Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was a notable Indian scientist, engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918. He was the recipient of the Indian Republic’s highest honor, the Bharat Ratna.
To his credit, he invented ‘automatic sluice gates’ and ‘block irrigation system,’ which are still considered to be the marvels of engineering. Since river beds were costly, he came up with an efficient way of filtering water through ‘Collector Wells’ in 1895, which was rarely seen anywhere in the world.
He was called "Father of Modern Mysore State". During his service with the government of Mysore State, he was responsible for founding of (under the patronage of the Mysore government) Mysore Soap Factory, Parasitoid Laboratory, Mysore Iron & Steel Works (now known as Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited) in Bhadravathi, Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic, Bangalore, Bangalore Agricultural University, State Bank of Mysore, Century Club, Mysore Chamber of Commerce (presently known as the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI) the apex Chamber of Commerce in Karnataka, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering Bangalore and numerous other industrial ventures.
He encouraged private investment in the industry during his tenure as Diwan of Mysore. He was instrumental in charting out the plan for road construction between Tirumala and Tirupati.
Each year, his birthday 15 September is celebrated as Engineer’s Day in India.
