated at

Hampankatta Hampankatta (also known as Happananakatte/Hampankatte/Hampananakatte/Hampanakatte and pronounced as 'Hampanakatte' in Tulu and Kannada) is the centre of Mangalore City, Karnataka. Most of the public utilities are located here. Hampanakkatte wa ...

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

city. He completed his

B.L. BL (or similar) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Boys' love, a Japanese term for fiction featuring romantic relationships between male characters * BL Publishing, a division of the wargames manufacturing company, Games Workshop * ''Boston ...

from University Law College, Bengaluru.

Career

Legal career

Moily who is a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

by profession, in 2014, has opened a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

called Moily Law Associates.

Political career

*The Prime Minister advised the President of India that M. Veerappa Moily, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas shall be given additional charge of the work of Ministry of Environment & Forests. * 2012: Petroleum Minister w.e.f. 28.10.2012 * 2011–2012: Cabinet Minister of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India * 2009–2011: Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice, Govt. of India * 2006–2009: Chairman of the Oversight Committee for implementation of 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in central educational institutions * 2002–2004: Chairman, Revenue Reforms Commission * 2005–2009: Chairman, 2nd Administrative Reform Commission. * 2000–2002: Chairman, Tax Reforms Commission * 1992–1994: Chief Minister of Karnataka * 1989–1992: Minister for Law, Youth Service, Culture, Information, Parliamentary Affairs and Education, Govt. of Karnataka * 1983–1985: Leader of Opposition, Karnataka Assembly * 1980–1982: Minister for Finance and Planning, Govt. of Karnataka * 1974–1977: Minister for Small Scale Industries, Govt. of Karnataka * Appointed to various committees by Indira Gandhi one of which led to the setting up of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). * Practiced law in the courts of Karkala, Mangalore, High Court in Bangalore and at the Supreme Court of India. * Led the implementation of economic reforms in Karnataka in 1992 and also responsible for drafting & implementing the Karnataka Land Reforms Act in 1974. * Led several projects, policies and achievements of the State of Karnataka in ministries and sectors such as Finance, Irrigation and Power, Urban Development and Infrastructure, Housing and Rural Development, Empowerment, Education and Culture. * Author of epic poem Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam in five volumes containing 42,295 lines in Kannada. It is also being translated into Hindi and being published by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi. * Authored ‘Musings on India’ Part 1 & 2 in English containing articles on contemporary issues including public finance. * Regular columnist for leading print publications and electronic media. * Currently writing a book on the steps to be taken to make India an economic superpower by year 2020.

Summary of achievements

Chairman of Tax Reforms Commission

* Formulated a systematic reform of the tax system resulting in improved revenue productivity and competitiveness of the State of Karnataka. * Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, implemented 80% of the recommending from the commission resulting in tax revenues increases of Rs. 2200 crores in 2003–04 from recommendations of the commission. Tax exemption

Chairman of Revenue Reforms Commission

* Report submitted during November 2003 recommending reforms in Irrigation, Health, Education and Forest Departments * Revenue increases of Rs. 1800 crores from the commission's recommendations.

Finance

* Presented the Karnataka State Budgets for 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1980–81, 1981–82 & 1982–83. * Set records of revenue surplus during every stint as Finance Minister.

Irrigation and Power

* Led unprecedented and huge outlays in irrigation works and helped maximize the irrigation potential of Karnataka. * Developed innovative financing schemes such as Irrigation bonds which were appreciated by the Reserve Bank of India and the World Bank. * Cleared and conceived massive works on the power generation and power distribution system in Karnataka that substantially reduced the power shortage position in Karnataka. * Established Krishna Jalabhagya Nigam scheme which mobilised Rs. 13,000 crores for irrigation projects.

Rural and Urban Development and Infrastructure

* Formulated and implemented various drinking water schemes and employment guarantee schemes and housing schemes. * Established the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance to formulate and appraise infrastructure development projects, mobilization of funds from different sources, implementation of urban infrastructure projects, and capacity building/training on urban development issues. * Initiated various projects such as the International Airport in Bangalore, International Convention Centre, Konkan Railway, and National Games in Bangalore. * Sanctioned and implemented the Rs. 1200 crores ADB aid programme for the coastal region of Karnataka.

Education

* Chief Architect of the new Common Entrance Test (CET) system launching an admission policy for technical education founded on merit, transparency and social justice. * Established the nation's leading law institute, The National Law School University. * Executed the Total Literacy Programme in the State of Karnataka. * Worked with the World Bank to execute Universalisation of Primary Education. * Oversaw the reform in University Education in Karnataka. He established six universities such as Kannada University, Rajiv Gandhi Medical University, Visweshwariah Technical University, Karnataka Open University,

Mangalore University Mangalore University commonly known as, MU is a public university in Konaje, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. In 2021, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) awarded Mangalore University 'B' grade. As on 2024, Prof. P L Dharma took ...

and Gulbarga University.

Publications

Moily has written a book ''The edge of time''. It is a Kannada novel Tembare which examines, a complex cultural practice of coastal Karnataka, called bhutaradhane, or the worship of hero-spirits. The Pambada community, a marginalised dalit community, has as its hereditary profession, spirit impersonation during elaborate rituals. Mr. Moily explored two responses to this traditional and exploitative profession through two Pambada brothers: one who rebels and opts for formal education, and the other who tries to revive the true spirit of the ancient practice. (courtesy : Prasanta Varma, Advocate, Supreme Court of India). Mr. Moily is an advocate by profession, he entered politics about four decades ago and he became the chief minister of Karnataka in the year 1992. Moily is a literary figure of some note. He has served as a regular columnist for ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' and ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by businessman K. N. Guruswamy and launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printers Mysore, a privately hel ...

'' (both English newspapers) and for ''

Samyukta Karnataka ''Samyukta Karnataka'' is a major Kannada newspaper which has its headquarters in Hubballi, Karnataka. It is also published from Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Bagalkot, Kalaburgi and Davanagere. The editor is Mahabala Seetalbhavi (Mahabaleshwar V.Bh ...

'', a

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

daily. He has also authored several books, all in Kannada, being: * ''Thembare'': A novel and perhaps his most critically acclaimed work, it has been translated into English under the title "The edge of time." * ''Kotta'': Another novel, made into telefilms in both Kannada and Hindi, directed by M.S. Sathyu. * ''Suligali'' ("Typhoon"), a novel. It was adapted into a film titled, ''Premave Balina Belaku'' (1984) * ''Sagaradeepa'': "Ocean lamp." A novel. * ''Milana'': A play. * ''Parajitha'': A play. * ''Premavendare'': A play. * ''Halu-Jenu Maththe'': An anthology of poems. * ''Nadeyali Samara'': An anthology of poems. * ''Yakshaprashne'': An anthology of poems. * ''Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam'': This poem will be published in five volumes, the first four of which have already been released between February 2001 and March 2004. Originally published in Kannada, the epic poem is now being translated into Hindi. * Musings on India: A collection of his newspaper articles, Sapna Publications and Full Circle, New Delhi, 2001 Moily has written four volumes of an English book called ''Unleashing India'', which outlines how India can be a super power after 25 to 30 years by leveraging and properly utilising its

demographic dividend Demographic dividend, as defined by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is "the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is large ...

. The early three volumes of the book dealt with the following: one on agriculture, second on water and third on power sector. The fourth volume, "Unleashing India: The Fire of Knowledge" – which illustrates a detailed analysis of the deficiencies in the Indian education system, along with innovative strategies and solutions to address the educational needs of the country in the 21st century – was published on 29 March 2012. Moily is also writing another epic poem on

Draupadi Draupadi (), also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is the central heroine of the Indian epic poetry, ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. In the epic, she is the princess of Panchala Kingdom, who later becomes the empress of K ...

and the title is ''Shrimudi Parikranam''. In an interview to Bar & Bench he said "This is how I go on writing, it is an unstoppable journey".

Controversies

*After taking charge of Ministry of Environment and Forests he gave nod to many polluting industries in ecological sensitive areas. *A case has been registered against Veerappa Moily and others saying that they favoured RIL in fixing price for Natural gas.

Awards

* 2000 – Ameen Sadbhavana Award * 2001 – Devaraj Urs Prashasthi * 2001 – Aryabhatta award * 2007 –

Moortidevi Award The Moortidevi Award is an Indian literary award annually presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a literary and research organisation. The award is given only to Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Con ...

for ''Shri Ramayana Mahanveshanam'' * 2014 –

Saraswati Samman The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 23 languages of India listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. The Sar ...

for ''Shri Ramayana Mahanveshanam'' * 2021 –

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for the epic ''Sri Bahubali Ahimsadigvijayam''

References

External links

Devadiga.com

Financialexpress.com
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moily, Veerappa 1940 births Living people Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Mangaloreans Members of the Cabinet of India Tulu politicians University Law College, Bangalore University alumni Lok Sabha members from Karnataka People from Chikkaballapura district India MPs 2009–2014 India MPs 2014–2019 Leaders of the opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Recipients of the Saraswati Samman Award Chief ministers of Karnataka Law ministers of India Ministers of power of India Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministers of India Ministers for corporate affairs Mysore MLAs 1972–1977 Recipients of the Moortidevi Award Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada