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Former chairmen of government-owned steel company SAIL, V Krishnamurthy passes away on Sunday at the age of 97 in Chennai. He not only led SAIL but was also known as the father of public sector undertakings in India.
Krishnamurthy was chairman of SAIL from 1985 to 1990.
Through its Twitter account, SAIL said, "SAIL family deeply mourns the sad demise of Padma Vibhushan Dr. Venkataraman Krishnamurthy, ex-Chairman, SAILsteel on 26th June 2022."
Born on January 14, 1925, in Tamil Nadu, Krishnamurthy was an Indian civil servant.
On Wikipedia, it is said that Krishnamurthy was the doyen of Indian management, having headed the country’s largest and most challenging public sector companies, widely regarded as a Man with a golden touch.
His leadership quality and successful contribution to turning around BHEL, Maruti Udyog, SAIL, and GAIL into the most profit-making industry not just in the country but also globally - earned him the title of "Father of PSUs in India".
Apart from leading major government companies, Krishnamurthy was also a former chairman of IIM Bangalore and Ahmedabad; IIT Delhi; Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar; the Centre for Organization Development, Hyderabad; and also the Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council.
Not just that, Krishnamurthy has made some remarkable achievements in his career. From being a member of the National Advisory Council from 2004-08 - to serving as a Member, Planning Commission, and Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Industry.
Further, he was also the Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council and held the rank of Cabinet Minister till 2014.
Not to forget, Krishnamurthy was one of the founding trustees of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which is headed by Sonia Gandhi with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and other distinguished members as its trustees.
His career began in 1944 with the then Madras Electricity Board. Later, he went on to work directly with India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the Planning Commission from 1954 in the Second Five Year Plan in charge of power projects and then with former Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Sastri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh in various positions in the Government of India.
