Konda Vishweshwar Reddy

Konda Vishweshwar Reddy (born 26 February 1960) is an Engineer, Entrepreneur, Politician and an elected Member of Parliament from Chevella, Telangana. He won the 2014 Indian general election being a Telangana Rashtra Samithi candidate. He joined the Indian National Congress in 2018. He is the Senior Leader of Congress. He is the grandson of Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy after whom the district Ranga Reddy was named.

Konda Vishweshwar Reddy is the only Parliamentarian from India to be granted a US patent while serving as Member of Parliament. He is the current richest Member of Indian Parliament from Telangana with declared assets of worth INR 528 cr according to Deccan Chronicle. He is married to Sangita Reddy, daughter of Apollo Hospitals founder Prathap C. Reddy.

He was born in Hyderabad, then Andhra Pradesh, India to Jayalatha and Konda Madhava Reddy, Former Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. His paternal grandfather was a Telangana freedom fighter and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy.

He is an engineer from the University of Madras, College of Engineering Guindy. He has a master's degree in engineering from the United States of America and worked as an adjunct faculty at New Jersey Institute of Technology, N.J. and Essex County College, Newark.

As an engineer by profession, he had worked as an adjunct faculty in the New Jersey Institute of Technology, N.J., Essex County College, Newark, U.S. He is a successful software entrepreneur; he founded Citadel Research & Solutions, a company involved in engineering research and development. He was involved in the creations of several IPRs. As a professional, he worked for General Electric as the CEO and managing director of GE MSIT and as the CEO and managing director Wipro HCIT Wipro.

Recognitions

• Granted US Patent on "Transfer Belt Mechanism Associated with Patient Transfer Gurney System (India & US)"
• Patent Filed on "Support Structure and arrangement for Parabolic Mirrors used in Concentrating Solar Power"
• Patent Filed on " Patient Transfer Trolley"
• Patent Filed on " Transfer Belt Mechanism Associated with Patient Transfer Gurney System"
• Patent Filed on " Lighting for Sports Stadiums and Outdoor Arenas"
• Patent Filed on " Cost Effective and Transportable Lighting for Outdoor Arenas"
• Patent Filed on " Rodless Cylinder with Longitudinal Slit and ‘L’ shaped Load Transmitting Element"
• Granted Copy Rights on "HiPar – Pharmaceutical and Drug Knowledge-based Software"
• Granted Copy Rights on "HIRePS – Hospital information and Resources Planning Software"
• Granted Copy Rights on "HICoRe – Health Care India Consumable Registry Software"

Interests and Activities

An ardent sports enthusiast, he is actively involved in adventure sports like White water Kayaking, Rafting, Rock-climbing, Trekking, Dirt Bikes, Kite Surfing, Exploring rivers, and Old Forts. He is passionate about painting and is also a music lover. Further,

• Member of the AV Educational Society, Hyderabad.
• Trustee of Justice Konda Madhava Reddy Foundation.
• Member Alumni College of Engineering, Guindy, University of Madras.
• Founder Trustee of Progressive Telangana Foundation.
• Executive Council member of The Institute of Health Systems (Hyderabad)
• Member of Save the Rocks Society.
• Member of Secunderabad Club, Nizam Club, Country Club, India Habitat Centre (New Delhi)
• Founding member and trustee of Hyderabad 10K Run Foundation

Political career

Mr. Konda Visweswar Reddy was greatly influenced by the political scenario prevailing in the early 1960s while growing up in his grandfather's house, a hub for Telangana's political stalwarts, educationists, lawyers, poets, social reformers, farmers and was undoubtedly the birthplace of the movement for a separate statehood for the region of Telangana. As a witness to the injustice meted out to the region of Telangana, he was sensitized at an early age to the problems and concerns of the people of the region. In addition to being a successful Engineer and an Entrepreneur, his involvement in various social work activities and his exposure to people from various walks of life have enthused him into serving the people of his region and reaching out to them. With extensive knowledge on the dynamics of the Telangana region, the exploitation of people of the region in terms of irrigation, finance, socio-economic benefits, education, etc., and as the founding Chairman of Progressive Telangana Foundation, participated in discussions through various forums on Telangana and its case and also presented it before the Justice Srikrishna Committee. He came to the forefront of Telangana Separate State Movement in early 2007. Further, he joined politics in 2013 on the persistent invitation from Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Party. Further, he won the Member of Parliament seat from Chevella Lok Sabha constituency in 2014 General Elections by over a margin of 75,000 votes. He resigned from Telangana Rashtra Samithi on 21 November 2018 and joined Indian National Congress on 23 November 2018 in the presence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Policy Influence

• Convener of WASH Legislative Forum of Parliamentarians. WASH stands for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. WASH-LF is supported by UNICEF working of various issues related to sanitation.
• Convener of Parliamentarians' Group for Children to UNICEF India

Thermal Energy Storage - A solution for leveling the electric load

Storing the energy (cold thermal mass) during the off-peak electricity load and utilizing the stored energy for air-conditioning during peak load will help in leveling the electricity load curve. This can increase the revenues of DISCOMs and GENCOs while also being an environmentally friendly measure. Promoting this in the form of subsidies in the tariffs or any other form will help the Power sector.

Biogas - A solution for India's energy deficit

India has unused energy sources - animal dung, farm waste, etc.- in abundance. These sources if utilized at a local level in the form of biogas can create wonders. Bio-gas has the potential to replace the use of LPG in villages. This can solve the micro and macro-economic problems of India. On one end it can help the government to get rid of the subsidies on LPG and on the other end, India's trade deficit can be reduced significantly. Encouraging the construction and usage of biogas plants will be helpful.

Youth Apprenticeship - A solution for making youth employable

The goal of this program is to give an opportunity and exposure to the rural youth, instill confidence & attitude, and develop multi-skills in them. For the past 10 years, I have been training rural youth that are SSC pass in various skills from Motor Driving to Typing, Masonry to Boating, Account to Cooking and organizing adventure sports. Youngsters with multi-skills are more employable and earning better salaries through their multi-skill apprenticeship.

Community Clubs

With a vision to cultivate and promote sense of belonging in the community, he is constructing 50 Youth and Community Clubs with MPLADS funds across RangaReddy and Vikarabad districts of Telangana. These clubs are built and operated by the local youth who organize events at the club not only for their own growth but also for a well rounded development of the community by involving all men and women of all ages. The activities range fromconducting painting competitions for children to training women in new cooking styles to organizing Yoga classes for senior citizens to help learn and excel in Table Tennis. These clubs also serve as storage facilities for farm produce and as venue for events and functions for the locals for cheapest rates.

Swacch Trucks

With an aim to turn villages into Open Defecation Free areas and provide clean and usable toilets to all 900 schools in my constituency I have come with an innovative solution to keep the school toilets clean. The solution consists of a Mini Truck equipped with cleaning supplies and a trained Sanitary Technician who travels to various schools in the region to clean the toilets daily.The program uses available technology not only to keep the school toilets clean but also to boost the employment opportunities for the local youth. Through the program, each Sanitary Unit in the program cleans school toilets in about 28-30 villages while providing 1 full-time / 2 part-time jobs to the local youth with respectable earning that is no less than a job in an urban setting.

Rural Employment Through Rural Tourism

Rural Kayaking and Boating project is a result of a thought that creating employment for the youth in the very locality they live in. This not only stops migration to Urban areas in the name of employment that is making the rural youth more poor, but also adding the quality time families could spend together while minimizing the travel one does to work.Over 30 youngsters from the village of Kotepally are now serving the urban dwellers that are searching for adventure sports by providing them Kayaking and Boating in the Kotepally Lake. JKMR foundation trained these youngsters in Boating and Kayaking and sponsored the boats that made Kotepally an adventure sports and rural tourism destination.

• The need for urgent innovation in WASH | Konda Vishweshwar Reddy | TEDxWalledCity

He is married to Sangita Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals. He has three sons Anindith, Vishwajith and Viraj.