FICCI Northeast Advisory Council has condoled the passing of Mr. R K Krishnakumar, former director of Tata Sons. He also served as a trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust & Sir Ratan Tata Trust.Ranjit Barthakur, Chairman FICCI Northeast said “Mr. Krishnakumar was a wonderful human being, and a close friend. I met him first in 1987, and since then I have always seen him as a person who lived by what he preached, a man of action, he embodied the high moral values that the Tata Group has Come to represent, and he truly felt responsibility for the wellbeing of all those he came in touch with.”

He first came in touch with the Northeast when he took charge of Tata Tea, and the Northeast has much to thank Mr. Krishna Kumar for. In the 1990’s when the tea industry in Assam was going through troubled times, Mr. Krishnakumar was instrumental not only in Tata Teas Investments in the Northeast, but he also played a very active role in enhancing the industries social sector spending by setting up hospitals, schools, and technical training institutes. He was one of the most innovative industry leaders of his time and was looked up to by all, particularly the tea Industry for his innovative ideas in transforming the tea industry.

Arijit Raha, CEO and Secretary General of Indian Tea Association while condoling his death said, “An industry stalwart & doyen Mr Krishnakumar’s visionary leadership and contribution to the Indian Tea industry would be fondly remembered.”He also did a lot to improve the living and working conditions of tea workers and was very keen to see that tea workers became stakeholders and partners in the industry that they worked for.

He travelled across the region, visited every tea estate in Assam and North-Bengal and established a strong emotional connect with the people of the region that went far beyond the call of duty.His contribution to rural upliftment in the Northeast is nothing short of pioneering. Under his leadership, involvement of tata group in social sector development and rural development reached a new high.

Through agencies like NEIDA and Centre for Microfinance he led a movement to enhance livelihood opportunities, support development of sports and help create a skilled workforce across the Northeast.As a social entrepreneur, his main focus in the region was on healthcare and education. His keen desire to help the people of the region led him to lay the foundation of pathbreaking health care projects in the Northeast.

He set up the referral hospital in Chabua in Upper Assam, helped set up “Operation Smile” and really laid the foundation of cancer care in the east, starting with Kolkata and later in Assam. In the field of education and skill development he was instrumental in setting up the tata institute of social sciences in Guwahati, a Skill development center in Routa and helped develop a large number of schools across the region.

Long before, the Northeast began to emerge as an investment destination, Mr. Krishnakumar played a very critical role in the transformation of the region’s economy. He was one of the first to spot the region’s tourism potential and he worked hard to set up first the Ginger Hotel in Guwahati and then the Taj Vivanta.“In his passing, the Northeast has really lost a very dear friend, one who was committed to the idea of inclusive development in the Northeast” added Barthakur.