{1/8}

EMINENT PERSONALITIES OF BALANGIR

Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo
7
th
Chief Minister of Odisha
Constituency: Balangir
In office 8 March 1967 9 J anuary 1971
Preceded by: Sadashiva Tripathy
Succeededby: Biswanath Das

Birth date and Place: 31
st
March 1912, Sailashri Palace,
Balangir, Patna state
Died on: 23 February 1975 (aged 62)

Political party: Swatantra Party
Spouse(s): Kailash Kumari Debi
Children: 2 sons (Raj Raj Singh Deo and Ananga Udaya Singh Deo) and 4 daughters
Religion: Hinduism
Maharaja Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo (31 March 191223 February 1975) was an Indian
politician and the last ruler of the princely state of Patna in Odisha before Indian independence
in 1947. He was the President of the Ganatantra Parishad political party from 1950 to 1962 and
the President of the Odisha state unit of the Swatantra Party after its merger with the
Ganatantra Parishad in 1962. He was the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1967
[1]
to 1971.
Early l ife: Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo was born to Raja Aditya Pratap Singh, the ruler of
the princely state of Seraikela and Rani Padmini Kumari Devi. He was adopted by Maharaja
Prithwiraj Singh Deo of Patna state. He studied in the Mayo College in Ajmer and the St.
Columbia's College in Hazaribagh. He became the Maharaja of Patna state in 1924 and
assumed full powers in 1933. In 1948, the princely state of Patna was merged with the Union of
India.
Political career: In 1951, Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo was elected to the 1st Lok Sabha
from Kalahandi Balangir constituency in Odisha as a Ganatantra Parishad candidate. In 1957,
he was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Titlagarh constituency
[3]
and became
the leader of the opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly. After the fall of the minority
Congress government, the Ganatantra Parishad formed a coalition government with the
Congress on 22 May 1959. Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo became the finance minister in this
government. The coalition government collapsed on 21 February 1961 and the President's rule
was imposed. In 1961, he was re-elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Kantabanji
constituency.
In 1967, he was re-elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Balangir constituency
[1]
and
became the Chief Minister of Odisha on 8 March 1967. He led a coalition government formed by
the Swatantra Party and the Odisha J ana Congress of Harekrushna Mahatab. He resigned from
the office on 9 J anuary 1971 and on 11 J anuary 1971 the President's rule was imposed. In 1971
and 1974, he was re-elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from the same constituency.

{2/8}

Dr. Srinivas Udgata
Born: 07 J anuary 1935, at Balangir
Resting place: Kavi Kutir, Radharanipara
Balangir-767001
Occupation: Writer
Language: Odia

Notable award(s)
Padma Shri(2008), Sarala Award(2002), Sarala
Samman(2002), Lucknow Souhardya Samman

Vidyavachaspati Padmashri Dr. Sri nivas Udgata (born 7 J anuary 1935), is a poet,
story & drama writer, painter, novelist and translator from Odisha, India.

List of Works
Books:
Purnima
Parbati
Dibya Purusha
Kipari Kahibi Mu Runi
Patra O Anyanya Kahani
Chhada Anchala
Mahabahu
Sei Subasita Atmati
Poetries:
Purabi
Charoti Kabita
Apanara Geeta
Punascha Punascha
Pratima Apratima
Chaitra Ratha
Samaya Naira Thila
Rutam

Novels:
Nila Nayana Tale
Kanta
Sesha Ratrira Prathama
Sakala
Shilara Sapaa
Ahira Bhairaba

Awards & Recognitions-
He has been awarded Padmashri award in 2008 by H.E. The President of India in 2008 for
Literature and Education. He received the J hankar Award in 1974. In 2002 for his poetry he has
received Bharati Bharati Award from the Hindi Sahitya Sanstha of Uttar Pradesh. Besides these
awards, he has also received the Sarala Award in 2002, Sarala Samman in 2002 and Acharya
Vidyasagar Samman from Kolkata. He received his D.Lit. from Sambalpur University. The title
Vidyavachaspati awarded by Prayag Sahitya Sammelan, Allahabad, Award from Kendriya
Sahitya Akademi, U.P. Hindi Sahitya Sansthan, Lucknow- Souhardya Samman etc. He was
President of Odisha Sahitya Akademi from 1994 to 1997. He is continuing as President of
Atmaprakashani (A Writers Association). He has been awarded & honored by more than 100
organisations in India.





{3/8}

Er Sam Pitroda
Born: 4
th
May 1942, Titlagarh, Odisha, India
Residence: Delhi, India
Nationality: Indian
Religion; Hinduism
Children: 2
Education: Maharaja Sayaji Rao University, Illinois
Institute of Technology
Occupation: Telecom engineer,
Inventor, Development Guru, Entrepreneur Employer Advisor to the Prime Minister
Known for Communication revolution Title Innovator
Website: www.sampitroda.com

Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda popularly known as Sam Pitroda is an Indian innovator,
entrepreneur and policymaker. He is Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information
Infrastructure & Innovations. He is also widely considered to have been responsible for Indias
communications revolution. As Advisor, he is looking into creating information infrastructure for
enhancing delivery of services to the citizens in various areas and working on creating a
roadmap for a Decade of Innovation in India. He is also the Chairman of National Innovation
Council.

He has served as Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (20052009), a high-level
advisory body to the Prime Minister of India, set up to give policy recommendations for
improving knowledge related institutions and infrastructure in the country. During its term, the
National Knowledge Commission submitted around 300 recommendations on 27 focus areas
covering a range of aspects of the knowledge paradigm. Mr. Pitroda holds around 100 key
technology patents, has been involved in several startups, and lectures extensively around the
world.

He is also the founder & Chairman of C-SAM. The company maintains its headquarters in
Chicago with offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Mumbai and Vadodara. Following the development of
core technologies in the U.S. and Europe, C-SAM's development centers in India now focus on
innovation, customization and cost effective deployment for its customers.

He has also served as an advisor to the United Nations and in 1992, his biography Sam
Pitroda: A Biography was published and became the bestseller on the The Economic Times
list for five weeks.

As technology Advisor to the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi in the 1984s, Mr. Pitroda not only
heralded the telecom revolution in India, but also made a strong case for using technology for
the benefit and betterment of society through several missions on telecommunications, literacy,
dairy, water, immunization, oilseeds etc. He has continued to redefine the role of technology can
play in a society like India by linking it to better delivery of services for the underprivileged in the
country. He has lived mainly in Chicago, Illinois since 1964 with his wife and two children.
{4/8}

Early life
Born in Titlagarh, Odisha, India. His parents hailed from Gujarat and migrated to Odisha. They
were deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy and consequently, he and his
brother were sent to Gujarat to imbibe Gandhian philosophy. He completed his schooling from
Vallabh Vidyanagar in Gujarat and completed his Masters in Physics and Electronics from
Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara . After completing his Masters in Physics he went to
the US and obtained a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in
Chicago. In 2010, he received an Honorary degree from University of Illinois at Chicago.
[4]


CAREER
Early career
Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s Sam Pitroda was involved in cutting edge
technology research work in telecommunications and hand-held computing. He is widely
regarded as one of his earliest pioneers of hand-held computing because of his invention of the
Electronic Diary in 1975.

In 1974, Sam Pitroda joined a company, Wescom Switching, one of the first digital switching
companies in the world. He developed a new system called 580 DSS switch, which he spent
nearly four years perfecting. Thus, in 1978, it was released to the world and it became an
instant hit becoming one of the most successful systems in the market. Wescom was eventually
acquired by Rockwell International, where Pitroda became the Vice President. During his four
decades as an engineer, Mr. Pitroda has filed scores of patents in telecommunications. The
latest set of patents relate to mobile phone based transaction technology, which cover the entire
spectrum of transactions, both financial and non-financial, via mobile phones.

In 1983, he also designed his own computer-themed card game called Compucards, which
used binary numbers instead of decimal (1, 2, 4, 8...) had a computer bug as the joker. The
equivalent of a king in a regular deck of cards was the 'Programmer' that bore an uncanny
resemblance to Pitroda himself. Through the 1990s Mr. Pitroda explored the world of mobile
phone transaction technology and telecom developments in emerging markets.

A widely traveled man, Mr. Pitroda is a much sought after speaker at top international events.
Mr. Pitroda divides his time between Chicago and Delhi.

Return to India
In 1984, Mr. Pitroda was invited to return to India by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. On
his return, he started the Center for Development of Telematics C-DOT, an autonomous
telecom R&D organization. He had previously become a naturalized US citizen, and renounced
his US citizenship to take Indian citizenship again in order to work in the Government. In 1987,
he became advisor to Mrs. Gandhi's successor, Rajiv Gandhi and was responsible for shaping
India's foreign and domestic telecommunications policies.

In 1987 during his tenure as advisor to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Er. Pitroda headed six
technology missions related to telecommunications, water, literacy, immunization, dairy and
oilseeds. He is also the founder and first Chairman of Indias Telecom Commission.

Mr Pitroda has contributed for shaping Indias foreign and domestic telecommunications
policies. He is considered one among many to be responsible for the telecommunication
revolution in India and specifically, the ubiquitous, yellow-signed Public Call Offices (PCO) that
quickly brought cheap and easy domestic and international public telephones all over the
country.
{5/8}


In the 1990s Sam Pitroda returned to Chicago to manage his business interests. When the
United Progressive Alliance government came to power following the 2004 General Elections,
the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh invited him to head the National Knowledge
Commission of India.

In J uly 2009, the Government of India invited Mr. Sam Pitroda to head an expert committee on
ICT in Railways. In October 2009, Sam Pitroda was appointed as Advisor to PM of India (Dr.
Manmohan Singh) on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations with the rank of Cabinet
Minister.

In August 2010, cil, headed by Sam Pitroda, with special focus on micro, small and medium
enterprises for 2010-20.

Awards:
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conferred the World Telecommunication and
Information Society Award to Er. Sam Pitroda in Geneva on 17 May 2011. He was awarded in
recognition of his dedication to promoting Information, communication and technology as a
means of providing a better life for humanity and social and economic empowerment. He is the
first Indian to receive this prestigious award.

Sambalpur University honored Er. Pitroda with D.Sc. on its 23
rd
Convocation on 14
th
J uly
2010.
Padma Bhushan in 2009 by the Government of India for his contribution to Science and
Engineering.
The Skoch Challenger Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for ushering in the telecom
and IT revolution in India.
Andhra University honored Mr. Pitroda with D.Sc in 2008.
Dataquest IT Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
IEEE Communication Society, Award for Public Service in the Field of
Telecommunications in 2007

Felicitations:
He was also felicitated on 31
st
March 2009 by Akhila Bharatiya Viswakarma Mahasabha
(ABVM) for service to the Viswakarma community, in the presence of Chief Minister of Delhi,
Smt. Shiela Dixit, and President of ABVM, Chedilal Sharma. In 2008, Pitroda was elected as
World Prominent Leader by the World Network of Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs WNYLE.
He has also addressed the 2
nd
Indian Student Parliament which is a MIT School of Government
initiative.

Other contributions:
In 1993, Mr. Pitroda helped establish the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Tradition
(FRLHT) near Bengaluru in India. He is a Governing Council Member there. The aim of the
foundation is to make full use of India's rich and diverse traditional medicinal knowledge. Pitroda
also serves on the IIT International Board of Overseers.




{6/8}

Gayatri Saraf
Radharanipara, Balangir, Odisha
Birth Date: 17
th
August 1952
Contact Details:
Cell: 9437210831
Rajendrapara,
Infront of Womens College Hostel, Balangir(Odisha)
Book Published (Short Stories Collection)
Book Title Publishing Year Publisher
i. Aalokita Andhar 1988 Atma Prakashani, Balangir
ii. Aainara Janha 1995 Friends Publisher, Cuttack
iii. Nijaswa Basanta 1996 Atma Prakashani, Balangir
iv. Premika Pari Kehi Jane 1998 Dibyaduta Prakashani, Cuttack
v. Bapa Bhala Achhanti 2003 Pratichi Prakashani, Cuttack
vi. Nila Janhan Jui 2006 Pakshighara Prakashani, Khurda
vii. Smrutira Chitra Nadi 2007 Time Pass, Bhubaneswar
viii. Shesha Bidayara geeta 2008 Time Pass, Bhubaneswar
ix. Chhaira bamura Gachha 2010 Time Pass, Bhubaneswar

Awards & Honour Received:
Excellence Certificate Sahitya Sanskrit Titilagarh, Balangir, Odisha 1990
Sudhanya Sanman Sudhanya, Monthly Literary Magazine, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
19993
Felicitation, Dharitri A Daily Newspaper, Bhubaneswar, Odisha- 1993
Prafulla Mahakul Sahitya Ratna Sanman Zilla Culture Academy, Boudh, Odisha- 1995
Award for Best Writer SUCHARITA A monthly literary Magazine, Bhubaneswar,
Odisha 1996
Excellence Certificate0 Rudra Aawhan, Weekly Newspaper, Balangir, Odisha- 1996
Felicitation Gadadhar Sahitya Sansad, Komna, Nuapara, Odisha 1996
Bhubaneswar Behera Prangya Sanman Chetabani Sahitya Sansad, Kesinga,
Kalahandi, 1998
Felicitation BASANTI Barpali College, Barpali, Bargarh, Odisha 1999
Prajatantra Sahitya Award An Oriya Daily News Paper, Cuttack- Odisha 2000
(Prajatantra Prachar Samiti)
Felicitation from Rangakar A Natya Anusthan, Balangir, Odisha 2000
Ashok Chandar Smruti Puraskar Ashok Chandar Memorial Trust, Patnagarh, Balangir,
Odisha 2001
Felicitation on Local Self Govt. Day Municipality, Balangir, Odisha- 2001
Omkar Panigrahi Smruti Puraskar Koshal Prabaha, A Weekly Newspapar, Balangir,
Odisha- 2001
{7/8}

Kanhu Charan Smruti Puraskar Korei Sahitya Sansad, J ajpur, Odisha 2001
Gangadhar Sanman Sanskritika Parishad, Patnagarh, Balangir, Odisha 2003
Award of Honour World Writers Festival, Chandigarh, India 2004
Memento SAS, Institute of Information Technology & Research, Mohali, Hariyana,
India- 2004
Felicitation from Amrutayana A monthly Literary Magazine, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-
2005
Kadambini Galpa Sanman Kadambini, Monthly family Magazine, Bhubaneswar 2007

Others:
Regular Publication of Short Stories in the leading magazine & newspapers of Odisha.
Broadcasting of short stories from All India Radio, Sambalpur & Balangir, Odisha.
Vice-President Balangir Zilla Lekhaka Parishada (Ex)
Member, Odisha Lakhika Parishad, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Selected as an Preliminary Panel Advisor for the award of Kendra Sahitya Academy,
New Delhi 2001
Attended the Eastern Zone Lekhika Sanmelan at Berhampur, Odisha as a Guest Writer.
Invited to attend & Present a story in the world writers Festival at Chandigarh & Shimla
2004
A Story is translated in English by Dr. Guru Charan Behera Publisheed in The World
Plus & English Magazine in Kerala State- India in October December issue 2005
Participated in the short story workshop organized by Odisha Sahitya Academy 2007.
A story is translated in Marathi & Published in Akantha Published from Bombay in
Oriya Sahitya Bisesanka 2007 (Deepavali Issue)
Member Kendra Sahitya Academy Advisory Board 2008-2012



{8/8}

SUSHREE ANANDINI DARJEE

Born on: 7
th
November 1955
Fathers Name: Shri Rabi Chandra Darjee
Mothers Name: Smt. Chandra Darjee
Native Place: Radharanipada,
P.O./Dist; Balangir, Pin - 767001

ACHIEVEMENTS
1973: Champion in state in 400 mtrs, 800 mtrs & 1500 mtrs race
1974: National Games in women third in 400mtrs
1974-75: Champion in National atheletic Championship securing Gold Medal in 200, 400, & 800
mtrs. Received award for E.L. Sandhu Atheletic Awards. She Represented India to
World Atheletic Championship, Paris (France) in senior girls category.
1976-77: Secured 3
rd
& 2
nd
position in 400 & 800 mtrs Run Women respectively in the XV Inter-
state Atheletic Championship.
1976-77: Secured 2
nd
position in 400 mtrs Run Women in the All India Open Atheletic
Championship.
1977: Secured 2
nd
position in 400 mtrs Run Women and 1
st
in the cross-country championship
in 1977 in the Indian Railway sports.
1975-77: Participated in the National Women Festival at New Delhi & Secured 2
nd
position in
400, 800 & 1500 mtrs Run.
1976-77: Participated in the National Competition at Chandigarh & win two silver Medals in 400
& 800 mtrs.
1976: Secured 2
nd
position in 400 mtrs in All India Inter-state Atheletic Championship in at Palai,
Kerala.
1977-80: Invited from Olympic games(Moscow) to witness Olympic games.
1996 onwards: She has been attending National Veteran Atheletic Championship and secured
Medals for various events.
2004-06: Former member of Odisha Council of sports.
2003-07: Former General Secy. of DVSPA Balangir District. Organised various games like
Atheletics, Football, VolleyBall, etc. and successfully & awarded for same as good
Association in Balangir District in the year 2006
2008: Formation A New Western Odisha Master Athelete Sport Person Association in Balangir

D.I.P.R.O.Balangir, 4
th
January 2013