Ponnala Lakshmaiah

Ponnala Lakshmaiah (born 15 February 1944) is an Indian politician, who served as the minister for Information Technology and Communications for the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.[2] He was also a member of the legislature assembly of Andhra Pradesh, and a member of the All India Congress Committee.[3] He was named President of the newly created Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) on 11 March 2014. Ponnala Lakshmaiah served four terms in the Assembly from the Jangaon Constituency in Warangal District.

This is a Telugu name; the family name is Ponnala.

Ponnala Lakshmaiah
Gandhi Bhavan, Nampally, Hyderabad
Telangana State
ConstituencyJangaon
President, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee
Personal details
Born
Ponnala Lakshmaiah

(1944-02-15) 15 February 1944
Quilashahpur, Warangal District, Hyderabad State, British Indian Empire
(modern-day Telangana, India)[1]
Nationality British Indian (1944-1947)
 Indian (1947-present)
Political partyIndian National Congress
Spouse(s)Ponnala Arunadevi

Early life

Ponnala Lakshmaiah was born in the village of Quilashahpur, located in the heart of the Telangana region, into the Telugu-speaking Hindu family of Ponnala Radha (Radhamma) and Ponnala Rama Kishtaiah. He is married to Ponnala Arunadevi and has two children. He earned his M. S. Mechanical Engineering degree from Oklahoma State University in 1969.[4][5]

Having come in contact with the World Bank and its programs for developing countries, he was attracted by rural development projects in India. He returned to India and worked to generate rural employment in the region of his birthplace. With his first project, he made improvements in areas such as poultry breeding, helping employ thousands of uneducated people. He also promoted the development of the dairy industry.[6]

Political career

In 1980, Ponnala began working with the Congress Party. In 1985, as a sign of protest against the crimes perpetrated by TDP workers against the local Harijans of Karamchedu (Prakasam District) and the indifferent attitude of the state government, he organized a public protest. In the 1992 Congress Plenary session at Tirupati, he successfully handled the foreign delegates, including prime ministers of neighboring countries.

In 1986, he launched a protest under the name "Samagra Pochampad Karyacharana Samithi" and worked with District Leaders to modify the irrigation scheme to benefit the chronically drought-prone area. Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao laid the foundation on 30 June 1993. The project was under execution in "Jalayagnam" at a cost of Rs. 30 billion.[7]

Ponnala Foundation

Ponnala Lakshmaiah said that the Ponnala Foundation started by him would give away awards to mathematics genius every year in memory of the Indian math genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, in order to promote the subject among children.[8]

Awards
  • Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Alumnus - Oklahoma State University (School of business) - Hall of Fame

References
  1. "Profile of Ponnala Lakshmaiah - Jangaon". hello ap. 2011-02-03.
  2. "Ponnala abandons visit to Babli site". The Hindu. 6 April 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  3. "Council of Ministers" Archived 8 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. APOnline.
  4. Andhra minister visits Oklahoma State University | IndiaPost
  5. Ponnala Lakshmaiah
  6. "IT incubation tower flagged off in Warangal". Times of India. 2013-03-25.
  7. "IT growth unaffected by protests: Ponnala". The Hindu. 2013-09-15.
  8. "Ponnala Foundation Mathematics Genius Award". TSI. 2016-04-11.
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