Dr. Rao’s illustrious journey began from a small village in Andhra Pradesh where he was born in the year 1940 to Shrimati Somidevamma and Shri Seetaramaihaia.

Coming from a freedom fighter’s family that had to strive to make two ends meet made him conscious of social and development issues of the country at a very young age. He realised academic excellence was the way to support his family overcome poverty and fulfil his desire for bringing change in the country.

Deeply involved in politics since his Andhra University days, he went on to study political science, journalism and social development. After getting his master’s degrees, he was the first in his family to be selected to go to United States for a doctorate degree in Mass Communication. He did his Ph.D. in Inter- State Conflicts at Iowa University. During his studies in the US, he was also deeply inspired by his meeting and involvement with Dr Martin Luther King Jr. The international exposure helped him to see the potential of media and social research and its ability to impact development issues.

Being a patriot, Dr.Rao returned to India in the year 1970 with zeal to serve his country. He joined ORG, India’s first independent research outfit. He served as the President of ORG until 1989. He also served as an advisor to Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, GOI, and number of other national and International organisations like World Bank, ADB, NIHFP, IIMC, etc.

Working in these esteemed institutions helped him build a vision for media and social research in the country. This vision of how research could contribute in building a nation has been a strong driving force for all his initiatives. He pioneered and founded several outstanding institutions in an effort to encourage new thinking in the country. He was the Convenor of India’s first Social Audit Panel for Ministry of Communication and later Ministry of Environment and Forests, GOI. He was also founder member of a several independent organisations and Institutions like FORE, STEM, MICA and BREAD. Dr Rao has played an active role in the Andhra Pradesh state and national politics, as strategic adviser and political analyst.

Dr. Rao is credited for giving fillip to Applied Social Science Research in India with his innumerable research studies of significance on a variety of subjects spanning well over five decades. He is credited for large-scale sample surveys in India, including Retail Audits, National Readership Surveys, and Opinion Polls.

Dr. Rao is credited for giving fillip to Applied Social Science Research in India with his innumerable research studies of significance on a variety of subjects spanning well over five decades. He is credited for large-scale sample surveys in India, including Retail Audits, National Readership Surveys, and Opinion Polls.

Dr Rao’s journey from Mudunuru village to becoming a well-known research based advocate for good governance, in the corridors of power; has always been marked with his philanthropic spirit. Giving back to society has been an important part of his life and he has never lost sight of his roots either. His initiatives and experiments in his village Mudunuru include starting a primary school for Dalit children and a multipurpose Mahila Mandal building. The small school for Dalit children continues to be operational with regular support from him. He also introduced computers to the government school in the village and started series of libraries for primary and secondary schools. Annually, on his parent’s death anniversary, he has special programs in his village including a community lunch and scholarships for girls to complete their education. He works tirelessly to strengthen local institutions like libraries and schools in the region.