OUR GUESTS TODAY

Shri C.H. Vidyasagar Rao took charge as Governor of Maharashtra on August 30, 2014. He brings with him a vast and varied experience of public service.

A senior leader from Telangana, Shri Vidyasagar Rao has served as Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and subsequently as Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in the government led by Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee from 1999-2004.

Shri Vidyasagar Rao was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha from Karimnagar constituency in the year 1998 for the first time. In 1999, he was elected as President of the state unit of the BJP. He was re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha in the year 1999.

As an MLA, he was successful in piloting a private member’s bill in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly that sought stringent punishment for practising bigamy. His padayatra to Ichampalli in the year 1998, highlighting the need to utilise Godavari waters for people of Telangana, led the government to consider the project seriously.

Vidyasagar Rao obtained his LLB degree from the Law College of Osmania University where he was also elected as the President of the Students’ Union. He was actively associated with the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for many years. He also served as President of Jan Sangh and subsequently as President of the Janata Party in Karimnagar district.

 

Rajashree Birla is an exemplar in the area of community initiatives and rural development. A role model, Mrs. Birla spearheads the Aditya Birla Centre
for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, the group’s apex body responsible for development projects.

She oversees the group’s social and welfare driven work across 40 companies. The Aditya Birla Group runs 18 hospitals
and 52 schools; 45,000 students belong to underprivileged communities. Thousands of under-served people receive free treatment at these hospitals. The footprint of the Centre’s work straddles over 5,000 villages, reaching out to 7.5 million people.

Mrs. Birla is the Chairperson of FICCI – Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence, Habitat for Humanity (India) and is on the Board of Asia Pacific Committee as well as Habitat’s Global Committee. She is the Chairperson of FICCI’s first ever Expert Committee constituted on CSR. She is member on the advisory board of “The Research Society for the Care,
Treatment and Training of Children in Need of Special Care”, Mumbai, and of BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune. As a patron of arts and culture, she heads the Sangit Kala Kendra, a centre for performing arts, as its President.

Among the many distinctive awards bestowed upon her is the Padma Bhushan, given to her by the Government of India in 2011.

 

PRIP (2011-12) Kalyan Banerjee
has been marshalling his energies for Rotary since 1972, when he joined the fledgling Club in his hometown of Vapi,
India

Around the same time, he co-founded United Phosphorous Limited, to produce red phosphorous, an essential ingredient in fertilizer. Under his leadership, the company blossomed and Vapi, due in no small part to the work of the local Rotary Club, has been transformed into a major industrial centre.

Amongst his many services to Rotary, PRIP Rtn. Kalyan Banerjee has also been Director, Rotary International (1995-97), Trustee, The Rotary Foundation (2001- 05) and Trustee member, The Rotary Foundation (2013-17).

Over the last four decades, Kalyan has served Rotary as District Governor, President’s Representative, Committee and Task Force Chair, Rotary Foundation Trustee, and Director. He also has been a Member of the International PolioPlus
Committee, heading up initiatives that have spurred Rotary’s polio eradication efforts in India.

 

DG Shashikumar Sharma makes miracles happen. Born and brought up in Mumbai, DG Rtn. Shashikumar Sharma was from a family with a textile business.

His career began via the Tata group. He was President of the Printing Industry of India and is presently managing a printing and export house. He is also Chairman PAMEX – an international exhibition organised by AIFMP like DRUPA at Germany. He has submitted papers on printing at various international fora.

He joined the Rotary Club of Bombay Hanging Garden in 1993 and was dedicatedly involved in RYE, senior citizen welfare, vocational service, medical and non-medical service, and recognised as Best Rotarian and Best Director.

During his presidential year, the Club was ranked second in per capita foundation giving (TRF) and third in annual fundraising. He was deeply involved in the polio eradication programme. He carried out PR activity for a US$ 200 million thrust area fund collection. He is a Major Donor level 2. He is happily married to Rita and both are blessed
with two daughters Manisha and Neha.