P. R. Dubhashi was born on 7 March 1930 in
Karwar district of the South Indian state of
Karnataka. He received a MA and a Ph.D. from
Pune University and a DLitt from
Bombay University. He started his career in
Davangere, as a divisional officer. During a career as a public servant starting in 1953, he held many posts of importance such as Divisional Commissioner, Additional Secretary in the
Ministry of Agriculture, the Director of the
Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) and the Government Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, from where he retired in 1981. In between, he was selected for British Council scholarship to the
London School of Economics where he obtained a post graduate diploma in Economic and Social Administration, in 1963. The Government of India continued to make use of his service, even after his retirement and he served in such capacities as member of the Expert Committee on Rural Finance for
NABARD and as the Chairman of the Management Institutes Committee for the Pune University. He was also active organising conferences and delivering key lectures such as
Dr. Zakir Hussain Memorial Lecture and
John Mathai Memorial Lecture. In 1990, he was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of
Goa University. By the time he retired from the post in 1995, he was successful in moving the university to a new campus. He has also worked with international agencies like IFAD and Asian Development Bank as consultant. He was the Chairman of
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, at its Pune centre. Dubhashi was married to Sindhu and the couple had a daughter, Medha and a son, Devadatt, both pursuing academic careers. ==Awards and recognitions==