Mullapudi Harischandra Prasad passes away

M. Somasekhar (Business Line)

Mr. Mullapudi Harischandra Prasad, during an interaction with Business Line. File Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

Hyderabad, Sept 3:

Mullapudi Harischandra Prasad, the doyen of industry in Andhra Pradesh, passed away today at the age of 91. He was the Chairman and Managing Director of Andhra Sugars, which he founded in August 1947.

Andhra Sugars, located in the coastal rich town of Tanuku in West Godavari district also contributed to India's space programme. Driven by the passion of self-reliance espoused by Mr Harishchandra Prasad, the company developed the propellant fuel for the rocket boosters of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Mr Harischandra Prasad also started Andhra Petrochemicals Limited, which was amongst the first in the chemical sector. Known for his employee friendly management and fostering entrepreneurship among people, Mr Harischandra Prasad served as the President of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI).

Known for his philanthropy and help for the people in the district, Mr Harishchandra Prasad became an MLA and was close to the late N.T. Rama Rao. He was ailing for the past week and was admitted to the corporate hospital in Hyderabad.

Condoling his death, the FAPCCI said “His contribution is so significant that he is often called Andhra Birla. He pioneered the setting up of several industries in the State”.

Mullapudi Harischandra Prasad dead

Special Correspondent(The Hindu)

M. Harischandra Prasad

Named ‘Andhra Birla', he was doyen of industry in Andhra Pradesh

Mullapudi Harischandra Prasad (91), a doyen of industry in Andhra Pradesh, passed away while undergoing treatment in a corporate hospital here on Saturday.

Harischandra Prasad was admitted to the Care Hospital a few days ago for treatment of a kidney ailment where he breathed his last this afternoon. He is survived by wife, five daughters, and three sons. His body has been shifted to his native Tanuku in West Godavari for performing the last rites.

First generation entrepreneur

A first generation entrepreneur, Harischandra Prasad was born in an agricultural family in 1921. A leading light in the State's industrial history, named as ‘Andhra Birla' of yesteryears, Prasad ventured into the sugar industry by setting Andhra Sugars in 1947 in Tanuku to help sugarcane growers.

Andhra Sugars grew into a giant in due course as, in Harischandra Prasad's own words, the unit focussed on commercial exploitation of by-products and cutting down cost of production.

First aspirin factory

He assiduously built a business empire over the last six decades expanding operations into new areas like setting up the country's first aspirin factory and a rocket fuel unit that supplied fuel to the Indian Space Research Organisation.

He ventured into spinning and textiles business later and was Managing Director of Andhra Petrochemicals Limited.

Not content with being an industrialist, he entered politics and was elected as MLA from Tanuku twice in 1955 and 1961. He became the first chairman of the Tanuku municipality in 1981 and was closely associated with the Telugu Desam Party since its inception in 1982.

Quality education

Harischandra Prasad also took upon himself the task of providing quality education to people. He established a polytechnic college in Tanuku and was among the founding fathers of the Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada, an institution of repute in the medical education.