Dear dignitaries on and off the stage, brothers and sisters

It is indeed a matter of great pride and privilege for me to be here today to participate in this function and to release the biography of one of the true doyens of Indian industry.

Today is an opportunity to celebrate the life and contribution of Dr. A Ramakrishna, posthumous winner of the Padma Bhushan, the nation’s third highest civilian award. This biography is in many ways an acknowledgement and recognition of his tremendous contribution towards finding the rightful place for the Indian construction industry in the world.

His is also a story of evolution, of promises kept, of dreams realized, of hopes fulfilled.

The biography introduces us to a man with great sagacity, sharp intellect and refined engineering orientation. Dr. Ramakrishna had the ability to quickly grasp issues, understand their nuances and impact and arrive at innovative solutions rapidly. His thinking and his approach were far ahead of his times with the result that he was able to endow the erstwhile old world construction industry with a verve, instil in it a freshness that made the world look at it through a new lens.

His is also the story of a pioneering spirit. As is the case with great thinkers, the mundane bored Dr. Ramakrishna; the usual and the ordinary did not hold his attention for long. A restless mind, he was forever seeking new ways, finding new paths, engineering new solutions. His natural inclination to question gave him the opportunity, the latitude and the freedom to think new, think big and think beyond the ordinary. His mind soared to new heights and strove to find new paradigms. For him, problems were always opportunities to rewrite the rules of the game, to overturn convention and create new vistas of achievement. Such iconoclastic thinkers are often isolated and left to plough a lone furrow by the loftiness of their thoughts.That, fortunately, was not so with Dr. Ramakrishna.

Though he discovered new paths, he found enough traction with those around him to accompany him on those new paths; he had that wonderful ability to take people along with him selling them his own brand of dreams that they were readily willing to buy into. He was a leader by example, a motivator, an inspiration for his colleagues to reach for the sky with him.

As the conductor of an orchestra of designers, architects, engineers and workers, Dr. Ramakrishna had the capability to explain interfaces openly and thoughtfully. A great communicator, his warmth and empathy were overwhelming, ever willing to explore a fresh perspective, engage a contrarian view, discuss and debate it threadbare and willing to alter his stand point if convinced. Truly, the traits of a born leader.

His vision was as large as it was far-sighted and, more importantly, he was able to articulate it perfectly to all around infusing them with his passion, drive and enthusiasm.

A man of considerable learning, he loved to dispense his wisdom to those who rubbed shoulders with him or had the privilege of working under him. He was a fountain of new thinking, always contemplating fresh perspectives, exploring hitherto untried approaches.

His freshness of thought and approach cast him as a leader of rare quality and calibre.It is therefore hardly surprising that he was able to guide the fortunes of ECC, the organization he headed, setting a growth trajectory that took it to new heights. His far-sighted and visionary leadership transformed the organization. ECC emerged as one of the biggest and most respected construction organizations in the country.

He believed in the intrinsic strength of his people and thus was bold in his forays, confident of his own and his team’s capabilities. Under his tutelage, the business grew and grew and as the size, scale and complexity of L&T’s projects increased, so did Dr. Ramakrishna’s uncanny depth of understanding and width of attention. Not satisfied with his successes within the country, Dr. Ramakrishna set his mind to make overseas conquests and made several successful forays into hitherto untapped markets. He smelt opportunities and triggered the globalization of the business by opening newer vistas for growth, forging fresh relationships and preparing the Company for sterner challenges ahead.

“The Indian construction industry will have to adopt international practices to be globally competitive,” he once declared.

He possessed an extremely rare trait of being able to expertly synthesize innovation and execution. In an industry where execution is key.

The intricacy of the famous Baha’i Temple, often referred to as the modern day Taj Mahal, and the majesty of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Whitefield, Bengaluru are but a couple of examples of his thinking.

Dr. Ramakrishna fathered the application of pre-cast, pre-stressed and tunnel form techniques across the entire gamut of construction right from housing to vaults in nuclear power plants, airports to sports stadia. A fitting tribute to his memory is that several of his new ideas have now become industry norms. Surely, imitation is the best form of flattery.

 

Although a charismatic and inspiring leader who devoted his entire life to making Larsen & Toubro live up to the sobriquet of ‘Builders to the nation’, Dr. Ramakrishna was also an intense family man, a side of him that we have the privilege to see in this book.

 

I take this opportunity to appreciate the sacrifices of his wife and his entire family for having given Dr. Ramakrishna the freedom and opportunity to become such an asset for the country!

Friends, India is on a growth trajectory today. We have highly ambitious plans for the country and a large part of these plans would work only if we build infrastructure, roads, dams, power plants, living spaces, amenities, metro systems, ports, utilities. The progress of any nation depends upon the talent and the commitment of its ‘Vishwakarmas’, its builders.

The economic survey 2018 estimates that India would raise $ 4.5 trillion by 2040 to develop Infrastructure. We have a number of ambitious projects such as the Bharatmala for road transport and Sagarmala for shipping. We are trying to rationalize and balance the construction boom in urban areas and at the same time striving to take infrastructure to rural areas as well. 

Recognizing the importance of railways in aiding and abetting the progress of the nation, we are focusing on expanding and upgrading our rail network. For the first time Northeast India is fully integrated with the rest of India with the entire network converted to broad gauge. It brought Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram on the rail map of India after 70 years of independence! We recently saw how the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim got its long-awaited airport. Situated at a height of 4,500 feet. It was an engineering marvel.

We are also building crores of affordable houses for those who are deprived of a roof over their heads. This is a truly exciting and challenging time for Indian technocrats and builders. In such times, the builders of modern India should draw lessons of inspiration from the life of this great Karmayogi.

Dr. Ramakrishna was inspired by the vision of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to make India a developed nation by 2020 and firmly believed that Government Departments, Indian Industry and Public Institutions can work on a matrix mode for technology development and towards enhancement of public awareness of engineering. 

 

Many both in India and abroad see Dr A Ramakrishna as an exemplary Engineer and Leader who combined technical excellence with honesty, integrity and human values in business.

In conclusion, Dr. Ramakrishna was an institution but what is more remarkable is that he was instrumental in building an institution that will stand testimony to him and his memory long after he is gone! 

Long live his memory!

I take this opportunity to appreciate and congratulate the authors of this great work. Shri. V Pattabhi Ram and Shri. R Mohan. What you have done by capturing the life of Dr. A. Ramakrishna on paper is that you have immortalized the story of his life for the benefit of the future generations of this country. Posterity will thank you for this beautiful work. I understand that Shri. V. Pattabhi Ram is a multifaceted personality and has already authored 8 books and that Mr. Mohan is an accomplished, veteran journalist. I hope this book is just the first in the line of many more exceptional literary works to come.

I wish you all the very best.

 Thank You!

Jai Hind!

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