FlorenciaMacDevi at 19:57, 16 April 2026

2026-04-16T19:57:04Z

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{{Short description|Indian civil servant and government official}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_suffix =
| name = C. R. Krishnaswamy Rao
| image = The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting the Padma Vibhushan Award – 2006 to Shri Colathur Rama Krishnaswamy Rao Sahib, a distinguished bureaucrat, in New Delhi on March 20, 2006.jpg
| caption = President Dr. [[A.P.J. Abdul Kalam]] presenting the [[Padma Vibhushan]] to Krishnaswamy Rao in 2006
| birth_name = Colathur Rama Krishnaswamy Rao Sahib
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1927|02|02}}
| birth_place = [[Madras]], [[British India]]<ref>{{cite book|title=India International Centre Quarterly, Volume 34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3xDAAAAYAAJ|page=189|publisher=India International Centre|year=2007|quote=C.R. KRISHNASWAMY RAO SAHIB was born in Chennai in 1927, joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1950 and became a member of the Andhra Pradesh cadre.}}</ref>
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2013|02|12|1927|02|02}}<ref name=obit>{{cite news|author=Special Correspondent |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/cr-krishnaswamy-rao-sahib-passes-away/article4409702.ece |title=NATIONAL / ANDHRA PRADESH : C.R. Krishnaswamy Rao Sahib passes away |newspaper=The Hindu |date=2013-02-13 |access-date=2013-02-14}}</ref>
| death_place = [[Madras]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| order =
| office = 15th [[Cabinet Secretary of India]]
| term_start = 30 April 1981
| term_end = 8 February 1985
| predecessor = [[S S Grewal]]
| prime_minister = [[Indira Gandhi]] <br/> [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
| successor = [[P. K. Kaul]]
| alma_mater = [[Presidency College, Chennai]]
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| spouse = Lalitha
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| awards = [[Padma Vibhushan]] (2006),<br /> Great Maratha Award (2009)
| signature = C.R.Krishnaswamy_Rao_signature.jpg
| signature_alt = CRK Rao sign
| website =
}}

'''Colathur Rama Krishnaswamy Rao Sahib''' (2 February 1927 – 12 February 2013)<ref name=obit/> was an Indian [[civil servant]] who served as [[Cabinet Secretary of India|15th Cabinet Secretary of India]] from 1981-1985. He also served as the Secretary to Prime Minister [[Charan Singh]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Cabinet Secretaries|url=http://cabsec.nic.in/about_cabinet.php|access-date=21 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310080436/http://cabsec.nic.in/about_cabinet.php|archive-date=10 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> when [[Indira Gandhi]] became the Prime Minister of [[India]]. He was awarded the second highest civilian honor of India, [[Padma Vibhushan]] in 2006, besides the ''Great Maratha Award'' in 2009.<ref name="maratha award">{{cite news | url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/03/stories/2009050360010400.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507173747/http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/03/stories/2009050360010400.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 May 2009 | title=Less scope for young bureaucrats to contribute to policy-making | newspaper=[[The Hindu]] | date=9 May 2009 | access-date=9 June 2012}}</ref> His maternal grandfather was [[R. Ramachandra Rao]], Collector of Nellore, who helped [[Srinivasa Ramanujan]] during the latter's formative years.

==Life==
Krishnaswamy Rao Sahib was born in a prominent [[Deshastha Brahmin|Deshastha Madhva Brahmin]] family on 2 February 1927 in [[Madras]], [[British India]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Who's who in Madras: ... A Pictorial Who's who of Distinguished Personages, Princes, Zemindars and Noblemen in the Madras Presidency, Issue 9|year = 1937|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykHVAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Pearl Press|page=246|quote= Rao Sahib; Belongs to the Desastha Madhwa Community.}}</ref> The family is connected to [[Arni Jagir]] family, Rao Sahib belongs to the junior branch of the Colathur family. Rao Sahib became a family title when the [[Sultanate of Bijapur]] conferred it on his ancestor Vedaji Bhaskar Rao Pant. His maternal grandfather was [[R. Ramachandra Rao]], Collector of Nellore, who helped [[Srinivasa Ramanujan]] during the latter's formative years.<ref>{{cite book|title=Feature Writing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=buROw5DD6wsC&pg=PA137|page=137|author=N. Meera Raghavendra Rao|date = 12 September 2012|publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.|isbn = 9788120345799|access-date=12 September 2012}}</ref> Rao Sahib attended [[P.S. Higher Secondary School]] before receiving [[Bachelor of Science]] in physics from the [[Presidency College, Chennai]].<ref>{{cite book|title=India International Centre Quarterly, Volume 34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3xDAAAAYAAJ|page=189|publisher=India International Centre|year=2007}}</ref> Rao Sahib joined [[Indian Administrative Service]] on 1 February 1950.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Civil List of the Indian Administrative Service, Volume 28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9rstzteqBEC|publisher=The Ministry|year=1983|page=2}}</ref>

==Accolades==
He was also a great [[visionary]]. [[Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam]] credits him with propelling the idea of Integrated Guided Missile Programme of India during the 1980s, when there was tremendous criticism from the Armed forces that, not a single missile had been successfully developed so far.<ref>{{cite news|title=APJ Abdul Kalam credits Indira Gandhi for Agni-V missile success story|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/apj-abdul-kalam-hails-indira-gandhi-for-agni-v-success-100264-2012-04-25|access-date=21 June 2012|newspaper=The Times of India|date=26 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Address to the Civil Service Officers 7th Civil Service Day|url=http://www.abdulkalam.com/kalam/jsp/display_content_front.jsp?menuid=28&menuname=Speeches%20/%20Lectures&linkid=68&linkname=Recent&content=2063&columnno=0&starts=0&menu_image=-|publisher=Abdul Kalam|date=21 April 2012|access-date=21 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104212656/http://www.abdulkalam.com/kalam/jsp/display_content_front.jsp?menuid=28&menuname=Speeches%20%2F%20Lectures&linkid=68&linkname=Recent&content=2063&columnno=0&starts=0&menu_image=-|archive-date=4 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{cquote|That was the time, Shri Krishnaswamy Rao Sahib made a remark which is still ringing in my mind. He said "Hon'ble Minister sir, I heard all the discussion. But I would like to convey one thing. The time has come, we have to take a decision, exploring new path with courage. We should not be mixed-up with the past. Presently, we are seeing a committed passionate leadership for the missile programme. I consider that all the missiles should be developed, simultaneously in an integrated way." ..... The total orders to the production agency for Prithvi, Agni, Akash missiles and the BrahMos first of its kind supersonic cruise missile are valued over 93 lakh crore. Such is the power of single vision of our political and bureaucratic leadership.
| author = [[Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam]]
}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, C. R. Krishnaswamy}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Nellore]]
[[Category:Cabinet secretaries of India]]
[[Category:Rai Sahibs]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service]]
[[Category:Indian Administrative Service officers]]

C. R. Krishnaswamy Rao Sahib - Revision history

FlorenciaMacDevi at 19:57, 16 April 2026