Smt Rajeswary Rama Krishnan, B.A.
Smt. Rajeswary Ramakrishnan is the daughter of late V.Ramakrishna, ICS, who was called the Andhra Birla and father of the sugar industry in Andhra Pradesh. She is one of the first few handful of graduates in 1945 from the then Madras Presidency. She was married to late P.R.Ramakrishnan of Coimbatore of whom Ex-President Abdul Kalam said at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of CIT in 2006, "P.R.Ramakrishnan is an industrialist, educationist, politician and philanthropist - all in one".
When her father brought her into industry, she had the unique distinction being the second lady industrialist in India, next to Smt.Sumathi Morarjee of Mumbai.
In 1968 when her father died, Sri.N.G.Ranga said in the course of mentioning about VRK's death in the Lok Sabha - "Just as Panditji brought Indiraji into politics, Ramakrishna brought his daughter Rajeswary into industry".
Under the rigorous training of her father and expert guidance from her husband, she blossomed into a top class industrialist, and has many achievements to her credit. She has successfully run, with a very high degree of competence industries, and shown that women are no less than men in managing industry. She is a glorious example of women power at its best.
She had run the largest sugar complex including distilleries and co- generation in Chagallu, A.P. She was the Managing Agent/Managing Director of the company for a period of 53 years.
Service to Society
She has donated about fifty lakhs including land in her father's name in his birth place, Guntur for a co-educational College and is actively participating in its functioning. She is the President of Sri.V.Ramakrishna Memorial College, Nagaram, which has become a model rural institution in the country today. She has put up the V.Ramakrishna Junior College in Chagallu. She has also donated liberally for the Engineering wing in the BR Reddy College, Eluru. She is the Chief local donor for the Men's College, Women's College and Eye Hospital at Nidadavole which caters to hundreds of villages in West Godavari. This hospital is named 'Rajeswary Ramakrishnan Lions' Eye Hospital'.
Other accomplishments
She has been very active in Rotary in Coimbatore for several years in the 50's and 60's. In 1957 she led a group of 27 rotaryannes to Srilanka on a highly successful goodwill mission. She was also very active in Guild of Services, Red Cross and other social service organizations. She is still closely associated with them.
She was bestowed the "Shakkara Prapurna" Award during 1988-89 by the Andhra Agricultural University, Anakapalle.
She is the recipient of the Pride of Asia International Award and Gold Medal for being a leading lady industrialist in a world dominated by men at Singapore in the year 1992.
She received the Award from FICCI in 1995-1996 for "Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur".
She also received "International Gold Star Millennium Award" from Citizens Integration Peace Society, at an international conference on Indo- Thai Friendship & Economic Co-operation, held in the year 2015.