Jamshedji Tata
(1839 - 1904)
Jamshedji Tata is considered to be the path-finder of
modern industrial builders. He is known as the grand
father of Indian Industry for his acumen and enthusiasm.
Jamshedji's
father Nasarvanji Tata used to trade in jute with
China and Britain. He started export from India. Jamshedji
started a cloth mill in Nagpur more than hundred years
ago. At that time almost all the cloth used to come
from England.
Jamshedji
Tata was the main person behind the idea to start
an Iron and steel Factory. But his dreams was fulfilled
by his sons, when they started the Tata Iron and Steel
Factory in 1907 first three years after his death.
He established the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
(IISc). Then Hydro -electric Project at Bombay is
an example of his foresightedness. The Taj Hotel in
Bombay was also built by Tata, which ranks as one
of the best hotels in the world.
Ghanshyam Das Birla
(1894 - 1983)
G.D. Birla was a great architect of India's industrial
growth. He started his career at Calcutta at the beginning
of the last century. He entered the field of business
during the days of the First World War and established
himself after the war years. He established a cotton
mill in Sabzi Mandi, Delhi followed by Keshoram Cotton
Mills and Birla Jute Mills around 1920. In 1919, with
an investment of 50 lacs, the Birla Brothers Limited
was formed and thereafter a mill was set up in Gwalior.
In
the decade of the 30's he set up Sugar and Paper mills.
From 1943 to 1946, Birla Brothers ventured into the
area of cars. He had also established Ruby, Asiatic
Insurance Co and Inland Air Service.
After
independence, the Birlas expanded their business and
started production in many fields. Near Mirzapur,
he, in collaboration with Caesar, an American friend,
set up an Aluminum Plant 'Hindalco'. He also started
many educational Institutions. To his credit go many
temples, planetariums and hospitals. During the decades
of 70's and 80's, Birla brothers were among the topmost
Industrial Houses of India. G.D. Birla award for scientific
Research has been established to encourage scientists
for their contribution in the various fields of scientific
Research.
Swraj
Paul
(1931 - )
Business Magnate
Lord Swraj Paul, the great business magnate was born
in 1931 in Jalandhar, Punjab. Having learned business
lessons from his father at a young age, he later founded
the successful multinational company Caparo, an UK-based
steel and engineering group.
Swraj was educated at Punjab University and obtained
a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the
US. In 1953 he returned to India to join the Apeejay
Surrendra Group, founded by his father, which he helped
build up to a diversified industrial group.
In 1968, he started buying and selling steel in a
one-man business and acquired a small tube unit, Natural
Gas Tubes (NGT), which developed into one of the leading
UK producers of welded steel tube and spiral welded
pipe. Gradually he bought more units, mainly in the
steel products manufacturing industry and founded
Caparo Group in 1978. Her Majesty the Queen knighted
Swraj Paul in the same year, thereby making him The
Lord Paul of Marylebone and a member of the House
of Lords. Lord Paul has been honoured by various international
organisations over the years. He has written the biography
of Indira Gandhi and was awarded the Padma Bhushan
by her in 1983.Swraj stepped down from the management
of Caparo in 1996, handing over his empire to his
three sons. Though he is one of the richest persons
in the U.K., in his personal life Lord Paul practices
relative simplicity. But he believes in making money
so that he can occasionally use it to help the needy
or even bail out the London Zoo.
Ambani, who founded the petrochemicals giant Reliance
group, was born in 1932 in Chorwad village in Gujarat.
He started out as a labourer, graduated to becoming
a spice trader, and then set up his first cloth mill
in Ahmedabad; finally building one of India's largest
companies. The story of the small-time trader who
within just four decades created a globocorp is part
of Indian market folklore.
Dhirubhai has many firsts to his credit - from building
the Rs 90 billion Hazira project to the GDR by an
Indian company reporting a whopping net profit of
Rs 10 billion. But one of his greatest achievements
lies in catalysing shareholders' spirit in India through
bonuses and dividends.
Dhirubhai
Ambani
(1932 - 2002)
Reliance Industries, which went public in 1977 with
one of the largest public offerings of its time, has
the largest number of shareholders at over 3.5 million.
Ambani is credited with shaping India's equity culture,
attracting retail investors in a market dominated
by state-run financial institutions.
The group, which began life as a tiny trading outfit
in the narrow by-lanes of Mumbai's textile market,
is now India's second-largest company, with sales
of Rs 58,000 crore and annual net profit of Rs 4,110
crore. Reliance is only the second Indian entry in
the Fortune 500 list; at number 425, it is ahead of
giants such as Marks & Spencer, Christian Dior
and Northwest Airlines. Reliance Industries is now
spread across the textile value-chain - from petrochemicals
to fabrics. Interestingly, Ambani's success dwarfed
the controversies that surround him, notably his spat
with Bombay Dyeing's Nusli Wadia.
Ambani
died on July 6, 2002 after being admitted in the Beach
County Hospital almost two weeks earlier. He suffered
a a major brain stroke from which he could not recover.
Till his death, Ambani lived in Mumbai with his wife,
two sons - Mukesh and Anil - and their wives. He did
not believe in retirement and continued to create
ripples in the corporate world till the end.
