T.R. Prasad

T. R. Prasad, is a bureaucrat from Andhra Pradesh, India, who worked as cabinet secretary and defense secretary in the national government.[1]

He was of 1963 batch of Indian Administrative Service from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, was also the member of 12th Finance Commission and director of several companies including the scam-tainted company Satyam Computer Services Ltd from which he resigned when Byrraju Ramalinga Raju admitted accounting fraud.[2][3][4]

Biography

Tata Ramachnandraprasad, popularly known as T. R. Prasad, hails from Nidubrolu town of Guntur District. He was born on July 15, 1941 to T. V. Subbaiah and Devudamma. Initially educated at Loyola College Vijayawada, Prasad holds a masters degree in Physics (Electronics) from Banaras University. He is a lifetime fellow of the Institute of Engineers (FIE).[5]

He was appointed as Union cabinet secretary on November 1, 2000, during the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.[6] As he approached mandatory retirement at the age of 60, Vajpayee's government amended legislation to enable the government to extend the tenure of a cabinet secretary beyond that age by a period as government considers appropriate.[7][8][9] Prasad retired as cabinet secretary on October 31, 2002.[10]

Twelfth Finance Commission

During his stint as member of Twelfth Finance Commission, Prasad pointed out the India is almost 13 times below FDI of China due to backwardness in education and infrastructure which are key ingredients for growth. He also called for new fiscal reforms to stabilise growth and governance on the lines proposed by Kelkar task force.[11] He also called for political leadership in India to lift itself above the party and sectarian interests for India's success in moving towards the new triangular paradigm: growth, governance and fiscal reforms.[11] He was the member of Finance Commission till December 31, 2004, in the rank of minister of state.

Administrative career

Prasad's administrative career comprised:[5]

Board of Director

He was a member of the board of directors of several companies such as:[5]

Satyam

He was an independent director[12] of Satyam Computer Services when that company was hit by a scandal related to false accounting that saw its founder and chairman, Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, resign.[13][14]

Prasad did not immediately resign when the news broke but instead tried to steady the company.[15] He blamed PricewaterhouseCoopers, the audit firm, and Raju for keeping the board of directors in the dark. When pressure mounted on him from various places across corporate India and also the government, he resigned not just from Satyam Computers but also from other directorships.[16]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News
  2. ↑ Raju resigns, admits Rs 8,000 cr fraud
  3. ↑ No inkling of Satyam’s financial mess: T.R. Prasad
  4. ↑ T R Prasad resigns from 4 firm boards
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Corporate Executives & Directors Search Directory
  6. ↑ T.R. Prasad is new Cabinet Secy
  7. ↑ India Today Magazine
  8. ↑ rediff.com: T R Prasad to continue as cabinet secretary till next October
  9. ↑ www.outlookindia.com | The Highest Bidda
  10. ↑ Cabinet Secretariat - Cabinet Secretaries Since 1950
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `States passing through financial crisis'
  12. ↑ T.R.Prasad appointed as Independent Director on April 2007 in Satyam Computer Services Ltd
  13. ↑ TR Prasad's 6th resignation; this time it's Taj
  14. ↑ Satyam Fiasco
  15. ↑ TR Prasad, other Satyam directors blame PwC
  16. ↑ TR Prasad's 6th resignation; this time it's Taj Gvk Hotels