A.S. Rao - Remembering the Man with a Vision

Today is Dr A. S. Rao's birth anniversary. He was born into the family of a poor peasant from Venkatachalam and Sundaramma in the village of Mogallu in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, he did a master of science (physics) at Benarus Hindu University, where Sarvepally Radhakrishna was the vice-chancellor. The latter recommended him for higher study through the Tata scholarship and he went to Stanford University in the USA to obtain a master's degree in electrical engineering in 1946. 

 Dr Rao returned to India and met Homi J. Bhabha at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (where he was working on cosmic rays and high altitude research) and concentrated on instrumentation design and development electronics. Bhabha took him to the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR) offering him the position of the reader, where he specialized in electronic instrumentation.

He joined the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay In 1953, and was tasked with designing and building APSRA ("Water Nymph" in Sanskrit). Led by Bhabha, Dr. A.S. Rao, N.B. Prasad, Raja Ramannna and L.M. Singhvi worked on the new reactor that became critical on August 4, 1956, in one year, one of the greatest achievements of post-independent India. His first achievement was leading his team to bring APSRA, the first nuclear reactor in India and Asia to a critical stage.

Dr A.S. Rao served on the Bhabha Committee, which provided a blueprint for the development of the electronics industry and accelerated the establishment of Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL). Vikram Sarabhai was the president and Dr A.S. Rao was Managing Director when ECIL was started in 1967. He was Managing Director for 11 years and also won various awards, including the Padmashri award, Padma Bhushan, Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, etc. He died on October 31, 2003, when he was 89 years old. A biography titled The Man with a Vision was written on Rao by his friend D. Mohana Rao.