B. V. Rao

Banda Vasudev Rao Yadav (19351996) was an Indian entrepreneur and agriculturalist, considered by many as the father of the poultry industry in India. He founded the V H Group, an Indian poultry industry conglomerate, in 1971. He was also the founder chairman of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 1990. His company directly employed around 5000 employees by 1996. When he died, the combined fortune of his family was $325 million (1300 crore).

Early and personal life B. V. Rao was born into a Yadav (Modati golla ) family on 6 November 1935 at Chanchalguda,Saidabad Upperguda 500023 in Hyderabad, in the Princely Indian state of Hyderabad (presently in Telangana).

When the price of eggs went down in the early 1980s, Rao gathered farmers together and founded the National Egg Coordination Committee in 1982 and became the first chairman. He was also associated with the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA) and headed the India chapter from 1993 to 1996. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 1990. The World Poultry Science Association inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2004.