N Bhaskara RaoN. Bhaskara Rao is the founder–chairman of Centre for Media Studies (CMS) and of Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA), which is a prestigious market research and forecasting outfit. He is also the founder of Basic Resarch in Education and Development (BREAD). He is a pioneer in applied social research in India and an eminent mass communication expert with over 50 years of experience.

An independent analyst and a strategic advisor on public policies, public opinion, reforms process, media trends within and across, he is also known as a pioneer in monitoring and evaluation and rating methodologies. Dr Rao has earned three post-graduate degrees and a PhD from the University of Iowa, USA (1970). 

Dr Rao made a mark on future studies in India with his ‘India 2001’ series starting in 1975, sponsored by the Resources for Futures, USA. His work India 2021 (1985) provided a perspective for the second millennium studies. He initiated and led the Vision 2020 programme for the Andhra Pradesh government. His 1995 publication Marketing Communication: Perspectives into Media Scene 2020 provided a basis for the convergence view of communication.

He has authored a number of books. Some of his prominent works are: Politics of Leadership in an Indian State (1967), Controlled Mass Communication in Inter-state Conflicts (1971), India 2021 (1985), Social Effects of Mass Media (1997), Good Governance: Delivering Corruptionfree: Public Services (2013), Poll Surveys in Media—An Indian Perspective (2012) and Unleashing Power of News Channels (2012). Read More Read Less