Srinivas University – The Genesis

Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world; by devotion to selfless work one attains the supreme goal of life. Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind – Bhagvad Gita.

All good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine. What will you be known for when you leave this earth? The most influential people, the ones who leave behind incredible legacies, will live on in the hearts of the people they touch. Physically, they will no longer be a part of society—but their principles, philosophies and achievements will become immortal, spreading from generation to generation. Such is the lasting legacy left behind by our founder, the Late Shri. A. Shama Rao. Late Shri A. Shama Rao had an illustrious career as a teacher and Headmaster in Mangalore. He was the founder Headmaster of the well-known S.V.H. Higher Secondary Residential School from 1943 to 1956. After years of exemplary service, he retired as Headmaster of B.E.M. High School, Mangalore in 1969. Even after retirement, he continued to be active in the field of education and social service. It was the firm belief of the founder Late Shri Adka Shama Rao and Smt. Indiramma that education is a tool to transform society. It is this belief that prompted CA. A. Raghavendra Rao a well-known and leading Chartered accountant of Mangaluru to establish the A. Shama Rao Foundation. Established with the avowed aim of imparting education which could mould the character of the students and make them responsible citizens of the country the foundation first established the Srinivas College of Hotel Management in 1988 and in the following years the institutions under its umbrella has grown to include 12000 students in 16 colleges studying for 78 courses at its 3 campuses.

Shri. A. Raghavendra Rao was born in Benagal, Pejamangore Village, Udupi on 8th May, 1953 to Late Shri. A. Shama Rao and Smt. A. Indiramma. He completed his elementary education in SVS Elementary School, Innanje and then joined the SVH High School. He completed his intermediate examinations as well as graduation in Commerce at the M.G.M. College in Udupi and came to Mangalore to pursue his higher education in Chartered Accountancy. In the year 1965, he set up his independent practice as a Chartered Accountant at Felix Pai Bazar, Mangalore.

Having started his practice with a single staff in his office, today there are 75 employees working under the CA firm M/s Raghavendra Rao Chartered Accountants, Mangalore and has offices at seven cities spread across the country. Today he is universally acknowledged as one of the senior most professionals amongst the fraternity of Chartered Accountants.

He has had a glorious career in his chosen field of work. In 1979, he contested for the South India Regional Council (S.I.R.C) of Institute of Chartered Accountants in Chennai and won the election. During his four-year tenure, he served as the Chairman of the India regional Chartered Accountant Students Association at Chennai and also as Secretary of S.I.R.C for some time. During this time, he was the taxation committee Chairman of the S.I.R.C and conducted regional taxation seminars at Mangalore. Not one to rest on his laurels, his innate talent as an entrepreneur saw him enter the hospitality industry with “Hotel Srinivas” in 1980. The Hotel has the unique distinction of being one of the first hotels to be classified as a 3-Star hotel despite the fact that it had a multi-cuisine Vegetarian restaurant while the trend internationally was to attach a Non-Vegetarian restaurant to any star category hotel.

In the year 1988, he set up the “A. Shama Rao Foundation”, a trust dedicated to advancement of his belief that “Education is the prime driver in transforming society”. He found strong support for his vision from the then Vice-Chancellor of Mangalore University, Prof. Shafiullah under whose able guidance and encouragement Shri. A. Raghavendra Rao set up the first professional degree college under the aegis of A. Shama Rao Foundation, Mangalore. The college named “Srinivas College of Hotel Management” offered a 3-year Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management. From modest beginnings, the college as well as the foundation has grown many times over. Following repeated successes, he went on setting up new degree colleges in various fields of education. Today, the sixteen colleges of the foundation offer more than 78 programmes in various fields of study. Shri. CA. A. Raghavendra Rao is ably supported in his endeavours by his wife Smt. Vijayalakshmi and two Children Smt. Padmini and Dr. A. Srinivas Rao.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION:

His professional qualification is primarily Chartered Accountancy and a Member of Institute of C.A of India in 1965 (A.C.A.) & Fellow of ICAI in 1970 (F.C.A.)

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS:

Setup independent practice as Chartered Accountant at Felix Pai Bazar, Mangalore in March 1965.

Senior Partner of M/s. A. Raghavendra Rao, Chartered Accountants, Mangalore and having Branches in 7 other cities in India.

Member of the Southern Indian Regional Council of Chartered Accountants of India, Madras for the period of 1979-83.

Chairman of the SIRC CA Students Association, Madras in 1980-81.

Secretary of SIRC, Madras in 1982-83.

Leading consultant & Auditor for Finance, Trading Commercial & Industrial concerns.

Shri CA A. Raghavendra Rao has gone out of his way and helped many students in enhancing their quality of life. His belief that nobody should be denied an opportunity to learn has seen many so called below average students evolve in to world class professionals in their chosen field. But for his vision, many of them would have withered away into a life of oblivion. He also believes that success comes to those who are disciplined in life and focused on their goals. His institutions have always laid great stress on disciplined life both inside and outside the campus.

He launched a special insurance scheme in association with National Insurance Company, named “Srinivas Arogya Card”. This scheme makes it easy for poor and downtrodden to have access to modern medical care at “Srinivas Hospital” without any cost to the families living below poverty line. The A. Shama Rao Foundation every year honours notable contributions in the following fields:

A Shama Rao Memorial Outstanding Teacher Award from 2009 is conferred on a teacher from undivided Dakshina Kannada district who has rendered outstanding service in promoting and popularizing education in high schools or at pre-university college level.

A Shama Rao Foundation award for Outstanding Contribution to the development of Dakshina Kannada district from 2010 is conferred on a person who has rendered yeoman service in the development of the undivided Dakshina Kannada district.

A Shama Rao Foundation award for Outstanding Social Worker of Dakshina Kannada district from 2010 is conferred on a person who has helped to uplift the life of the citizens either through social work or as a public servant in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district.

The various colleges established by A. Shama Rao foundation are:

• Srinivas Hospital (a 350 bedded multispecialty hospital)
• Srinivas Institute of Medical Science & Research Centre (MBBS programme)
• Srinivas Institute of Dental Sciences (BDS)
• Srinivas College of Hotel Management (BHM)
• Srinivas College of Physiotherapy (BPT/MPT).
• Srinivas College of P.G. Management Studies (BCA/BBM/MSW)
• Srinivas Institute of Management Studies (MBA/MCA)
• Srinivas College of Pharmacy (B.Pharm/M.Pharm/ Ph.D)
• Srinivas Institute of Nursing Sciences (B.Sc.N/PC B.Sc.N/M.Sc.N)
• A Shama Rao Nursing School(GNM)
• Srinivas College of Education (B.Ed.)
• Srinivas Institute of Technology (BE/MBA/MCA/Ph.D.)
• Vijayalakshmi Institute of Hospitality Sciences (B.Sc. (HS)
• Srinivas School of Engineering (Integrated Campus at Mukka) (B.E)
• Srinivas School of Management ( -do – MBA)
• Srinivas School of Business ( -do –  PGDBM)