B Muthuraman appointed as UVCE board chair

Tata Group veteran B Muthuraman has been appointed as the first chairman of the Board of Governors at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) in Bengaluru.

The UVCE, which was started by Sir M Visvesvaraya in 1917, was a constituent college of the Bangalore University before it was granted autonomy so that it can be developed on the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).

The higher education department decided to set up a board of governors following passage of the Visvesvaraya Engineering College University Bill. Sources in the department confirmed Muthuraman's appointment saying Governor and Chancellor Thaawarchand Gehlot had issued an order to this effect.

Muthuraman, 78, was chairperson of Tata International and vice-chairperson of Tata Steel.

In 1966, Muthuraman joined Tata Steel where he held various positions, including managing director (2001) and non-executive vice-chairperson (2009). It was under him that Tata Steel acquired the British-Dutch Corus Group in 2007.

An alumnus of IIT Madras and XLRI, Jamshedpur, Muthuraman was conferred with Padma Bhushan in 2012.