Hyderabad: Man who powered' a state no more

Hyderabad: T.L. Shankar, who laid the foundation for industrialisation in Andhra Pradesh and was an expert in energy production, died on Wednesday following a stroke and brain haemorrhage. The funeral will be held at Mahaprasthanam in Jubliee Hills on Saturday.  

A 1975 batch IAS officer, Shankar was chairman of the AP Electricity Board, energy adviser to the Planning Commission and headed numerous initiatives of the Centre in the coal, gas, electricity and energy sectors. 

He founded the Andhra Pradesh Technology Services and became a major part of e-governance. First generation entrepreneurs who have made mark from Hyderabad, owe their initiation to Shankar, the Telangana IAS Officers Association said in a tribute. Sankar had a role in public private partnership in power sector and the reforms. He chose to be director general of the National Institute of Rural Development rather than take up a job as Union secretary, director, Institute of Public Enterprises, and Principal, Administrative Staff College of India.  

Sankar had been funding and running his own NGO which was working in the field of solar PV for schools, solar home lighting, children's solar study lamps, solar street lamps, family-size bio-gas plants, clean cooking solutions, ‘smokeless chullahs’ for rural households. mid-day meal cooking stoves etc.