HYDERABAD: Padma Shri awardee and NCC Limited founder and chairman emeritus Dr Alluri Venkata Satyanarayana Raju, popularly known as Dr AVS Raju, passed away in Hyderabad on Tuesday. He was 89.
A pioneering entrepreneur, visionary leader, poet and philanthropist, Raju was born on April 18, 1937, in Antarvedipalem village in the erstwhile East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
He began his business journey in 1956 and founded Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) Limited in 1978. The company became a public limited company in 1990 and grew into one of India’s leading listed construction firms.
Raju was also a prolific poet with deep devotion to Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He penned more than 25,000 poems on diverse subjects, including over 24,000 verses dedicated to Puttaparthi Sri Sathya Sai Baba across 42 volumes.
His literary achievement earned him a place in the Guinness World Records in 2008 for the largest single-volume book of poems on Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He was conferred the Padma Shri in 2010 in the Trade and Industry category. Acharya Nagarjuna University awarded him a Doctor of Letters degree in 2008 in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of learning and the promotion of human values.
The board of directors, management and employees of NCC Limited condoled his death.