Venkataraman Krishnamurthy

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A brief biography

June 27, 2022: The Times of India

New Delhi: Venkataraman Krishnamurthy, who headed at least three government controlled companies — BHEL, Maruti Udyog & SAIL —passed away in Chennai on Sunday. Krishnamurthy, who was 97, often described as “the turnaround man”, is credited with building Maruti.


“He is the leader under whom the entire culture of Maruti started to be built. He instilled confidence in the Japanese. Otherwise, Suzuki perhaps would not have come to India. But Suzuki met him and me and got the confidence to come,” said Suzuki India chairman R C Bhargava, who joined the joint venture, thanks to Krishnamurthy. 
Starting as an airfield technician, it was in BHEL that Krishnamurthy first left behind his imprint. Rising through the ranks, the chartered engineer from Karuveli in Tamil Nadu, who got a doctorate in economics from the Soviet Academy of Sciences, went on to be the chairman of the heavy engineering PSU when he was still in his forties. 
In 1977, Krishnamurthy went on to be appointed heavy industries secretary, where he is credited with bringing some management concepts even into government functioning. When Indira Gandhi returned to power, she turned to Krishnamurthy to revive her small car project. After Maruti, Rajiv Gandhi decided to use Krishnamurthy’s services in turning around SAIL.

He then went on to become amember of Planning Commission in 1991-92, and subsequently headed the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) during the UPA regime. He had a stint in Planning Commission in the 1950s too, when he worked on power projects. Krishnamurthy also had his share of controversies including a CBI investigation, which led to his detention for three weeks in 1992. He was later acquitted.

“V Krishnamurthy was my mentor right from the time I started work and right through my entire career. He had an important role to play in helping me build TVS Motor company,” said TVS chairman Venu Srinivasan.