He is the son of the late
P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan, who was also a well-known politician and speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly. His grandfather,
P. T. Rajan, was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency and Vikaasa School, Madurai, he graduated with a degree in
chemical engineering from the
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (formerly, Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli). He obtained a master's degree in
operations research and a
Ph.D. in human factors engineering/engineering psychology at
University at Buffalo. He then completed his
MBA in financial management at
MIT Sloan School of Management. He is a named inventor on a patent held by Barclays Capital Inc. == Corporate career ==