Ponnala Lakshmaiah

Ponnala Lakshmaiah (born 15 February 1944) is an Indian politician, he is a member of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). He is a former minister for Information Technology and Communications for the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.[2] He was also a member of the legislative assembly of Andhra Pradesh, and a member of the All India Congress Committee.[3]

In this Telugu name, the surname is Ponnala.

Ponnala Lakshmaiah
President of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee
In office
11 March 2014 – 2 March 2015
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byN. Uttam Kumar Reddy
Minister in Government of Andhra Pradesh
In office
2009–2014
Chief MinisterKonijeti Rosaiah
N. Kiran Kumar Reddy
Ministry and Departments
  • Major Irrigation (2009 – 2010)
  • Information Technology (2010 – 2014)
  • Communications (2010 – 2014)
Member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
In office
1999–2014
Preceded byCharagonda Raji Reddy
ConstituencyJangaon
In office
1985–1989
Preceded byAsireddy Narsimha Reddy
Succeeded byCharagonda Raji Reddy
ConstituencyJangaon
Personal details
Born
Ponnala Lakshmaiah

(1944-02-15) 15 February 1944
Quilashahpur, Hyderabad State, British Indian Empire
(modern-day Telangana, India)[1]
Nationality British Indian (1944-1947)
 Indian (1947-present)
Political partyBharat Rashtra Samithi
Other political
affiliations		Indian National Congress
SpousePonnala 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 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]

He served four terms in the Assembly from the Jangaon Constituency in Warangal District.

On 11 March 2014, he was named president of the newly created Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC).

On 13 October 2023, he submitted his resignation to the Indian National Congress(INC).[8]

On 16 October 2023, he joined Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).[9]

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.[10]

Awards

References
  1. "Profile of Ponnala Lakshmaiah - Jangaon". hello ap. 2011-02-03.
  2. "Ponnala abandons visit to Babli site". The Hindu. 6 April 2007. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. 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. Mitra, Anwesha (13 October 2023). "In major setback, Ponnala Lakshmaiah quits Congress ahead of Telangana polls". mint. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  9. Bureau, The Hindu (16 October 2023). "Ponnala Lakshmaiah joins BRS in Jangaon, says insult by Congress leadership led to his decision". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  10. "Ponnala Foundation Mathematics Genius Award". TSI. 2016-04-11.
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