Born on August 4, 1923, Sharma joined the capitol project in June 1950 and worked with the American team for the first master plan and in 1951 joined the team of the architects led by Le Corbusier. Sharma was chosen to be the first chief architect in 1965 after the retirement of Pierre Jeanneret.

Sharma recently wrote a book ‘Making of Chandigarh: Le Corbusier and After’ which brought the chronology of the events of the making of the city in his book.

Sharma was the recipient of many national and international awards for his contribution to the profession, including the award of the Institute of Life (France) for creating the best environment for the common man, in 1973. For his devotion to the profession the administration conferred the lifetime achievement award on him in October 2015.