Nara Chandrababu Naidu Bio Data
Nara Chandrababu Naidu (born April 20, 1950) was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh during 1995-2004. He holds the record of being the longest serving chief minister of A. P.
He is currently the leader of the Telugu Desam Party, the largest party in Andhra Pradesh.
Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu was born in the Naravaripally village of Chittoor district on 20th April, 1950. He did his Masters in Economics from the Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. He was working towards a Ph.D. degree at the same university, when he took to politics.
Naidu is married to Mrs. Bhuvaneswari and has a son Lokesh. His father-in-law, the late Mr. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, was one of the most accomplished film actors of Telugu cinema, who later founded the Telugu Desam Party and was also the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Political career
Mr. Naidu was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1978 from the Chandragiri constituency in Chittoor district. He subsequently became a Minister and held the portfolios of Archives, Cinematography, Technical Education, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, Public Libraries and Minor Irrigation between 1980 and 1983. He also served as the Chairman of the State Karshak Parishad, constituted for the first time to look after the welfare of the farming community.
He was elected again to the State Legislature from Kuppam constituency of Chittoor district in 1989. He served as Coordinator of the Telugu Desam Party, in which capacity he effectively handled the party's role of main opposition in the assembly which won him wide appreciation from both the party and the public. His role during this phase both inside the Legislative Assembly and outside was a critical factor for the subsequent success of the party at the hustings.
In 1994, he was re-elected to the Assembly from Kuppam constituency with a large majority of 57,000 votes and held the important portfolios of Revenue and Finance. During this tenure Mr. Naidu systematically introduced transparency in Government, thus breaking the tradition of inordinate secrecy in the Finance department.
Chief Ministership
Sensing that Mrs Lakhmi Parvathi, second wife of N T Rama Rao, was trying to succeed NTR as Chief Minister, Chandra Babu Naidu mobilized the support of Telugu Desam MLAs with the support of the then Speaker Mr Yanamala Ramakrishnudu. Mr. Naidu was announced by the govenor as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on 1 September 1995. NTR died several months later.
Following the elections to the State assembly wherein the Telugu Desam Party led by Mr. Naidu emerged as a winner, he was sworn in on 11 October 1999 as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for the second term. He was elected with a majority of more than 65,000 votes.
Naidu has a modern outlook to administration. His style of functioning is more akin to that of a CEO rather than a traditional politician. Naidu has a firm conviction that modern technology should be used in the service of the common man. Consequently, he lays great emphasis on the use of modern information technology in Government. He would like the State to be run professionally as an efficient organisation rather than as a bureaucracy saddled with red-tape.
Naidu's vision for Andhra Pradesh's Future
Chandrababu's vision for the future includes multidimensional development of all citizens of the State. He has launched new initiatives, like the Janmabhoomi program which aims at achieving excellence in all walks of life and focuses on community building through teamwork.
In order to achieve greater involvement of the people in the implementation of Government programmes, Naidu has been encouraging the concept of social audit, which involves making information available to all citizens about the works being taken up with public funds in their area. Naidu has also taken the initiative for setting up self-help groups like water users associations, for involving farmers in the management of irrigation systems. Other self-help groups like Watershed Development Committees, womens groups, youth groups, Village Education Committees and Village Health Committees have also been set up. These self-help groups have significantly contributed to removing intermediaries and have been widely acknowledged for improving the condition of the poor.
Naidu has initiated an exercise to define Vision 2020 for the state. According to Naidu, "Our vision of Andhra Pradesh is a State where poverty is totally eradicated; where every man, woman and child has access to not just the basic minimum needs, but to all opportunities for leading a happy and fulfilling life; a knowledge and learning society built on the values of hard work, honesty, discipline and a collective sense of purpose." This vision reflects Naidu's forward looking perspective on the state's development, and the details of the vision are proposed to be fine-tuned in consultation with the people on a continuing basis.
In recognition of Naidu's leadership and vision in the field of Information technology, Mr.Naidu was designated as the Co-chairperson of the National Task Force on Information technology set up by the Government of India to prepare the IT road map for the future. The stellar role played by Naidu in promoting Information technology for better governance has been widely recognised, both within and outside the country. Naidu has expedited decision making within the government by making effective use of communication. For example, a videoconferencing unit enables Naidu to simultaneously address all District Collectors or consult the Cabinet ministers on various issues. Naidu has been conducting videoconferences with Collectors on various issues like the power situation, Clean and Green programme, rythu bazaars, monitoring of prices, implementation of road works, sanitation and public health, and law and order. The system has been extremely effective in overcoming the routine bureaucratic delays in the course of responding to issues of immediate public concern .
Naidu is well known for innovative concepts and programmes. The "Dial your Chief Minister" programme, telecast by the Doordarshan Kendra of Hyderabad is one such programme which is telecast every Monday. Naidu addresses the citizens over a large number of issues. A subject is identified for the week and the citizens come up with their problems and communicate it to Naidu . The "Dial your Chief Minister" programme is very popular with the citizens and the viewership of the programme is rated very high.
The Chief Minster has laid a lot of emphasis on water conservation and water harvesting. He has taken up a campaign for sensitising the people of the State and the administration for better management of water to prevent drought situation in the future. Launching of an innovative programme called 'Neeru Meeru, formation of Watershed Committees, promotion of Water Shed development have all been taken up in the State for better management of water on the insistence of Naidu. Water Conservation Mission has been formed as a step in this direction. Inspired by his efforts there has been a voluntary participatory movement amongst the citizens of the State towards water conservation. A number of households have built rain water-harvesting structures towards this cause.
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu has drawn attention and has concentrated on evolving a new way looking at Centre-State finance relations. He has spearheaded the campaign for fiscal federalism in the wake of the recommendations of the Eleventh Finance Commission. He has emphasised on equity and efficiency in the devolution of Central revenues and sharing of resources between the Centre and the States.
Naidu has won numerous awards including 'IT Indian of the Milleneum' (India Today) Business Person of the Year ( Economic Times ) member of the World Economic Forum's Dream Cabinet and South Asian of the Year ( Time Asia ).
Naidu was chosen as one of 50 leaders at the forefront of change in the year 2000 by the Business Week magazine for being an unflinching proponent of technology and for his drive to transform the State.
Chandrababu Naidu has turned author, writing a book on governance. Naidu has penned down his ideas on challenge of governance in the new millennium. Titled 'Plain Speaking', co-authored by Ninan Sevanti, focuses on changing strategies of governance, hurdles in pursuing reforms and the need to break free from the politics of populism.
