GM Rao & Family — Building the Runways and Highways of a Rising India

"Every nation that rises does so on the back of the roads it lays, the airports it builds, and the power it generates — often years before the world notices."

Infrastructure development in India rarely comes from inherited wealth. It usually comes from entrepreneurs willing to take enormous, patient risks on assets that take decades to pay off. G.M. Rao, founder of the GMR Group, is one of the clearest examples of this kind of long-horizon entrepreneurship.

From a Small Jute Mill to a Global Infrastructure Group

Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao was born on 14 July 1950 in Rajam, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, into an upper-middle-class family involved in commodities trading and jewellery. A mechanical engineer by training from Andhra University, Rao began his career as a shift engineer at a paper mill and later joined the Public Works Department of the Andhra Pradesh government as a junior engineer.

His entrepreneurial journey began in 1978 with the acquisition of a struggling jute mill — the first of what would eventually become nearly 28 different business ventures. Following India's economic liberalisation in the early 1990s, Rao shifted from opportunistic diversification to a focused, deliberate strategy centred on infrastructure — a sector that was, at the time, largely closed to private enterprise in India.

Betting Big on Airports, Power, and Highways

GMR Group went on to become one of India's most significant private developers of airports, energy assets, and highways. The Group played a defining role in modernising Indian civil aviation, developing and operating major airports including those in Delhi and Hyderabad, and expanding internationally into markets such as the Philippines (Cebu), Greece, and Indonesia. Today, GMR is considered among the leading airport developers globally by revenue, asset size, and market capitalisation.

Beyond aviation, the Group built a diversified portfolio spanning power generation, highways, and urban infrastructure — each representing the kind of long-gestation, capital-intensive investment that few entrepreneurs are willing to commit decades to.

Governance as a Family Value

One of the more distinctive aspects of G.M. Rao's leadership has been his emphasis on structured family governance. In 2007, the GMR family became one of the first Indian business families to formally sign a family constitution, setting out clear rules for the roles, rights, and responsibilities of family members within the business — a step towards institutional discipline that is still rare among large Indian family-run conglomerates.

In 2013, Rao made the deliberate decision to step back from day-to-day operations, handing over the position of Corporate Chairman to his younger son, Kiran Kumar Grandhi, while his elder son, G.B.S. Raju, took charge of the energy business, and son-in-law Srinivas Bommidala became chairman of the airports division. This structured, phased succession is widely cited as a model for Indian family businesses navigating generational transition.

Giving Back Through the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation

Inspired in part by Warren Buffett's philosophy on philanthropy, G.M. Rao has channelled significant resources into social development through the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, the Group's CSR arm, which operates in over 20 locations across India, focusing on education, health, livelihoods, and community development.

Family Tree & Legacy

Shri G.M. Rao — Founder Chairman, GMR Group; began his career as a mechanical engineer before building one of India's largest infrastructure conglomerates.

Shri G.B.S. Raju — Elder son; Chairman of GMR's energy business.

Shri Kiran Kumar Grandhi — Younger son; Corporate Chairman of GMR Group since 2013, overseeing group finance, strategy, and airport land development.

Shri Srinivas Bommidala — Son-in-law; Chairman of GMR's airports division.

The Human Behind Viksit Bharat: Sh. G.M. Rao

From a single jute mill to some of the world's most modern airports, G.M. Rao's story illustrates what patient, disciplined infrastructure entrepreneurship looks like in India — and how thoughtful governance can help a family enterprise outlast its founder.

Humans of Viksit Bharat celebrates entrepreneurs whose long-term investments in physical infrastructure continue to expand India's global connectivity and economic capacity.