Tadimalla H Mohan Rao, 63, hails from a small village (also named Tadimalla) in West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. During his close to 37 ½ years of service in Coal India Ltd and its Nagpur-based subsidiary Western Coalfields Ltd, he received several commendations that include a Gold Medal and cash prize of ? 5000/- post-retirement, for his outstanding contribution in the official responsibilities category.

A cycling enthusiast, his 3-year cycling effort before retirement was recognized twice on the occasion of the World Environment Day Celebrations held during 2017 and 2018 at WCL Hq, and earned him the title the Cycling Man of WCL. Post-retirement, he successfully completed the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of the 100-day Tour De 100 annual global cycling challenge held in 2020, 2021, and 2022 as a Silver, Bronze, and Gold finisher, by pedalling 1890 KM, 814 KM, and 1995 KM respectively. He is eagerly looking forward for participation in the event’s 5th edition as well, likely to be scheduled in Oct 2023.

A Graduate in Geology from Govt College/Rajahmundry, he holds a PG Diploma in Management from IGNOU and a Certificate of Proficiency in English from CIEFL/ Hyderabad, amongst others. He received mentorship in Geology from the Late Pingali Parasuramaiah, geologist and journalist, and S/o the Late Pingali Venkaiah, architect of our National Tricolour. The late Parasuramaiah bestowed his priceless geological wealth comprising files, diaries, original letters, and several papers, on Rao.
 
Three of his technical papers on Coal Quality (two, post-retirement) were published in Minetech, the quarterly technical publication of CMPDI, the consultancy subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. Rao is born on 2nd Feb 1960 in Visakhapatnam and currently stays in Hyderabad.