RN-Shetty....

Rama Nagappa Shetty was born in a Kannada
 speaking family atMurudeshwar
, India in a family of agric In 1961, Rama Nagappa Shetty formed the R N Shetty & Company, a partnership
 firm. During the next four years, the company took up construction of three major projects - building bridges onHonnavar
-Bangalore
 road. In 1966, he moved out of his native district and began operations from Hubli
, a major city in northern Karnataka.[1]

In 1967, he formed Naveen Mechanised Construction Company Private Limited with other 7 civil contractors. The company bid for construction of Hidkal dam in Belgaum
 district. However, it did not live for long, suffering huge financial losses. In order to keep it alive otherstakeholders
 in the company offered Shetty their share. Next year, he took over the company. In the next eight years, Shetty undertook several projects that nursed the company back to good health.[1]
 Both these companies have executed several major irrigation works and hydro power projects including construction of dams, canals, tunnels, bridges and buildings.[2]
 at places such as Hidkal, Tattihalla, Supa
, Gerusoppa, Rajankollur, Gundalgera. The companies also built 18 tunnels for the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited and canals
 for the Upper Krishna Project
.[1]

In 1975, he entered in the hospitality sector, by forming Naveen Hotels Limited. A five-star hotel was constructed to mark the group’s foray into hospitality business inBangalore
 which was leased out to Taj Group
. It is presently known as Taj Residency. Further, the hotels division constructed two more hotel properties in the Karnataka
State, one at Hubli
 and a resort at Murudeshwar naming them Hotel Naveen and RNS Yatrinivas /Naveen BeachResort
 respectively. Both these properties are managed by R N Shetty Group[1]

Diversifying further, Shetty established a manufacturing unit with the main aim of providing jobs to the local people of Karnataka
. With this in view, Shetty established a ‘Mangalore Tiles
’ tiles manufacturing unit in 1977 naming it Murudeshwar Tiles Private Limited. The unit with a capacity of 40,000 tiles per day is one of the largest Mangalore-tile
 units in the Costal Karnataka
region.[1]

In 1981, Shetty set up Naveen Structurals and Engineering Co Pvt Ltd, which specialises in skilled fabrication works, specific to construction industry. Their workshop in Hubli
 is highly sophisticated, and contains state-of-the-art equipment and machinery. It manufactures shuttering silos, crest gates and many other specialised structures in the past.["citation needed
"]
However, the group’s most prestigious industrial project took shape in 1987, when Shetty forayed into the manufacture of glazed ceramic tiles by setting up Murudeshwar Ceramics Limited (MCL), the only listed company in the group. Located at Hubli, MCL is one of the leading manufacturers of ceramic and vitrified porcelain floor and wall tiles in India. It also manufactures natural granites.[1]
 MCL is now in the process of setting up its second plant at Karaikal
 nearPondicherry
 at a cost of Rs 40 crore to expand its capacity. The company reported Rs 4 crore net profit on a turnover of Rs 138 crore for the year 2002-03 and hopes to touch a total revenue of Rs 180 crore in the current year.[1]

In 1993, Shetty ventured into power sector with the setting up Murudeshwar Power Corporation Limited. The company has successfully developed and commissioned a mini hydel power
 project of 11.6 MW at Narayanpur
 Left Bank Canal in Bijapur
 district in 1999.[1]

The group has also taken the dealership of Maruthi Udyog Limited
 and has opened showrooms at Hubli, Bangalore (Yashwantpur and Hosur road) and Murudeshwar. One of its Bangalore showrooms is in fact the biggest in the country and has been rated as Maruti’s No 1 dealer in India for the last three years. His company has recently been awarded the Belgaum Bypass and Dharwad-Belgaum roadworks projects by National Highways Authority of India
 and roadworks at Maski
 in Raichur
district by Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project.[1]

Shetty is also involved in a number of Philanthropic
activities through the R. N. Shetty Trust established by him. The Trust runs a number of educational institutes(includingRNS Institute of Technology
) and hospitals in Karnataka
.[3]

A devout Hindu, Shetty is credited with the modernisation of the temple town ofMurudeshwara
 as well as creating monuments in the town. The Murudeshwara Shiva
temple and temple complex, including the 249 feet tall Raja Gopura
, which is considered the tallest Gopuram
 in the Asia[4]
 as well as a huge towering statue of Hindu god Shiva
 in the temple complex considered the tallest statue of Shiva in the world standing at 123 feet (37 m).[5]
[6]
 were built by the finances provided by R.N. Shetty[4] ulturists. His father was the "Muktesar" (Hereditary Administrator) of theMurudeshwar
 Temple dedicated to the Hindu
 God Shiva
. After completing high school education, Shetty started his career as a civil contractor inSirsi
.