Ravi Kumar Narra is an Indian businessman and social worker from

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South Central Railway ...

, known for his efforts for the upliftment of the

dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...

community. He was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, in 2014, by bestowing on him the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

, the fourth highest civilian award, for his services to society.

Biography

Ravi Kumar Narra was born on 1 September 1963, to Shankaraiah Narra, who was a daily wage mason, in a family with meagre financial resources, in a slum in

, commonly known as the twin city of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, in the south Indian State of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and ...

. He graduated in science, (BSc), and continued his education in law and secured a graduate degree, LLB and, later, the master's degree of LLM. He also secured a diploma in journalism (DJ) and a diploma in Public Relations.

Dalit enterprise

Narra is the coordinator for the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) in South India, covering five states. He has also been President of DICCI, Andhra Pradesh Chapter since 2011. As a member of the National Governing Board of DICCI, he helped to modify the Government Industrial Policy 2010-2015 such that it aided Dalits. He has been a member of the

National Task Force The National Task Force ( sv, Nationella insatsstyrkan, ''NI''), formerly known as the National Task Force of the Swedish Civilian Police ( sv, Ordningspolisens nationella insatsstyrka), is a police tactical unit within the National Operations Depa ...

(NTF) of the Government of India, for Affirmative Action and Supplier Diversity. Narra organise IGNITE, a 21 days residential programme for 220 Dalit entrepreneurs including 40 women from all over Andhra Pradesh at the NIMSME, Hyderabad. It is an entrepreneurship development programme involving the Government, CII, banks, training institutions and similar.

Shanti Chakra Foundation

Narra founded Shanti Chakra Foundation, a service organisation to develop networking amongst Dalits. It promotes the philosophy of

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

and educates against superstitions. The Foundation undertakes weekly classes for Dalits - particularly youths - on a range of subjects.

Awards and recognitions

Ravi Kumar Narra was honoured by the Government of India with the

in 2014, in recognition of his services to society.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Narra, Ravi Kumar 1963 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in trade and industry Dalit leaders People from Secunderabad Social workers from Andhra Pradesh