Tata Ramachandra Prasad (15 July 1941 – 12 July 2022) was a bureaucrat from

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 ...

, India, who worked as

cabinet secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

and defence secretary in the national government. He was of 1963 batch of

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian ...

from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, was also the member of the 12th

Finance Commission The Finance Commissions (IAST: ''Vitta Jayga'') are commissions periodically constituted by the President of India under ''Article 280'' of the Indian Constitution to define the financial relations between the central government of India and ...

and director of several companies including the scam-tainted company Satyam Computer Services Ltd from which he resigned when

Byrraju Ramalinga Raju Byrraju Ramalinga Raju (born 16 September 1954) is an Indian businessman. He is the founder of Satyam Computer Services and served as its chairman and CEO from 1987 until 2009. Raju stepped down following his admission to embezzlement from the ...

admitted accounting fraud.

Biography

Prasad was born in

Nidubrolu Nidubrolu is a neighbourhood in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Ponnur municipality of Tenali revenue division. Government and politics Ponnur Municipality is a governmental body. Transport Nidubrolu railway stati ...

town in

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the List of urban agglom ...

, Andhra Pradesh. He was born on 15 July 1941 to T. V. Subbaiah and Devudamma. Initially educated at Loyola College Vijayawada, Prasad held a master's degree in

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

(

Electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

) from Banaras University. He was a lifetime fellow of the Institute of Engineers (FIE).Corporate Executives & Directors Search Directory
/ref> Prasad was of 1963 batch of

from the Andhra Pradesh cadre. He was appointed Union cabinet secretary on 1 November 2000, during the government of

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

. As he approached mandatory retirement at the age of 60, Vajpayee's government amended legislation to enable the government to extend the tenure of a cabinet secretary beyond that age by such a period as the government considers appropriate. Prasad retired as cabinet secretary on 31 October 2002. Prasad died at his home in

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

on 12 July 2022 at the age of 80. He suffered from

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...

prior to his death.

Twelfth Finance Commission

During his stint as member of Twelfth Finance Commission, Prasad pointed out that India was almost 13 times below the FDI of China due to backwardness in education and infrastructure, which are key ingredients for growth. He also called for new fiscal reforms to stabilise growth and governance on the lines proposed by the Kelkar task force.The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `States passing through financial crisis'
/ref> He also called for the political leadership in India to lift itself above the party and sectarian interests for India's success in moving towards the new triangular paradigm: growth, governance and fiscal reforms. He was the member of Finance Commission until 31 December 2004, holding the rank of minister of state.

Administrative career

Prasad's administrative career comprised: * Member of

from 1963 * Officer on Special Duty in the Cabinet Secretary for 10 days from 20 October 2000 until 31 October 2000 before taking over as the India's foremost civil servant post on 1 November 2000The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News
/ref> *

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

, Government of India, between 2000 and 2002 *

Defence Secretary A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, Government of India * Secretary, Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Industry * Chairman,

Foreign Investment Promotion Board The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was a national agency of Government of India, with the remit to consider and recommend foreign direct investment (FDI) which does not come under the automatic route. India attract net inward foreign ...

(FIPB) * Secretary, Heavy Industry * Chairman, Maruthi Udyog Ltd.

Directorships

Prasad was a member of the board of directors of several companies, such as: * TVS Motors Company Ltd. * Suven Life Sciences Ltd. * Taj GVK Hotels and Resorts Ltd. * Nelcast Ltd. * GMR Infrastructure Company Ltd. * Indofil Organic Industries Ltd. * Pipavav Shipyard Ltd. * Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd.

Satyam

Prasad was an independent director of Satyam Computer Services when that company was hit by a scandal related to false accounting that saw its founder and chairman, Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, resign. Prasad did not immediately resign when the news broke but instead tried to steady the company. He blamed

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

, the audit firm, and Raju for keeping the board of directors in the dark. When pressure mounted on him from various places across corporate India and also the government, he resigned not just from Satyam Computers but also from other directorships.TR Prasad's 6th resignation; this time it's Taj Gvk Hotels
/ref>

References

External links

* http://www.indofilcc.com/indofil-profile/board-of-directors.php * http://www.persmin.nic.in/Publication/AnnualReport/AR2001_2002.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, T. R. 1941 births 2022 deaths Telugu people Indian Administrative Service officers Cabinet Secretaries of India Defence Secretaries of India Banaras Hindu University alumni People from Guntur district