K. S. Subramanian, a former director of the Asian Development Bank, and a founder trustee of the National Agro Foundation (NAF) passed away at his home in R.A. Puram on October 24 night. The former Indian Railways Accounts Service officer was 83.
Born in 1937 in Tirunelveli district, he studied at the Ramakrishna Mission Students Home. He also completed his Masters in Physics and History from the University of Madras; a masters in Business Management from Ateneo de Manila University; and got his doctorate in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines.
A writer and a well-known person in literary circles, he has translated nearly 40 Tamil works, which include novels, novellas, and collections of short-stories, essays and poetry into English. His Tamil writings on literary, social and developmental themes have been published in seven volumes.
As Deputy Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer in the Indian Railways, he was also involved in the survey and project formulation of projects. While working for the Asian Development Bank, his work covered urban development, transport infrastructure, education and health sectors in a number of countries in Asia and the South Pacific.
He had earlier been a member of the executive committee of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Chennai Kendra. He had also served as a member of the Tamil Advisory Board of the Sahitya Akademi for a term of six years.