This document lists profiles of several prominent Indian entrepreneurs, including brief descriptions of their backgrounds, achievements and contributions. Some of the entrepreneurs mentioned include Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance Industries; JRD Tata, chairman of Tata Group for 52 years and founder of Air India; and Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Group.

1.  ramoji, founder of Eenadu group/Ramoji Group.
 A. M. Murugappa Chettiar, founder of the Murugappa Group
 Anant Koppar, founder, and former president, of Kshema
Technologies
 Brijmohan Lall Munjal (1923- ), founder of The Hero Group,
which owns Hero Motors
 Dhirubhai Ambani (1933–2002), founder of Reliance Industries
 Ghanshyam Das Birla (1894–1983), prominent member of
the Birla family
 G. Kuppuswamy Naidu, founder of Lakshmi Mills
 Capt. G. R. Gopinath, founder of Air Deccan, vice-chairman
of Kingfisher Red
 Jamsetji Tata (1839–1904), pioneering Indian industrialist,
founder of the Tata Group of companies
 J.R.D. Tata, founder of Air India and Chairman of the Tata
Group for 52 years.
 J. C. Mahindra, co-founder of the Mahindra Group
 Karsanbhai Patel (1945- ), founder of the Nirma Group
 Kasturbhai Lalbhai (1894–1980), textile baron, founder
of Arvind Mills
 K. C. Mahindra, co-founder of the Mahindra Group
 Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (1953- ), founder of Biocon, the
first biotechnology company in India
 N. R. Narayana Murthy (1946- ), co-founder of Infosys
Technologies
 Raj Anand (1982-), founder of the Kwiqq and winner of
Business Week Europe's Young Entrepreneur 2007
 Ramji Raghavan (1958- ), Social Entrepreneur, founder
of Agastya International Foundation
 Ritika Hiranandani (1970- ), India-US specialist and
entrepreneur, philanthropist. Founder of Atlantic-Crossing,
promoter of India and US business in the field of technology,
finance, pharmaceutical,entertainment and sports.

2.  Sabeer Bhatia (1968- ), co-founder of Hotmail
 Sam Pitroda (1942- ), inventor, entrepreneur, policymaker
 Shruti Kohli (1982- ), Founder/Editor, MoneyQuin(an online
finance magazine focused on women & kids)
 Subhash Chandra (1950- ), chairman of the Essel Group,
launched Zee TV, the first Hindi satellite television channel
 Suhas Gopinath (1986- ), notable for founding Globals Inc.,
an Information Technology (IT) company, at age 14
 Sunil Mittal (1957- ), chairman and managing director of Bharti
Enterprises
 Venkat Rangan, Founder of Yodlee.com and Vice Chancellor
of Amrita University
 T. V. Sundaram Iyengar (1877–1955), founder of the TVS
Group
 Vijay Mallya (1955- ), chairman of the United Breweries
Group and Kingfisher Airlines, member of the upper house of
the Indian Parliament, and owner of several sports franchises
and teams {Bangalore Royal Challengers}
 Vishal Gondal (b. 1976), founder of Indiagames
 Vivin Varghese Meleadan (1988- ), co-founder of MVS Info
Tech
 Aditya Jha, Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist and
philosopher; Active in Canadian public affairs
 Purnima Varadrajan, founder and CEO of iPOTT group of
companies. Google for general search iPOTT for software
search.
 Ujwal Makhija, founder and CEO of Phonon, an Indian pioneer
in hosted telephony services such as click-to-call.
 P. Ponnudurai, Managing Director of Lion Dates Imnex Private
Ltd, market leader in packaged Dates(dry fruit).
 Shruti Kohli
 Sumit Gupta, founder BitRhymes.

3. Dhirubhai Ambani
JRD Tata
Adi Godrej
Anil Ambani
Dr. K. Anji Reddy
Azim Premji
Bhai Mohan Singh
B.M. Munjal
Ekta Kapoor
Ghanshyam Das Birla
Karsanbhai Patel
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
K.P. Singh
Kumar Mangalam Birla
Lalit Suri
M.S. Oberoi
Mukesh Ambani
Nandan Nilekani
Narayana Murthy
Naresh Goyal
Dr. Pratap Reddy
Rahul Bajaj
Ramalinga Raju
Ratan Tata
Raunaq Singh
Shiv Nadar
Subhash Chandra

4. Subroto Roy
Sunil Mittal
Tulsi Tanti
Verghese Kurien
Vijay Mallya
Mallika Srinivasan
Naina Lal Kidwai
Shahnaz Hussain
Sulajja Firodia Motwani
Shobhana Bhartia
Indian Entrepreneurs
Painters
Musicians
NRI Entrepreneurs
Writers
Leaders
Scientists
Social Reformers
Others
Classical Dancers
Indian Singers
India Film Personalities
Indian Vocalists
• Mahatma Gandhi
•

5. Facts About Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi Quote
Mahatma Gandhi Pictures
Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi Quotes
Indira Gandhi Pictures
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa Quote
Mother Teresa Pictures
Dhirubhai Ambani Biography
Born: December 28, 1932
Died: July 6, 2002
Achievements: Dhiru Bhai Ambani built India's largest private
sector company. Created an equity cult in the Indian capital
market. Reliance is the first Indian company to feature in Forbes
500 list
Dhirubhai Ambani was the most enterprising Indian entrepreneur.
His life journey is reminiscent of the rags to riches story. He is
remembered as the one who rewrote Indian corporate history and
built a truly global corporate group.
Dhirubhai Ambani alias Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani was born on
December 28, 1932, at Chorwad, Gujarat, into a Modh family. His
father was a school teacher. Dhirubhai Ambani started his

6. entrepreneurial career by selling "bhajias" to pilgrims in Mount
Girnar over the weekends.
After doing his matriculation at the age of 16, Dhirubhai moved to
Aden, Yemen. He worked there as a gas-station attendant, and as
a clerk in an oil company. He returned to India in 1958 with Rs
50,000 and set up a textile trading company.
Assisted by his two sons, Mukesh and Anil, Dhiru Bhai Ambani
built India's largest private sector company, Reliance India
Limited, from a scratch. Over time his business has diversified
into a core specialisation in petrochemicals with additional
interests in telecommunications, information technology, energy,
power, retail, textiles, infrastructure services, capital markets,
and logistics.
Dhirubhai Ambani is credited with shaping India's equity culture,
attracting millions of retail investors in a market till then
dominated by financial institutions. Dhirubhai revolutionised
capital markets. From nothing, he generated billions of rupees in
wealth for those who put their trust in his companies. His efforts
helped create an 'equity cult' in the Indian capital market. With
innovative instruments like the convertible debenture, Reliance
quickly became a favorite of the stock market in the 1980s.
In 1992, Reliance became the first Indian company to raise
money in global markets, its high credit-taking in international
markets limited only by India's sovereign rating. Reliance also
became the first Indian company to feature in Forbes 500 list.
Dhirubhai Ambani was named the Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th
Century by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI). A poll conducted by The Times of India in 2000
voted him "greatest creator of wealth in the century".
Dhirubhai Ambani died on July 6, 2002, at Mumbai.

7. JRD Tata Biography
Born: July 29, 1904
Died: on November 29, 1993
Achievements: He had the honor of being India's first pilot; was
Chairman of Tata & Sons for 50 years; launched Air India International
as India's first international airline; received Bharat Ratna in 1992.
JRD Tata was one of the most enterprising Indian entrepreneurs. He
was a pioneer aviator and built one of the largest industrial houses of
India.
JRD Tata was born on July 29, 1904 in Paris. His mother was a
French, while his father was Parsi. JRD's full name was Jehangir
Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and he was popularly known as Jeh to his
friends. JRD's father Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and Sri Jamsetji Tata
shared their greatness from the same great-great-grandfather, Ervad
Jamsheed Tata, a priest of Navsari.
JRD Tata was the second of four children. He was educated in
France, Japan and England before being drafted into the French army
for a mandatory one-year period. JRD wanted to extend his service in
the forces but destiny had something else in store for him. By leaving
the French army JRD's life was saved because shortly thereafter, the
regiment in which he served was totally wiped out during an
expedition in Morocco.
JRD Tata joined Tata & Sons as an unpaid apprentice in 1925. He has
great interest in flying. On February 10, 1929, JRD became the first
Indian to pass the pilot's examination. With this distinctive honor of
being India's first pilot, he was instrumental in giving wings to India by
building Tata Airlines, which ultimately became Air India. His passion

8. for flying was fulfilled with the formation of the Tata Aviation Service in
1932.
In 1938, at the age of 34, JRD was elected Chairman of Tata & Sons
making him the head of the largest industrial group in India. He started
with 14 enterprises under his leadership and half a century later on
July 26, 1988, when he left , Tata & Sons was a conglomerate of 95
enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling
interest.
JRD was the trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust from its inception in
1932, which remained under his wings for over half a century. Under
his guidance, this Trust established Asia's first cancer hospital, the
Tata Memorial Center for Cancer, Research and Treatment, Bombay,
1941. It also founded the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 1936
(TISS), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1945 (TIFR), and
the National Center for Performing Arts.
In 1948, JRD Tata launched Air India International as India's first
international airline. In 1953, the Indian Government appointed JRD
as Chairman of Air-India and a director on the Board of Indian Airlines-
a position JRD retained for 25-years. For his crowning achievements
in Aviation, JRD was bestowed with the title of Honorary Air
Commodore of India.
In 1956, JRD Tata initiated a program of closer "employee association
with management" to give workers a stronger voice in the affairs of the
company. He firmly believed in employee welfare and espoused the
principles of an eight-hour working day, free medical aid, workers'
provident scheme, and workmen's accident compensation schemes,
which were later, adopted as statutory requirements in India.

9. JRD Tata cared greatly for his workers. In 1979, Tata Steel instituted a
new practice; a worker is deemed to be "at work" from the moment he
leaves home for work till he returns home from work. The company is
financially liable to the worker if any mishap takes place on the way to
and from work. Tata Steel Township was also selected as a UN
Global Compact City because of the quality of life, conditions of
sanitation, roads and welfare that were offered by Tata Steel.
JRD Tata received a number of awards. He received the Padma
Vibhushan in 1957 on the eve of silver jubilee of Air India. He also
received the Guggenheim Medal for aviation in 1988. In 1992,
because of his selfless humanitarian endeavors, JRD Tata was
awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna-one of the
rarest instances in which this award was granted during a person's
lifetime. In the same year, JRD Tata was also bestowed with the
United Nations Population Award for his crusading endeavors towards
initiating and successfully implementing the family planning movement
in India, much before it became an official government policy.
JRD Tata died in Geneva, Switzerland on November 29, 1993 at the
age of 89. On his death, the Indian Parliament was adjourned in his
memory-an honor not usually given to persons who are not Members
of Parliament.

10. Adi Godrej Profile
Achievements: Chairman of Godrej Group
Adi Godrej is one of the icons of Indian Industry. He is the chairman of
Godrej Group. .Adi Godrej was born in a business family. His father's
name was Burjorji Godrej and his mother's name was Jai Godrej.
More than a century age, the Godrej's were into manufacturing locks
and vegetable-based soaps. The Godrej products were among the
first indigenously manufactured products to displace entrenched
foreign brands.
Adi Godrej left India at the age of 17 to enroll at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Though he planned to study mechanical
engineering but he later on switched to management. After his return
to India, Adi Godrej joined the family business. He modernized and
systematized management structures and implemented process
improvements. Adi Godrej took the Godrej Group to great height
during controlled economy era.
After the liberalization process, Adi Godrej restructured company's
policies to meet the challenges of globalisation. In the early 2000s, the
Group completed a 10-year restructuring process through which each
business became a stand-alone company with a CEO/COO from
outside the Godrej family.
Under Adi Godrej's leadership, the group is also involved in
philanthropic activities. Godrej is major supporter of the World Wildlife
Fund in India, it has developed a green business campus in the

11. Vikhroli township of Mumbai, which includes a 150-acre mangrove
forest and a school for the children of company employees.
Anil Ambani Profile
orn: June 4, 1959
Achievement: Chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group; Chosen as
the 'CEO of the Year 2004' in the Platts Global Energy Awards and
MTV Youth Icon of the Year' in September 2003
Anil Ambani is one of the foremost entrepreneurs of Independent
India. He is the Chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Earlier,
before the split in the Reliance Group, Anil Ambani held the post of
Vice Chairman and Managing Director in Reliance Industries Limited
(RIL).
Born on June 4, 1959, Anil Ambani did his Bachelors in Science from
the University of Bombay and Masters in Business Administration The
Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Anil Ambani joined Reliance in 1983 as Co-Chief Executive Officer.
He pioneered India Inc's forays into overseas capital markets with
international public offerings of global depository receipts, convertibles
and bonds. Starting from 1991, he led Reliance in its efforts to raise,
around US$2 billion from overseas financial markets. In January 1997,
the 100-year Yankee bond issue was launched under his stewardship.
After the split in Reliance Group, Anil Ambani founded Anil Dhirubhai
Ambani Group. He is the Chairman of all listed Group companies,
which include: Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance
Energy and Reliance Natural Resources Limited.

12. Anil Ambai was elected as an independent member Rajya Sabha MP
in June 2004. But he resigned voluntarily on March 25, 2006.
Anil Ambani has won several awards and honours. Major among
these include: 'CEO of the Year 2004' in the Platts Global Energy
Awards, 'MTV Youth Icon of the Year' in September 2003, 'The
Entrepreneur of the Decade Award' by the Bombay Management
Association, and 'Businessman of the Year Award' by leading
Business Magazine, Business India in 1997.
Dr. K. Anji Reddy Profile
Achievements: Founder-chairman of Dr Reddy's Group of
Companies; Awarded with Padma Shri in 2001.
Dr. K. Anji Reddy is a pioneer in the pharmaceutical research in
India and is founder-chairman of Dr Reddy's Group of
Companies.
Dr Kallam Anji Reddy did his B.Sc in Pharmaceuticals and Fine
chemicals from Bombay University and subsequently completed
his PhD in Chemical Engineering from National Chemical
Laboratory, Pune, in 1969. Dr. K. Anji Reddy served in PSU Indian
Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited from 1969 to 1975. Dr. Reddy
was the founder-Managing Director of Uniloids Ltd from 1976 to
1980 and Standard Organics Limited from 1980 to 1984.
In 1984, Dr. K. Anji Reddy founded Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and
soon the company established new benchmarks in the Indian
Pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories transformed
Indian bulk drug industry from import-dependent in mid-80s to
self-reliant in mid-90s and finally into the export-oriented
industry that it is presently. In 1993, Dr. Reddy's became the first
company to take up drug discovery research in India and in April
2001 it became the first non-Japanese Asian pharmaceutical

13. company to list on NYSE. By the end of fiscal year 2005, Dr.
Reddy's Laboratories was India's second largest pharmaceutical
company and the youngest among its peer group.
Presently, Dr. Reddy is a serving member of the Prime Minister's
Council on Trade & Industry, Government of India, and has been
nominated to the Board of National Institute of Pharmaceutical
Education and Research (NIPER).
Dr. K. Anji Reddy is also a philanthropist. He is the founder-
Chairman of Dr. Reddy's Foundation for Human & Social
Development, a social arm of Dr. Reddy's, which acts as a
catalyst of change to achieve sustainable development.
Dr. K. Anji Reddy has received many awards and honors. These
include Sir PC Ray award (conferred twice, in 1984 and 1992);
Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations (FAPA)'s FAPA-
Ishidate Award for Pharmaceutical Research in 1998; leading
business magazine Business India voted him Businessman of
the Year in 2001; CHEMTECH Foundation bestowed on him the
Achiever of the Year award in the year 2000 and the 'Hall of Fame'
award in 2005, for his Entrepreneurship, Leadership and thrust
on Innovation; and in 2001, he was awarded the Padma Shri by
the Government of India.
Azim Premji Profile
Born: July 24, 1945
Achievements: Chairman of Wipro Technologies; Richest Indian for
the past several years; Honored with Padma Bhushan in 2005.
Azim Premji is Chairman of Wipro Technologies, one of the largest
software companies in India. He is an icon among Indian
businessmen and his success story is a source of inspiration to a
number of budding entrepreneurs.

14. Born on July 24, 1945, Azim Hashim Premji was studying Electrical
Engineering from Stanford University, USA when due to the sudden
demise of his father, he was called upon to handle the family
business. Azim Premji took over the reins of family business in 1966
at the age of 21.
At the first annual general meeting of the company attended by
Azeem Premji, a shareholder doubted Premji's ability to handle
business at such a young age and publicly advised him to sell his
shareholding and give it to a more mature management. This spurred
Azim Premji and made him all the more determined to make Wipro a
success story. And the rest is history.
When Azim Premji occupied the hot seat, Wipro dealt in hydrogenated
cooking fats and later diversified to bakery fats, ethnic ingredient
based toiletries, hair care soaps, baby toiletries, lighting products and
hydraulic cylinders. Thereafter Premji made a focused shift from
soaps to software.
Under Azim Premji's leadership Wipro has metamorphosed from a
Rs.70 million company in hydrogenated cooking fats to a pioneer in
providing integrated business, technology and process solutions on a
global delivery platform. Today, Wipro Technologies is the largest
independent R&D service provider in the world.
Azim Premji has several achievements to his credit. In 2000,
Asiaweek magazine, voted Premji among the 20 most powerful men in
the world. Azim Premji was among the 50 richest people in the world
from 2001 to 2003 listed by Forbes. In April 2004, Times Magazine,
rated him among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time
magazine. He is also the richest Indian for the past several years. In

15. 2005,Government of India honored Azim Premji with Padma Bhushan.
Bhai Mohan Singh Profile
Born: December 30, 1917
Achievement: Founder of pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy
Laboratories Ltd; Awarded with Padma Shri
Bhai Mohan Singh can be called as the doyen of pharmaceutical
industry in India. He is the founder of pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy
Laboratories Ltd.
Bhai Mohan Singh was born on December 30, 1917 in Rawalpindi
district. His father Bhai Gyan Chand was a Hindu and his mother
Sunder Dai was a Sikh. Bhai Mohan Singh began his business career
in the construction business during the Second World War. His firm
bagged a contract to build roads in the North East. After Partition, he
left Rawalpindi and settled down in New Delhi.
Bhai Mohan Singh started business as a moneylender. Ranbaxy was
started by his cousins Ranjit Singh and Gurbax Singh. Ranbaxy's
name was a fusion of Ranjit and Gurbax's names. They were
distributors for A. Shionogi, a Japanese pharmaceutical company
manufacturing vitamins and anti-TB drugs. When Ranbaxy defaulted
on a loan, Bhai Mohan Singh bought the company on August 1, 1952,
for Rs 2.5 lakh.
Bhai Mohan Singh collaborated with Italian pharma company Lapetit
Spa and later on bought it. Bhai Mohan Singh made his mark in the
pharmaceuticals industry in the late 1960s when he launched his first
superbrand, Calmpose.

16. Calmpose was an imitation of Roche's valium. But Roche had not
patented it in India. In early 1970s when Indian adopted a regime of
process patents in the Bhai Mohan Singh quickly realised that one
could make any product in the world through reverse engineering. He
established an R&D facility at Mohali and launched one blockbuster
pill after the other, such as Roscillin, Cifran etc.
Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd went public in 1973. At this time Bhai
Mohan Singh introduced his eldest son Parvinder Singh in the
company, who later on became the company's Managing Director in
1982. Bhai Mohan Singh also co-founded Max India with his youngest
son, Analjit Singh.
With liberalisation differences arose between Bhai Mohan Singh and
Parvinder Singh over the expansion and professionalisation strategy
of Ranbaxy. Subsequently, in 1999 in a boardroom coup of sorts Bhai
Mohan Singh was forced to bow down and Parvider took over the
company. This broke Bhai Mohan Singh's spirit and he retired from
active company affairs. He died on March 27, 2006.
Bhai Mohan Singh was a former vice president of the New Delhi
Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and was awarded the Padma Shri for
his contribution in civic matters. For his contribution to the industrial
development of Punjab, the Punjab Goverment had named an
Industrial Township near Ropar after Bhai Mohan Singh.
B.M. Munjal Profile
Achievement: Chairman of the Hero Group; Honored with Ernst &
Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2001
B.M. Munjal (Brij Mohan Lall Munjal) is the Chairman of the Hero
Group. He is a first generation entrepreneur who started very

17. small and through sheer hard work and perseverance made it to
the top. Today, Hero Group is the largest manufacturer of two-
wheelers in the world and Brij Mohan Lal Munjal is the man
widely credited with its success.
B.M. Munjal's journey began in 1944 at the age of 20. Brij
Mohanlall along with his three brothers, Dayanand (32),
Satyanand (27) and Om Prakash (16) moved from his birthplace
Kamalia in Pakistan to Amritsar. The brothers started supplying
components to the local bicycle business. After partition in 1947,
the family was forced to move to Ludhiana. The town of Ludhiana
was already a major hub of the Indian bicycle business and an
important textile center. The Munjals slowly spread their bicycle
component distribution network in other parts of the country and
became one of India's largest bicycle parts suppliers. In 1952
Munjals made a shift from supplying to manufacturing. They
started manufacturing handlebars, front forks and chains.
In 1956, the Punjab state government announced the issue of
twelve new industrial licenses to make bicycles in Ludhiana. The
Munjal brothers cashed on this opportunity. Helped by the
Punjab government financing of Rs 600,000 to supplement their
own limited capital resources, the Munjals set up Hero Cycles.
Hero Cycles was registered as a 'large-scale industrial unit' and it
initially produced 7,500 units per year.
Soon Hero Cycles started giving well-established players such as
Raleigh, Hind Cycles, and Atlas Cycles a run for their money. The
hero cycle was comparatively cheaper and was sturdy and
reliable. It gave the customers value for their money.
In January 1984, Japan's Honda, the world's largest manufacturer
of motorcycles, elicited interest in collaborating with the Hero
Group to manufacture motor cycles in India. An agreement was
signed and on 13 April 1985, the first Hero Honda motorbike was
rolled out. Today, the company is the largest manufacturer of
motorcycles in the world.

18. For his outstanding contribution to the success of Hero Group,
B.M. Munjal was honored with Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of
the Year award in 2001.
Ekta Kapoor Profile
orn: June 7, 1975
Achievement: Creative Director of Balaji Telefilms; Awarded with
Ernst & Young (E&Y) Startup Entrepreneur Of The Year award in
2001.
Ekta Kapoor can be aptly called as the reigning queen of Indian
television industry. The serials produced by her company Balaji
Telefilms are a great hit with the masses and are dominating all
the major T.V. channels in India.
Born on June 7, 1975, Ekta Kapoor is daughter of former
Bollywood superstar Jeetendra and sister of current Bollywood
hero Tusshar Kapoor. Ekta Kapoor did her schooling from
Bombay Scottish School and later on joined Mithibai College.
She was not interested in academics and on the advice of her
father ventured into TV-serial production at the age of 19. And
soon she changed the face of Indian television industry and
completely dominated it.
Today, Ekta Kapoor is the creative director of Balaji Telefilms. Her
company has produced more than 25 serials and each one is
being shown, on an average, four times a week on different
television channels. Ekta Kapoor's serials have captured the
imagination of masses. She broken all previous records of TV
serial production and popularity in India. Her most famous
television venture has been "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi"
which began in 2000 and is still leading the TRP ratings in India.
Her other famous serials include "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki",
"Kahiin To Hoga", "Kavyanjali", "Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa",

19. "Kasamh Se", "Kahin Kisii Roz", "Kasautii Zindagi Kay",
"Kkusum", "Kutumb", "Kalash", and "Kundali".
For her entrepreneurial skills and achievements Ekta Kapoor was
awarded with Ernst & Young (E&Y) Startup Entrepreneur Of The
Year award in 2001.
Ghanshyam Das Birla Profile
Born: April 10, 1894
Achievement: Laid the foundations of the Birla Empire; founder of the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Ghanshyam Das Birla is considered as a doyen of Indian Industry. He
was the man who laid the foundations of the Birla Empire. G.D. Birla
was a multi-faceted personality. He was a close associate of Mahatma
Gandhi and advised Gandhiji on economic policies. He was the most
important pre-Independence contributor to the Indian National
Congress. Ghanshyam Das Birla was the founder of the Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He is also
popularly known as the builder of Birla Mandirs.
Born on April 10, 1894, G.D. Birla, was a native of Pilani. His
grandfather Shiv Narayan Birla was a traditional marwari
moneylender. Ghanshyam Das Birla entered the business arena
during the time of First World War. He established a cotton mill in
Sabzi Mandi, and later on established Keshoram Cotton Mills. Along
with cotton mills he diversified to jute business and shifted his base to
Calcutta city in Bengal, the world's largest jute producing region. He
established Birla Jute Mills in Bengal, much to the consternation of

20. established European merchants.
In 1919, with an investment of Rs. 50 lakhs, the Birla Brothers Limited
was formed and a mill was set up in Gwalior. In 1930s, G.D. Birla set
up Sugar and Paper mills. In 1940s, he ventured into the territory of
cars and established Hindustan Motors. After independence,
Ghanshyam Das Birla invested in tea and textiles through a series of
acquisitions of erstwhile European companies. He also expanded and
diversified into cement, chemicals, rayon and steel tubes.
Ghanshyam Das Birla also founded several educational institutions.
Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS) Pilani has today
evolved into one of India's best engineering schools. He also
established many temples, planetariums, and hospitals. Ghanshyam
Das Birla died in 1983 at the age of 90. In his honour, G.D. Birla
award for scientific Research has been established to encourage
scientists for their contribution in the various fields of scientific
Research.
Karsanbhai Patel Profile
Achievement: Man behind the hugely successful brand, Nirma.
Karsanbhai Patel is the man behind the hugely successful brand,
Nirma. His' is a legendary rags to riches journey during which he
shattered established business theories and rewrote new ones.
Karsanbhai Khodidas Patel (K.K. Patel) came from a humble farmer
family from Mehsana, Gujarat. He worked as Lab Assistant in the
Geology and Mining Department of the Government of Gujarat. In
1969, at the age of 25, Karsan Bhai Patel started a small-scale
enterprise. He offered a quality detergent powder, using indigenous

21. technology, at a third of the prevailing price, without compromising on
the product. Karsanbhai named the detergent powder Nirma after
daughter Nirupama.
At that time domestic detergent market was limited only to premium
segment and was dominated by MNCs. Karsanbhai Patel started
door-to-door selling of Nirma and priced it at Rs. 3 per kg. The next
available cheapest brand in the market at that time was Rs.13 per kg.
Nirma revolutionized the whole detergent powder segment and in a
short span of time created an entirely new market segment in the
domestic detergent sector market. It gave the bigger established
brands a run for their money and soon occupied the top market share.
To add to all this, Nirma was made of an innovative formulation, which
global detergent giants were later on compelled to emulate, it was
phosphate free and hence environment friendly, and the process of
manufacturing was labour intensive, which offered large scale
employment.
Karsanbhai notched up one success after another. After establishing
its leadership in economy-priced detergents, Nirma foray into the
premium brand segment, in cakes and detergents was equally
successful. It built up a 30% market share in the premium detergent
segment and achieved a greater than 20% share in the premium
soaps market.
Karsanbhai Patel has won many accolades on his way to success.
The Federation of Association of Small Scale Industries of India, New
Delhi, awarded him with the 'Udyog Ratna'. The Gujarat Chamber of
Commerce felicitated him as an 'Outstanding Industrialist of the
Eighties'. The Govt. of India twice appointed him Chairman of the
Development Council for Oils, Soaps & Detergents.

22. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Profile
Born: March 23, 1953
Achievement: Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd;
Felicitated with Padmashri (1989) and Padma Bhushan (2005).
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the Chairman & Managing Director of
Biocon Ltd, India's biggest biotechnology company. In 2004, she
became India's richest woman.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was born on March 23, 1953 in Bangalore.
She had her schooling at Bishop Cotton Girls School and Mount
Carmel College at Bangalore. After doing completing her B.Sc. in
Zoology from Bangalore University in 1973, she went to Ballarat
University in Melbourne, Australia and qualified as a master brewer.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw started her professional career as trainee
brewer in Carlton & United Beverages in 1974. In 1978, she joined as
Trainee Manager with Biocon Biochemicals Limited in Ireland. In the
same year, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw founded Biocon India in
collaboration with Biocon Biochemicals Limited, with a capital of
Rs.10,000. She initially faced many problems regarding funds for her
business. Banks were hesitant to give loan to her as biotechnology
was a totally new field at that point of time and she was a woman
entrepreneur, which was a rare phenomenon.
Biocon's initial operation was to extract an enzyme from papaya.
Under Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's stewardship Biocon transformed from
an industrial enzymes company to an integrated biopharmaceutical
company with strategic research initiatives. Today, Biocon is
recognised as India's pioneering biotech enterprise. In 2004, Biocon
came up with an IPO and the issue was over-subscribed by over 30

23. times. Post-IPO, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw held close to 40% of the
stock of the company and was regarded as India's richest woman with
an estimated worth of Rs. 2,100 crore.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards.
These include ET Businesswoman of the Year, Best Woman
Entrepreneur, Model Employer, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the
Year Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare, Leading Exporter,
Outstanding Citizen, Technology Pioneer, etc. Government of India
also felicitated her with Padmashri (1989) and Padma Bhushan
(2005).
K.P. Singh Profile
Born: August 15, 1931
Achievement: Chairman of DLF Group; Recipient of the 'Delhi Ratna'
Award for his valuable contribution to Delhi
K.P. Singh is the Chairman of DLF Group and can be christened as
the real estate baron of India. DLF has a strong leadership presence
in Indian real estate industry and the company is credited with
developing the modern township of Gurgaon.
K.P. Singh (Kushal Pal Singh) was born on August 15, 1931 at
Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh. After graduating in Science from
Meerut College, he went to UK to study Aeronautical Engineering.
While pursuing engineering in UK, K.P. Singh was selected to the
prestigious Indian Army, by British Officers Services Selection Board,
UK. He joined the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun and was later
on commissioned into The Deccan Horse-a renowned cavalry
regiment of The Indian Army.

24. In 1960, K.P. Singh joined American Universal Electric Company, a
joint venture between Universal Electric Company of Owosso,
Michigan and his family. Thereafter, K.P. Singh promoted another
company, i.e. Willard India Limited in collaboration with ESB inc of
Philadelphia for manufacturing automatic and industrial batteries in
India and became its Managing Director.
In 1979, K.P. Singh joined DLF Universal Limited. When American
Universal Company merged with DLF Universal Limited, K.P. Singh
became the Managing Director of the new company. K.P. Singh had
the vision to buy land in Gurgaon, which was then a barren village on
the outskirts of Delhi. He had the foresight to saw the untapped
potential of the place and today Gurgaon is one of the real-estate
hotspots of the country. Presently, DLF has 100 million square feet
under development in residential, commercial and retail projects all
over the country.
Kushal Pal Singh also held a number of professional positions in India.
He was the President of the ASSOCHAM (Associated Chamber of
Commerce and Industry of India) and the PHD Chambers of
Commerce & Industry. K.P. Singh is also the recipient of the 'Delhi
Ratna' Award for his valuable contribution to Delhi.
Kumar Mangalam Birla Profile
Born: June 14, 1967
Achievement: Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group; Vhosen as Ernst &
Young Entrepreneur of the Year - India in 2005
Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group. The
group is India's third largest business house. Major companies of

25. Aditya Birla Group in India are Grasim, Hindalco, UltraTech Cement,
Aditya Birla Nuvo and Idea Cellular. Aditya Birla Group's joint ventures
include Birla Sun Life (Financial Services) and Birla NGK (Insulators).
The group also has its presence in various countries such as
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Egypt, Canada, China and
Australia.
Born on June 14, 1967, Kumar Mangalam Birla spent the early of his
life in Calcutta and Mumbai. He is a Chartered Accountant and did his
MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from the London Business
School, London. Kumar Mangalam Birla took over as Chairman in
1995, at the age of 28, after sudden demise of his father, noted
industrialist Aditya Birla, after whom the group is named.
When Kumar Mangalam Birla assumed the mantle at the Aditya Birla
Group, Doubts were raised about his ability to handle a giant business
house with interests spanning viscose, textiles and garments on the
one hand and cement, aluminium and fertilisers on the other. But
Kumar Mangalam proved his skeptics wrong. He brought in radical
changes, changed business strategies, professionalised the entire
group and replaced internal systems. Kumar Mangalam reduced his
group's dependence on the cyclic commodities sectors by entering
consumer products.
Under Kumar Mangalam Birla's leadership, the Aditya Birla Group,
apart from consolidating its position in existing businesses, also
ventured into sunrise sectors like cellular telephony, asset
management, software and BPO.
Kumar Mangalam Birla also holds several key positions on various
regulatory and professional boards, including chairmanship of the
advisory committee constituted by the ministry of company affairs for

26. 2006 and 2007, membership of the prime minister of India's advisory
council on trade and industry, chairmanship of the board of trade
reconstituted by the union minister of commerce and industry, and
membership of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of
India.
Kumar Mangalam Birla has won several honors. Major among them
include The Business Leader of the Year (2003) by The Economic
Times, Business Man of the Year - 2003 by Business India, and The
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year - India in 2005.
Lalit Suri Profile
Achievement: Chairman of the Bharat Hotels chain and the single
largest hotel owner.
Lalit Suri can be called as the uncrowned hotel king of India. He is the
Chairman of the Bharat Hotels chain and is the single-largest hotel
owner with over 1600 rooms. Bharat Hotels chain comprises seven
hotels which include the flagship InterContinental The Grand in Delhi,
and six Grand hotels in Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Srinagar, Udaipur
and Khajuraho.
Lalit Suri is an alumnus of St Columbus and Sri Ram College of
Commerce, New Delhi. He represented both his school and college in
swimming and athletics at the state level. Lalit Suri was trained as an
automobile engineer and started his career manufacturing vehicle
bodies. He commissioned his first hotel in Delhi in 1988. Since then
there has been no looking back.
In the last few years Bharat Hotels has invested Rs 500 crore on its
properties in Mumbai and Goa. In addition, the group has spent Rs 42

27. crore on a 30-year lease on the former Bangalore Ashok, and a further
Rs 40 crore on renovations. Lalit Suri is currently on an expansion
mode. Sites for hotels have been identified and negotiated in Amritsar,
Ahmedabad and Jaipur, while search is on for the right locations in
Chennai and Hyderabad. In the first phase hotels will be constructed
in Amritsar, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur adding 400-600 rooms to the
Grand chain, while the next phase in Chennai, and Hyderabad) will
take the tally up by another 500 five-star deluxe rooms.
Apart from a successful businessman, Lalit Suri is also an avid
traveler and an art lover. Presently, he is also a Rajya Sabha MP.
M.S. Oberoi Profile
Born: August 15, 1898
Achievement: Founder of the Oberoi Group of Hotels; Honored with
Padma Bhushan in 2001.
M.S. Oberoi can be aptly termed as the father of the Indian hotel
industry. Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi was among the first to
recognize the potential of the tourism industry, its ability to contribute
to India's economic growth and generate direct and indirect
employment. He worked tirelessly to put Indian hotel industry on
global tourism map.
M.S. Oberoi was born on August 15, 1898, in the erstwhile undivided
Punjab, now in Pakistan. He did his early schooling in Rawalpindi and
completed his graduation from Lahore. In 1922, to escape the
epidemic of Plague, he came to Shimla, and got a job of front desk
clerk, at The Cecil Hotel at a salary of Rs 50 per month.
M.S. Oberoi was a quick learner and shouldered many additional

28. responsibilities along with the job of desk clerk. M. S. Oberoi's
diligence prompted Mr. Clarke to request Mohan Singh Oberoi to
assist him when he acquired Clarkes Hotel. At the Clarkes Hotel, M.S.
Oberoi gained first hand experience in all aspects of hotel operations.
In 1934, M.S. Oberoi acquired The Clarkes Hotel from his mentor, by
mortgaging his wife's jewelry and all his assets. In 1938, he signed a
lease to takeover operations of the five hundred room Grand Hotel in
Calcutta, which was up for sale following a cholera epidemic.
In 1943, Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi, acquired the controlling
interest in the Associated Hotels of India (AHI) which owned the Cecil,
and Corstophans in Shimla, the Maidens and the Imperial in Delhi,
and a hotel each in Lahore, Murree, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. He
thus became the first Indian to run the largest and finest hotel chain.
In 1959, The Oberoi Group became the first group to start flight
catering operations in India. In 1965, M.S. Oberoi opened the first
modern, five star international hotel in the country, The Oberoi
Intercontinental, in Delhi. In 1966 he established the prestigious
Oberoi School of Hotel Management, recognized by the International
Hotel Association in Paris. In 1973, The Oberoi Group opened the 35
storey Oberoi Sheraton in Mumbai. Rai Bahadur M.S. Oberoi was the
first to employ women in the hospitality sector.
Today, The Oberoi Group owns or manages 37 luxury and first class
international hotels in seven countries.
M.S. Oberoi was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1962 and in 1972. He
was also elected to the Lok Sabha in 1968.
M.S. Oberoi was recipient of many awards and honours. In 1943, he

29. was conferred the title of Rai Bahadur by the British Government.
Other honors include admission to the Hall of Fame by the American
Society of Travel Agents (ASTA); Man of The World by the
International Hotel Association (IHA) New York; named by Newsweek
as one of the "Elite Winners of 1978" and the PHDCCI Millennium
award in 2000. M.S. Oberoi was honored with Padma Bhushan in
2001.
M.S. Oberoi passed away on May 3, 2002 at the age of 103.
Mukesh Ambani Profile
Born: April 19, 1957
Achievement: Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance
Industries Limited, India's largest private sector company; Chosen as
ET Business Leader of the Year 2006; Ranked 42nd among the
World's Most Respected Business Leaders and second among the
four Indian CEOs featured in a survey conducted by
PricewaterhouseCoopers and published in Financial Times, London,
November 2004.
Mukesh Ambani is the face of new emerging India. He is the
Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited,
India's largest private sector company.
Mukesh Ambani was born on April 19, 1957 in Mumbai. His father
Dhirubhai Ambani was then a small businessman who later on rose to
become one of the legends of Indian industry. Mukesh Ambani did his
Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from University of Bombay and
Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University, USA.
Mukesh Ambani joined Reliance in 1981 and was the brain behind

30. Reliance's backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and
further into petrochemicals. During the process of backward
integration, Mukesh Ambani led the creation of 51 new, world-class
manufacturing facilities involving diverse technologies that raised
Reliance's manufacturing capacities manifold.
World's largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar is the
brainchild of Mukesh Ambani. He was also the incharge of Dhirubhai's
dream project Reliance Infocomm. But after the split in the Reliance
Empire, Reliance Infocomm went to his brother Anil Ambani. Mukesh
Ambani is now planning to enter retail sector in a big way. He has
plans to establish big retail stores all over the country. Recently, he
also entered into an agreement with Haryana Government to establish
a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with an investment running into
thousands of crores.
Mukesh Ambani has many achievements and honours to his name.
Mukesh Ambani was chosen as the ET Business leader of the Year
2006. He was ranked 42nd among the World's Most Respected
Business Leaders and second among the four Indian CEOs featured
in a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and published in
Financial Times, London, November 2004. He was conferred the
World Communication Award for the Most Influential Person in
Telecommunications in 2004 by Total Telecom, October, 2004.
Mukesh Ambani was also conferred the Asia Society Leadership
Award by the Asia Society, Washington D.C., USA,
Nandan Nilekani Profile
Achievement: CEO and Managing Director of the Infosys; Conferred
the Padma Bhushan in 2006.

31. Nandan Nilekani is the CEO and managing director of the Infosys.
Along with Narayan Murthy, he was one of the co-founders of Infosys.
He has served as a director on the company's board since its
inception in 1981. Before assuming the post of CEO in March 2002,
Nandan Nilekani held the post of Managing Director, President and
Chief Operating Officer.
Nandan Nilekani was born in Bangalore. His father Mohan Nilekani
was a manager in Minerva Mills. Nandan Nilekani had his initial
schooling in Bangalore. Due to his father's transferable job Nandan
moved to his uncle's place at Dharwad at the age of 12. This taught
Nandan Nilekani to be independent. In 1973, at the age of 18, Nandan
Nilekani got admission in IIT Mumbai. The stint at IIT Mumbai
transformed Nandan Nilekani from a small town boy to a confident
mature man. The lessons he learnt here-meritocracy; the ability to
work as part of a team; hard work; and the importance of giving back
to the society-have stood him in good stead.
After graduating in electrical engineering from IIT Mumbai in 1978,
Nandan Nilekani joined Patni Computers. Here he worked under
Narayan Murthy. Three years later in 1981, Nandan Nilekani along
with Narayan Murthy and five other co-founders founded Infosys.
While Narayan Murthy stayed in India, Nandan Nilekani shifted to the
US to take care of Infosys' interests there. He was the company's
marketing face.
In 1980s and 90s Nandan Nilekani and his team worked hard to build
Infosys. Today Infosys' success story has become a legend in India's
corporate history. Today, Infosys has an employee strength of 58,000,
annual revenue of $2 billion and $21 billion capitalization.
Nandan Nilekani is recipient of several honors and awards. In January

32. 2006, Nandan became one of the youngest entrepreneurs to join 20
global leaders on the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF)
Foundation Board. He figures among one of the 100 most influential
people in the world by Time Magazine, 2006. In 2005 he was awarded
the prestigious Joseph Schumpeter prize for innovative services in
field of economy, economic sciences and politics. In 2006, Nandan
Nilekani was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest
civilian honors of India.
Narayana Murthy Profile
Born: August 20, 1946
Achievement: One of the founders of Infosys Technologies Limited;
Chosen as the World Entrepreneur of the Year - 2003 by Ernst and
Young
Narayana Murthy is the Non-Executive Chairman and Chief Mentor of
Infosys Technologies Limited. He is a living legend and an epitome of
the fact that honesty, transparency, and moral integrity are not at
variance with business acumen. He set new standards in corporate
governance and morality when he stepped down as the Executive
Chairman of Infosys at the age of 60.
Born on August 20, 1946, N.R. Narayana Murthy is a B.E. Electrical
from University of Mysore (1967) and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur (1969).
Narayan Murthy began his career with Patni Computer Systems in
Pune. In 1981, Narayana Murthy founded Infosys with six other
software professionals. In 1987, Infosys opened its first international
office in U.S.A.
With the liberalization of Indian economy in 1990s, Infosys grew
rapidly. In 1993, the company came up with its IPO. In 1995, Infosys
set up development centers across cities in India and in 1996, it set up

33. its first office in Europe in Milton Keynes, UK. In 1999, Infosys became
the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ. Today (in 2006),
Infosys has a turnover of more than $ 2billion and has employee
strength of over 50,000. In 2002, Infosys was ranked No. 1 in the
"Best Employers in India 2002" survey conducted by Hewitt and in the
Business World's survey of "India's Most Respected Company."
Conducted in the same year.
Along with the growth of Infosys, Narayana Moorthy too has grown in
stature. He has received many honors and awards. In June 2000,
Asiaweek magazine featured him in a list of Asia's 50 Most Powerful
People. In 2001, Narayana Murthy was named by TIME/CNN as one
of the 25 most influential global executives. He was the first recipient
of the Indo-French Forum Medal (2003) and was voted the World
Entrepreneur of the Year - 2003 by Ernst and Young. The Economist
ranked Narayana Murthy eighth on the list of the 15 most admired
global leaders (2005) and Narayan Murthy also topped the Economic
Times Corporate Dossier list of India's most powerful CEOs for two
consecutive years - 2004 and 2005.
Naresh Goyal Profile
chievement: Founder Chairman of Jet Airways; Recipient of the first BM Munjal Award for
Excellence in Learning & Development in the Private Sector category in 2006.
Naresh Goyal is the founder Chairman of Jet Airways, India's largest domestic airline. Jet
Airways presently operates over 320 flights daily to 48 destinations, of which five are
international. Naresh Goel also figures in Forbes list of Indian billionaires.
Naresh Goyal completed his graduation in Commerce in 1967 and joined the travel business
with the GSA for Lebanese International Airlines. From 1967 to 1974 he learnt the intricacies of
the travel business through his association with several foreign airlines.
In May 1974, Naresh Goyal founded Jetair (Private) Limited to look after Sales and Marketing
operations of foreign airlines in India. Naresh Goyal was involved in developing studies of traffic
patterns, route structures, and operational economics and flight scheduling. His rich and varied
experience made him an authority in the world of aviation and travel.

34. In 1991, when the Indian economy was being opened up, Naresh Goyal took advantage of
Open Skies Policy of the Government of India and set up Jet Airways for the operation of
scheduled air services on domestic sectors in India. Jet Airways started commercial operations
on May 05, 1993.
Today, Jet Airways has evolved into India's largest private domestic airline. Jet Airways has
been voted India's "Best Domestic Airline" by several organisations of world-class repute. In
2005, Jet Airways came up with an IPO and it was a huge success. Jet Airways was recently in
controversy over its merger deal with Air Sahara. The merger was called off and the too airlines
are currently considering arbitration.
Along with Jet's meteoric rise, Naresh Goyal too rose in the entrepreneurial arena. He has won
several honors and accolades. These include Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Services' from
Ernst & Young in 2000, 'Distinguished Alumni Award-2000 for meritorious and distinguished
performance as an Entrepreneur', Outstanding Asian-Indian' award for leadership and
contribution to the global community given by the Indian American Centre for Political
Awareness, 'Aerospace Laurels' for outstanding contribution in the field of Commercial Air
Transport twice, in April 2000 and February 2004. Naresh Goyal also received the first BM
Munjal Award for Excellence in Learning & Development in the Private Sector category in 2006.
Naresh Goyal Profile
Achievement: Founder Chairman of Jet Airways; Recipient of the first BM Munjal Award for
Excellence in Learning & Development in the Private Sector category in 2006.
Naresh Goyal is the founder Chairman of Jet Airways, India's largest domestic airline. Jet
Airways presently operates over 320 flights daily to 48 destinations, of which five are
international. Naresh Goel also figures in Forbes list of Indian billionaires.
Naresh Goyal completed his graduation in Commerce in 1967 and joined the travel business
with the GSA for Lebanese International Airlines. From 1967 to 1974 he learnt the intricacies of
the travel business through his association with several foreign airlines.
In May 1974, Naresh Goyal founded Jetair (Private) Limited to look after Sales and Marketing
operations of foreign airlines in India. Naresh Goyal was involved in developing studies of traffic
patterns, route structures, and operational economics and flight scheduling. His rich and varied
experience made him an authority in the world of aviation and travel.
In 1991, when the Indian economy was being opened up, Naresh Goyal took advantage of
Open Skies Policy of the Government of India and set up Jet Airways for the operation of
scheduled air services on domestic sectors in India. Jet Airways started commercial operations
on May 05, 1993.

35. Today, Jet Airways has evolved into India's largest private domestic airline. Jet Airways has
been voted India's "Best Domestic Airline" by several organisations of world-class repute. In
2005, Jet Airways came up with an IPO and it was a huge success. Jet Airways was recently in
controversy over its merger deal with Air Sahara. The merger was called off and the too airlines
are currently considering arbitration.
Along with Jet's meteoric rise, Naresh Goyal too rose in the entrepreneurial arena. He has won
several honors and accolades. These include Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Services' from
Ernst & Young in 2000, 'Distinguished Alumni Award-2000 for meritorious and distinguished
performance as an Entrepreneur', Outstanding Asian-Indian' award for leadership and
contribution to the global community given by the Indian American Centre for Political
Awareness, 'Aerospace Laurels' for outstanding contribution in the field of Commercial Air
Transport twice, in April 2000 and February 2004. Naresh Goyal also received the first BM
Munjal Award for Excellence in Learning & Development in the Private Sector category in 2006.
Dr. Pratap Reddy Profile
chievement: Founder of the Apollo Hospital Group
Dr. Pratap Reddy is the founder of the Apollo Hospital Group, India's first corporate hospital
group. He revolutionized the whole health care scenario of India and inspired others to follow
the suit. Today, India has over 750 corporate hospitals all over the country.
Dr. Pratap Reddy came to India after serving as the Chief Resident of the Worcenter City
Hospital in the US to start his practice in Madras with a modest earning of Rs 100/- per day. The
idea to establish Apollo Group of Hospitals came when Dr. Reddy lost a patient who couldn't
make it to Texas for an open heart surgery. This inspired Dr. Pratap Reddy to create world-class
medical infrastructure in India and make it more accessible and affordable to common people.
Dr. Reddy's efforts bore fruit when he succeeded in setting up the first center of the Apollo
Hospitals Group in Chennai in 1983.
Dr, Pratap Reddy soon followed this with India 's first hospital consultancy body - the Indian
Hospitals Corporation - and commissioned two more Tertiary Care Centers in India. Since its
inception, Apollo has demonstrated that Indian skills are equivalent to the best centers in the
world and has produced world-class results in the most complicated Cadaver Transplant.
Today, the Apollo Hospitals Group has over 22 centers in major cities in India and a combined
turnover of over US $ 100 million.
Dr Reddy is now spreading Apollo Hospitals Group to other parts of Asia. The group opened its
first clinic in Dubai in March 1999 and is coming up with projects in Sri Lanka, Africa,
Bangladesh, and Oman. Dr. Reddy is currently looking at secondary health centers in semi
urban and smaller cities and has already identified 23 sites for the purpose.
Dr. Pratap Reddy's latest initiatives are "Med Varsity"-a virtual medical university providing total

36. access to experts in the field of medicine anywhere in the world- and "MEDNET" - Hospital
Systems Management package. Both the initiatives are expected to transform health care
sector in India.
Rahul Bajaj Profile
Achievement: Chairman of the Bajaj Group
Rahul Bajaj is the Chairman of the Bajaj Group, which ranks among the top 10 business houses
in India. The Bajaj Group has diversified interests ranging from automobiles, home appliances,
lighting, iron and steel, insurance, travel and finance. Rahul Bajaj is one of India's most
distinguished business leaders and internationally respected for his business acumen and
entrepreneurial spirit.
Rahul Bajaj is an alumnus of Harvard, St. Stephen's and Cathedral. He took over the reins of
Bajaj Group in 1965. Under his stewardship, the turnover of the Bajaj Auto the flagship company
has risen from Rs.72 million to Rs.46.16 billion. Rahul Bajaj created one of India's best
companies in the difficult days of the licence-permit raj. He established factories at Akurdi and
Waluj. In 1980s Bajaj Auto was top scooter producer in India and its Chetak brand had a 10-
year waiting period.
The initiation of liberalization in India posed great challenges for Bajaj Auto. Liberalisation
brought the threat of cheap imports and FDI from top companies like Honda. Rahul Bajaj
became famous as the head of the Bombay Club, which opposed liberalization. The scooter
sails plummeted as people were more interested in motorcycles and the rival Hero Honda was a
pioneer in it.
The recession and stock market collapse of 2001 hit the company hard and it was predicted that
the days of Bajaj Auto were numbered. However, Bajaj Auto re-invented itself, established a
world-class factory in Chakan, invested in R&D and came up with Bajaj Pulsar Motorcycle. Bajaj
Pulsar is currently a leader in its segment.
Recently, Rahul Bajaj was elected to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra.
Ramalinga Raju Profile
Born: September 16, 1954
Achievement: Founder and Chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd; Chosen as Ernst &
Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Services in 1999
Ramalinga Raju is one of the pioneers of the Information Technology industry in India. He is the
founder and Chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd.

37. Ramalinga Raju was born on September 16, 1954 in a family of farmers. He did his B. Com
from Andhra Loyola College at Vijayawada and subsequently did his MBA from Ohio University,
USA. Ramalinga Raju had a stint at Harvard too. He attended the Owner / President course at
Harvard.
After returning to India in 1977, Ramalinga Raju moved away from the traditional agriculture
business and set up a spinning and weaving mill named Sri Satyam. . Thereafter he shifted to
the real estate business and started a construction company called Satyam Constructions. In
1987, Ramalinga Raju founded Satyam Computer Services along with one of his brothers-in-
law, DVS Raju. The company went public in 1992. With the launch of Satyam Infoway (Sify)
Satyam became one of the first to enter Indian internet service market. Today, Satyam has a
global presence and serves 44 Fortune 500 and over 390 multinational corporations.
Ramalinga Raju has won several awards and honors. These include Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year for Services in 1999, Dataquest IT Man of the Year in 2000, CNBC's
Asian Business Leader - Corporate Citizen of the Year award in 2002 and E&Y Entrepreneur of
the Year Award in 2007.
The ever-soaring share prices of Satyam witnessed a sharp decline in December 2008,
following a failed acquisition attempt involving Maytas, a company owned by Raju's family. In
January 2009, Raju resigned as the Chairman of Satyam after he admitted to major financial
wrong-doings. In Januray 2009, Raju confessed of his involvement in inflating the profits of the
company for the past couple of years. The 7,800-crore fraud started with an initial cover-up for a
poor quarterly performance and assumed massive proportion, with time.
Ratan Tata Profile
Born: December 28, 1937
Achievement: Honored with Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in 2000.
Ratan Tata is presently the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.
Ratan Naval Tata is also the Chairman of the major Tata companies such as Tata Steel, Tata
Motors, Tata Power, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and
Tata Teleservices. He has taken Tata Group to new heights and under his leadership Group's
revenues have grown manifold.
Ratan Tata was born on December 28, 1937, in Bombay. He received a Bachelor of Science
degree in architecture from Cornell University in 1962. Ratan Tata had a short stint with Jones
and Emmons in Los Angeles, California, before returning to India in late 1962. He joined the
Tata Group and was assigned to various companies before being appointed director-in-charge
of The National Radio & Electronics Company (NELCO) in 1971. Ratan Tata was appointed
Chairman of Tata Industries in 1981. He was assigned the task of transforming the company
into a Group strategy think-tank, and a promoter of new ventures in high technology
businesses.

38. In 1991, Ratan Tata took over the Chairmanship from JRD Tata. Under him Tata Consultancy
Services went public and Tata Motors was listed in the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998,
Tata Motors came up with Tata Indica, the first truly Indian car. The car was the brainchild of
Ratan Tata.
Ratan Tata was honored with Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in 2000. He
was also conferred an honorary doctorate in business administration by Ohio State University,
an honorary doctorate in technology by the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, and an
honorary doctorate in science by the University of Warwick.
Raunaq Singh Profile
Born: 1922
Achievement: Founder of Raunaq Group; Elected as a member of the Executive Board of the
International Chamber of Commerce, Paris
Raunaq Singh was one of the earliest entrepreneurs of independent India who made it big. He
was the founder of Raunaq group. The Raunaq Group's major companies include Apollo Tyres
Ltd, Bharat Gears Ltd, Bharat Steel Tubes Ltd, Raunaq International Ltd, Menarini Raunaq
Pharma Ltd, and Raunaq Automotive Components Ltd.
Raunaq Singh was born in 1922. After initial struggle he went on to become a powerful figure in
corporate India. At one point of time in his life he could afford only one paisa a day for meals
and when he retired his group was employing 9000 people on his payroll.
Raunaq Singh was a great advocate of economic liberalization and globalization of the Indian
business. He worked tirelessly to put the Indian industry on the global map. He held several key
leadership positions in Industry & Trade Associations. These included President Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), President The Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Chairman Engineering Export Promotion
Council (EEPC), Chairman Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association, and President
Federation of Indian Export Organization.
Raunaq Singh won several awards for his entrepreneurship. He was often referred as "Mr.
Exporter", because of his inclination for exports and export promotion for Indian Industry.
Raunaq Singh also won international recognition for his entrepreneurial skills. was elected as a
member of the Executive Board of the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris for a three-
year term.
Raunaq Singh died on September 30, 2002.
Shiv Nadar Profile

39. Achevement: Chief Executive Officer of Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL), India's largest
infotech conglomerate
Shiv Nadar is the Chief Executive Officer of Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL), India's largest
infotech conglomerate. He figures in the Forbes list of Indian billionaires.
Originally hailing from Moolaipozhi Village,Trichendur,Tutocorin District, Tamil Nadu, Shiv Nadar
moved to Delhi in 1968. He worked as an engineer with DCM Ltd. But the entrepreneur in Shiv
Nadar wanted to set up his own business. Therefore, he along with six of his colleagues
launched a firm making office products like copiers.
In late 1970s, when IBM quit India, Shiv Nadar's HCL stepped in to fill the vacuum. In 1982,
HCL came out with its first computer. Today, HCL derives 80% of its revenue from computers
and office equipment. HCL has also been spreading its global reach. Its Singapore subsidiary,
Far East Computers, achieved a breakthrough in imaging technology, which, among other
applications, enables computers to read handwritten tax returns.
HCL has adopted innovative practices to achieve growth. In the U.S, a software subsidiary, HCL
America, has reaped huge dividends by taking advantage of global time zones. Every morning,
the company's Chennai office receives software assignments from the U.S, just after work stops
there for the night. A team of Indian engineers, with salaries much lower than those of their
American counterparts, complete the jobs and send them back in the evening.
In a short span of time, Shiv Nadar has reached pinnacle of success by his hardwork, vision,
and entrepreneurial spirit.
Subhash Chandra Profile
Achievement: Founder of Zee TV, India's first private TV channel
Subhash Chandra is the founder of Zee TV, India's first private TV channel. This onetime rice
trader from Hissar, Haryana has today transformed into a media baron and his other interests
include packaging, theme parks, lotteries and cinema multiplexes.
Subhash Chandra launched Zee Telefilms Limited in October 1992 as a content supplier for Zee
TV - India's first Hindi satellite channel. Subash Chandra was the first in India who sought to
harness the huge business potential of satellite television channels. Before the launch of Zee
TV viewers in India were under the firm grip of Doordarshan, the state-controlled terrestrial
network. It was Subhash Chandra's vision that helped give birth to the satellite TV industry in
India and inspired others to follow suit.
After the launch of Zee TV, he commenced Siticable operations in 1995 and also started a joint
venture with News Corp. In 1995, he launched two new channels, Zee News and Zee Cinema.
In 2000, Zee TV became the first cable company in India to launch Internet over Cable services.

40. In 2003, Zee TV became the first service provider in India to launch Direct to Home (DTH)
services. In a short span of time Zee TV has become a big media and has give tough
competition to international media moghuls such as Rupert Murdoch.
Subhash Chandra's meteoric rise in the past decade is somewhat similar to the rise of
Dhirubhai Ambani in 1980s and 1990s.
Subroto Roy Profile
Achievement: Chairman of the Sahara Group
Subroto Roy, is the head of the $10bn (£5.5bn) Sahara Group. Sahara Group has interests in
banking, aviation, media and housing.
Subroto Roy began his journey in 1978, when he founded Sahara in 1978 with three workers in
the northern state of Uttar Pradesh as a small deposits para-banking business. Today, the
group has diversified into a giant business conglomerate with interests in housing,
entertainment, media and aviation.
Sahara Group presently runs a private airline, entertainment and news television channels, a
newspaper, and claims to own some 33,000 acres of real estate across India. It also sponsors
the Indian cricket and hockey teams and intends to move into life insurance, housing finance,
consumer products, sportswear, and healthcare.
Sahara Group has come up with one of the most prestigious real estate projects in India,
namely Amby Valley Project. The project boasts some of the biggest name in Indian
entertainment and sports arena as well as some former international Olympic medal winners as
its brand ambassadors. Sahara Airline was recently in news for its merger with Jet Airlines. But
the deal fell through.
Sahara Group has a huge complex in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The complex is known as
Sahara City. Subrato Roy is famous for his flamboyant lifestyle. The wedding of his two sons
became talk of the town. The who's who of Indian elite attended it and its expenditure ran into
hundreds of crores. Subroto Roy calls himself as the group's "chief guardian".
Sunil Mittal Profile
Achievement: Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Group, India's largest GSM-based
mobile phone service provider; IT Man of the Year Award 2002 from Dataquest and CEO Of the
Year, 2002 Award from World HRD Congress.

41. Sunil Mittal can be called as originator of cellular phone revolution in India. He is the founder,
Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Group and runs India's largest GSM-based mobile
phone service.
Sunil Bharti Mittal's father was an M.P. Sunil did not followed his father's footsteps. After
graduating from Punjab University in 1970s, he set up a small bicycle business in Ludhiana in
partnership with his friend. By 1979, Sunil Mittal realized that his ambitions could not be fulfilled
in Ludhiana, so he moved out to Mumbai from Ludhiana.
He spent a few years in Mumbai and in 1982, Sunil Mittal started a full-fledged business selling
portable generators imported from Japan. This gave him a chance to acquaint himself with the
nitty-gritty's of marketing and advertising. His business was running smoothly but later on the
government banned the import of generators as two Indian companies were awarded licenses
to manufacture generators locally.
In 1986, Sunil Bharti Mittal incorporated Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) and entered into a
technical tie up with Siemens AG of Germany for manufacture of electronic push button phones.
Gradually he expanded his business and by early 1990s, Sunil Mittal was making fax machines,
cordless phones and other telecom gear.
In 1992, when the Indian government was awarding licenses for mobile phone services for the
first time, Sunil Mittal clinched Delhi cellular license in collaboration with French telecom group
Vivendi. In 1995, Sunil Mittal founded Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) to offer cellular services
under the brand name AirTel. Soon, Bharti became the first telecom company to cross the 2-
million mobile subscriber mark. Bharti Cellular Limited also rolled out India's first private national
as well as international long-distance service under the brand name IndiaOne. In 2001, BCL
entered into a joint venture with Singapore Telecom International for a $650-million submarine
cable project, India's first ever undersea cable link connecting Chennai in India and Singapore.
Today, Sunil Mittal runs a successful empire with a market capitalization of approximately $ 2
billion and employing over 5,000 people. He has been honored with several awards. Sunil Bharti
Mittal was chosen as one of the top entrepreneurs in the world for the year 2000 and amongst
'Stars Of Asia', by 'Business Week'. He also received IT Man of the Year Award 2002 from
Dataquest and CEO Of the Year, 2002 Award (World HRD Congress).
Tulsi Tanti Profile
Achievement: Chairman of Suzlon Energy Ltd, Ranks among top 10 richest men of India.
Tulsi Tanti is the Chairman of Suzlon Energy Ltd, a company dealing in wind energy. He is one
of those first time entrepreneurs who saw potential in an inchoate idea, ventured into it, and
made it big. Today, he ranks among top 10 richest men of India.

42. A commerce graduate and a diploma holder in mechanical engineering, Tulsi Tanti originally
hails from Gujarat and is presently based in Pune, Maharashtra. Tulsi Tanti was earlier into
textiles. He started his textile business in Gujarat. But he found that the prospects stunted due
to infrastructural bottlenecks. The biggest of them all was the cost and unavailability of power,
which formed a high proportion of operating expenses of textile industry.
In 1990, Tulsi Tanti invested in two windmills and realized its huge potential. In 1995, he formed
Suzlon and gradually quit textiles. Suzlon Energy is the sixth largest wind energy company in
the world and the largest in Asia. It is presently building what will be among the world's largest
wind parks of its kind at 1,000 MW capacity.
Suzlon is currently concentrating on global expansion drive. It recently acquired Hansen
Transmissions, a Belgian maker of wind-turbine gearboxes. Suzlon is also building a rotor-blade
factory in Minnesota and has invested $60m in a factory in Tianjin, China. Tulsi Tanti is poised
to make India a wind-power export hub.
Verghese Kurien Profile
Born: November 26, 1921
Achievement: Known as the "father of the white revolution" in India; Winner of Ramon
Magsaysay Award; Awarded with Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), and Padma
Vibhushan (1999).
Dr. Verghese Kurien is better known as the "father of the white revolution" in India. He is also
called as the Milkman of India. Dr. Varghese Kurien was the architect behind the success of the
largest dairy development program in the world, christened as Operation Flood. He was the
chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) and his name
was synonymous with the Amul brand.
Born on November 26, 1921 in Kozhikode, Kerala, Dr. Verghese Kurien graduated with Physics
from Loyola College, Madras in 1940. Subsequently, he did his B.E.(Mechanical) from the
Madras University and went to USA on a government scholarship to do his Masters in
Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University. In between, he completed special
studies in engineering at the Tata Iron and Steel Company Institute at Jamshedpur, Bihar, in
February 1946 and underwent nine months of specialized training in dairy engineering at the
National Dairy Research Institute of Bangalore.
Dr. Verghese Kurien returned from America in 1948 and joined the Dairy Department of the
Government of India. In May 1949, he was posted as Dairy Engineer at the Government
Research Creamery, a small milk-powder factory, in Anand, Gujarat. Around this time, the newly
formed cooperative dairy, Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Limited
((KDCMPUL), was engaged in battle of survival with the privately owned Polson Dairy, which
was a giant in its field. Enthused by the challenge, Dr. Verghese Kurien left his government job
and volunteered to help Shri Tribhuvandas Patel, the Chairman of KDCMPUL, to set up a

43. processing plant. This led to the birth of AMUL and the rest is history.
In 1965, the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, created the National Dairy Development
Board (NDDB) under the leadership of Dr. Verghese Kurien to replicate the success story of
Amul throughout the country. In 1973, Dr. Kurien set up GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation) to market the products produced by the dairies. Under Dr. Kurien's
stewardship India became the as the largest producer of milk in the world,
During his illustrious career, Dr. Verghese Kurien won many accolades and awards. These
include: Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1963), Padma Shri (1965),
Padma Bhushan (1966), Krishi Ratna Award (1986), Wateler Peace Prize Award of Carnegie
Foundation (1986), World Food Prize Laureate (1989), International Person of the Year(1993)
by the World Dairy Expo, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Padma Vibhushan (1999).
Vijay Mallya Profile
Achievement: Chairman of the United Beverages (UB) Group; Launched a new domestic
airline called Kingfisher Airline; Rajya Sabha M.P.
Vijay Mallya is the Chairman of the United Beverages (UB) Group. He recently launched a new
domestic airline called Kingfisher Airline which is making great waves. Vijay Mallya is famous for
his flamboyant and flashy lifestyle.
Vijay Mallya is the son of a famous industrialist Vittal Mallya. He assumed the Chairman of the
UB Group in 1983 and took the company to great heights. Under his dynamic leadership the
group has grown into a multi-national conglomerate of over sixty companies. During this
process United Beverages acquired several companies abroad. The UB Group has diversified
business interests ranging from alcoholic beverages to life sciences, engineering, agriculture,
chemicals, information technology and leisure.
In 2005, Vijay Mallya established Kingfisher Airlines. In a short span of time Kingfisher Airline
has carved a niche for itself. It was the first airline in India to operate with all new aircrafts.
Kingfisher Airlines is also the first Indian airline to order the Airbus A380.
Vijay Mallya has other interests too apart from business. He has won trophies in professional
car racing circuits and is a keen yachtsman and aviator. Vijay Mallya has also won numerous
trophies in horse racing including several prestigious Derbies.
In 2000, Vijay Mallya entered politics superceded Subramaniam Swamy as the president of
Janata Party. Presently, he is a Rajya Sabha M.P.

44. Mallika Srinivasan
Economic Times Businesswoman of the year 2006, she is a well known entrepreneur of India.
She has always strived hard to reach for skies, but has deeply rooted her foot into the ground.
She is a strong headed woman, who is leading the activities of a Company that is involved in
macho business such as tractor manufacturing. She has been able to rise and stand out above
all others and make a name for herself in the competitive business world of today. Well, we are
talking about Mallika Srinivasan, director of the Rs 2500 crore Amalgamations Group Tafe.
Mallika Srinivasan is one of the most successful women CEOs in India. In this article, we will
present you with the biography of Mallika Srinivasan, so read on…
Life History
Born on November 19, 1959 as the eldest daughter of industrialist A Sivasailam, she is the pride
of her parents. She was always brilliant in academics. She did her in MA (econometrics) from
Madras University. Thereafter, she went abroad to pursue further studies. She did her MBA
from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Married to Venu Srinivasan, the
CMD of TVS Motor, she is living happily with their two children.
In the year 1986, she planned to join the family business. She was made the General Manager
of Tafe (Tractors and Farm Equipment) Company. When she took over the responsibility of
furthering the economic wealth and business, the turnover of the Company was Rs 85 cr. Under
the expert guidance of her father and the whole hearted support of the team, she brought about
a major transformation. She converted Tafe into a hi technology-oriented company, thereby
becoming the initial choice of the farmers. There was a period, when the Company had to face a
tough time, however; even then, the Company invested a huge amount of over Rs 70 crore in
the designing and development of product.
At present, the Company is earning a business over Rs 1,200 cr. It has been a long journey for
the Company, which has witnessed many ups and downs. But, it was the strong determination
of this courageous woman that slowly and steadily made the firm climb the ladders of success.
Today, the Company has not only found a niche for itself as the leading tractor manufacturer,
but also expanded its area of operations. It has also entered into others businesses like
engineering plastics, panel instruments, automotive batteries gears, hydraulic pumps, and farm
implements.
The company has had a long alliance with Massey Ferguson, which is now a part of Agco. The
company is looking forward to exporting fully constructed tractors to Agco. Presently, Agro has a
stake of 24% in the company and the rest lies with Simpson & Co. Presently, Mallika Srinivasan
is serving as the president of premier industrial bodies like Tractor Manufacturers Association
and the Madras Management Association. She is the first lady to have assumed the role of a
president of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She is also a prominent member
of the governing board of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

45. Naina Lal Kidwai
A prominent personality of the corporate world, she is the first woman to guide the functioning of
a foreign bank in India. At present, she is working as the Group General Manager and Country
Head of HSBC India. Well, we are talking about the corporate diva Naina Lal Kidwai. In this
article, we will present you with the biography of Naina Lal Kidwai.
She was born in the year 1957. Raised in Mumbai and Delhi, she did her schooling from Simla.
Alumna of Delhi University, she is the first Indian woman to have graduated from Harvard
Business School. She is among the top business women of India, who have made it to the top
with their constant hard work and sincerity. To know the complete life history of Naina Lal
Kidwai, read on.
She began her career in the year 1982, when she joined the ANZ Grindlays Bank, which is now
known as the Standard Chartered Bank. She took up a variety of banking assignments before
moving to Morgan Stanley's India operation. She kept climbing the ladders of success. She
played an important role in NYSE listing of Wipro. She was instrumental in facilitating the
cellular phone services nationwide through a deal involving the Tatas and Birlas. Last
November, she became the Managing Director of the HSBC bank.
In the year 2000, the Fortune magazine declared her as the third most powerful businesswoman
in Asia. She is the mother of two children, who is maintaining a great balance between work and
home. She is very fond of Indian classical as well as western music. She loves to go on trekking
tours to the Himalayas. She is a nature lover, who has a keen interest in observing the wildlife.
For her praiseworthy work, Naina Lal Kidwai has received many accolades. Her commendable
work has been given due recognition by honoring her with the Padmashri award.
Shahnaz Hussain
She is one of the most prominent personalities of the corporate world. She is making a constant
effort to beautify the skin of people with her beauty products. She has been continuously striving
hard to slow down the aging process and nourish the skin of people and thus make them look
younger than their age. Well, we are talking about none other than the ruler of the beauty world,
Shahnaz Hussain. In this article, we will present you with the biography of Shahnaz Hussain.
She comes from a royal Muslim family and her father was a very powerful man. She did her
schooling from the Irish convent. Since a very young age, she had an interest in poetry and
English literature. She grew up in a traditional family, but was privileged to receive modern
education. She got married, when she was only fifteen years old. The next year after her
marriage, she became a mother.
When she went to Teheran along with her husband, she developed a keen interest in beauty

46. treatments. Eventually, she decided to study the cosmetology course. She wanted to be self
independent and so she began writing articles for the Iran Tribune on varied subjects. While
pursuing studies, she learnt about the harmful effects of chemicals on human body. She studied
Ayurveda and believed that it is the best alternative to chemical cosmetics.
After leaving Teheran, she took an extensive training in cosmetic therapy for a long period of 10
years from the leading institutions of London, Paris, New York and Copenhagen. She returned
to India in the year 1977 and established her first beauty salon in her abode. Unlike other
salons, she did not use chemical cosmetics. Rather, she made use of Ayurvedic products that
are absolutely safe on the human body. She has ushered an era of herbal cosmetics. The
products launched by her Company head their way to leading global stores such as Blooming
Dales (New York), Harrods and Selfridges (London), Seibu (Japan), Galleries Lafayette (Paris),
and La Rinaeccente (Milan).
Her beauty products are very skin friendly and give a beautiful glowing look. She has not only
been able to tap the markets of India, but made her presence felt in international market too.
Now, her aim is to set her foothold in the space. People who go to space usually suffer from
skin problems. At present, Shahnaz Hussain is focusing her attention on creating products that
can prove to be beneficial for the astronauts. To know the complete life history of Shahnaz
Hussain, read on.
Her company Shahnaz Husain Herbals has witnessed tremendous growth throughout these
years. She has launched more than 400 different kinds of beauty products. In the contemporary
times, people are becoming more and more conscious about the way they look. It is here that
Shahnaz Hussain comes to play a major role by providing people with products that can bring
the glow back to their skin.
She has dominated the market from the USA to Asia. During 1990s, the average growth rate of
her company, which is based in New Delhi, was nearly 19.4%. In the year 2002, her Company
touched $100 million. Her works are real praiseworthy and have been appreciated all over the
world. She has received many awards such as "The Arch of Europe Gold Star for Quality", "The
2000 Millennium Medal of Honor", "Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award" and many more.
Sulajja Firodia Motwani
Joint Managing Director of Kinetic Engineering Ltd, she is the in charge of the Company's
overall business developmental activities. She is also very well performing the role of the
Director of Kinetic Motor Company Limited and Kinetic Marketing Services Limited. Well, we are
talking about Sulajja Firodia Motwani. In this article, we will provide you with the biography of
Sulajja Firodia Motwani, who has made an incredible contribution in making the firm reach
heights of success.
She is a fitness person, who is very conscious about her health. She is very particular about
carrying out one or the other activity for keeping fit and active. She has always been

47. enthusiastic about sports, especially badminton. She has played badminton on the national
level. She is also very fond of pursuing adventurous sports like skiing & scuba diving. She tries
to spend as much time as possible with her five year old son Sidhant. Read on to know the
complete life history of Sulajja Firodia Motwani.
Prior to joining Kinetic Company, Sulajja worked for a period of four years with a well known
investment analytics company, BARRA International, based in California. She has been an
active participant in setting the operations of the company in India. Throughout her studies, she
has been a rank holder. She has always cleared exams with merit. Her name appeared in the
toppers list in the SSC examinations and HSC examinations. She graduated from the Pune
University. Thereafter, she went to the United States for pursuing further studies. She is an MBA
degree holder from the reputed Carnegie Mellon University at Pittsburgh.
She is an epitome of boldness and courage. With her strong determination and courage, she
has been able to establish a niche for the firm in the business world. The Company has
witnessed tremendous expansion during her tenure. From being a mere moped manufacturer,
today, it has set its foothold in the industry as a manufacturer offering a complete range of two
wheelers right from mopeds, scooters to motorcycles.
This major transformation can be attributed to the new competitive business strategy that the
Company has adopted, which is driven by the market and customers. Kinetic Company has
been constantly coming up with new models to cater to all segments of the society. Sulajja has
been instrumental in designing and implementing the marketing strategies of the Company. In
the recent times, Kinetic has collaborated with the well known Italian company, Italjet Moto. This
acquisition has given full rights to the Kinetic Company to launch seven new scooter models in
the country.
Kinetic is also working in partnership with Hyosung Motors of South Korea. This major
collaboration has led to the launching of the most popular Kinetic Aquila and Comet. These
motorcycles are very much in demand. Sulajja has played an active role in plotting the course of
action for the Kinetic Company. For her great job, she has received many accolades. She has
been called upon to deliver speech in a number of public forums.
"India Today", a well known magazine honored her by presenting her with the title of business
"Face of the Millennium". It ranked her among the top twenty five business entrepreneurs of the
country. She was presented with the Society Young Achiever's Award for Business in the year
2002. The same year, she was chosen as the "Global Leader of Tomorrow" by the World
Economic Forum. In the year 2003, the Institute of Marketing and Management bestowed her
with the award for excellent performance as the woman CEO. She also received the Young
Super Achiever Award from the leading magazine "Business Today" in 2003.
Shobhana Bhartia

48. Born - 1957
Achievements - Daughter of renowned industrialist KK Birla, Shobhana Bhartia is the vice-
chairperson as well as the editorial director of the Hindustan Times group, which is among
India's major newspaper and media houses. In the year 2001, she received the Outstanding
Business Woman of the Year award.
Born in the year 1957, the daughter of renowned industrialist KK Birla and grand daughter of
GD Birla, Shobhana Bhartia is the vice-chairperson as well as the editorial director of the
Hindustan Times group, which is among India's major newspaper and media houses. This lady
holds the credit of raising Rs 400 Crore via public equity launch of the HT Media group in the
year 2005. Till the year 2004, the Birla family owned 75.36 per cent stake in HT Media.
Here's more information about the biography of Shobhana Bhartia, who graduated from the
Calcutta University and later, wedded Shyam Sunder Bhartia. This particular gentleman is the
chairman of the Rs 14 billion Jubilant Organosys Limited, a Pharma company. Shamit Bhartia,
their son, is also a member in the HT Media group. At the same time, he operates lifestyle
businesses like Domino's Pizza franchise in the country and a convenience store chain in
Bangalore city.
At the time when Shobhana Bharatiya became a member of the Hindustan Times in the year
1986, she was the very first woman chief executive of a national newspaper and in all
probability, also among the youngest. Shobhana Bhartia is regarded as one of the crucial
people there who played a pivotal role in revamping the image of the Hindustan Times into a
"bright and young paper". The life history of Shobhana Bhartia's career is full of achievements.
Shobhana was nominated the member of the upper house of the Indian Parliament i.e. the
Rajya Sabha. Shobhana Bhartia was also handed the Global Leader of Tomorrow award by the
World Economic Forum in the year 1996. Then again in the year 2001, she received the
Outstanding Business Woman of the Year award. The National Press India Award was given to
Shobhana in the year 1992.
Amar Bose Profile
Born: 1929
Achievements: Founded Bose Corporation in 1964; Invented the 901(R) Direct/Reflecting(R)
speaker system - one of the first stereo loudspeakers to utilize the space around them instead
of reproducing sound as if in a vacuum; featured in 2006 Forbes Billionaires list.
Amar Bose is the founder of Bose Corporation and is known for his pioneering work in the field
of acoustics. Bose speakers are world-famous for giving high-end performance despite their
modest size.
Amar Gopal Bose was born in 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father Nani Gopal Bose
was a revolutionary freedom fighter who emigrated from Calcutta to escape British prosecution.

49. Amar Bose was interested in electronics right from his childhood and used to make small
electrical toys to supplement his family's income. He did his schooling Abington Senior High
School and graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from MIT in the early 1950s. He also
completed his Ph.D. from MIT.
While doing graduation from MIT in 1950s, Amar Bose purchased a new stereo system. But he
was disappointed with the performance of the speakers. Despite their impressive technical
specifications, the speakers failed to reproduce the realism of a live performance. This led Bose
to start working on stereo speaker. He aimed to design a speaker that would emulate the
concert hall experience in the home. Amar Bose's early patents won him great respect within
the industry. But Bose needed capital to do further research and begin production. Amar Bose
received financial support from MIT professor Y. W. Lee and in 1964 he founded Bose
Corporation.
In 1968, Amar Bose invented the 901(R) Direct/Reflecting(R) speaker system. They were one of
the first stereo loudspeakers to utilize the space around them instead of reproducing sound as if
in a vacuum. Bose's 901(R) speakers remained an industry benchmark for 25 years. Amar Bose
also captured the car stereo market, with systems that transformed the on-the-road listening
experience.
Today, Amar Bose has over two-dozen patents to his name. His products can be found in
Olympics stadiums, the Sistine Chapel, NASA Space Shuttle, and the Japanese National
Theatre. Amar Bose was also a professor of electrical engineering at MIT for many years until
he retired in 2000. Amar Bose featured on the 2006 Forbes Billionaires list with a personal
wealth of $1.2 billion.
Arun Sarin Profile
Born: October 21, 1954
Achievement: CEO of global mobile telecommunications company Vodafone Group Plc.
Arun Sarin is the Chief Executive Officer of the British based global mobile telecommunications
company Vodafone Group Plc. He is one of the few Indians to head a global multi national
company.
Arun Sarin was born on October 21, 1954 at Panchmari, Madya Pradesh. His father was an
army officer and Arun Sarin did his schooling from military boarding school in Bangalore. After
schooling, Arun Sareen joined IIT Kharagpur and graduated in 1975. In 1977, he did his MS in
Engineering from University of California, Berkeley and subsequently did his MBA from the
same university in 1978.
Arun Sarin started his professional career in 1978 as an environmental analyst for a
Washington, D.C., consulting firm. In 1981, he joined Natomas in California as a corporate
development manager. Arun Sarin entered telecom industry in 1984, when he joined Pacific

50. Telesis Group in San Francisco. At Pacific Telesis Group, Arun worked closely with Sam Ginn,
the legendary telecommunications entrepreneur. He worked with Pacific Telesis in various
professional and executive positions for 10 years, and was later appointed vice president of
corporate strategy. Arun Sarin left Pacific Telesis in 1994 when it split its mobile and paging
businesses.
In 1995, Arun Sarin followed his mentor Sam Ginn to a newly formed wireless-communications
company, AirTouch Communications. He was President and Chief Operating Officer of
AirTouch from February 1997 to June 1999. In 1999, AirTouch and Vodafone, a large British
wireless communications company joined hands to create Vodafone-AirTouch. Arun Sarin was
made chief executive of the newly formed corporate entity. In April 2000, Arun Sarin resigned
from Vodafone-AirTouch and took the CEO position at InfoSpace, an Internet infrastructure
company based in Bellevue, Washington. As CEO Arun Sarin led the merger of InfoSpace and
Go2Net, a consumer-portal company, for approximately $4 billion in a stock swap.
After an eight-month tenure at InfoSpace, Arun Sarin resigned. In July 2001, he joined Accel
Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) to lead a new telecommunications venture called
Accel-KKR Telecom. After an eighteen month stint at Accel-KKR Telecom Arun Sarin resigned
and on July 30, 2003 he was installed as the CEO of Vodafone.
Indra Nooyi Profile
Achievements: CEO of PepsiCo; Ranked No.4 on Forbes magazine's annual survey of the 100
most powerful women in the world.
Indra Nooyi is the newly appointed CEO of PepsiCo-the world's second-largest soft drink maker.
She joins the select band of women who head Fortune 500 companies. Presently, there are
only 10 Fortune 500 companies that are run by women, and Indra Nooyi is the 11th to break into
the top echelons of power. Prior to becoming CEO, Indra Nooyi was President, Chief Financial
Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of PepsiCo Inc.
Indra Nooyi spent her childhood in Chennai. Her father worked at the State Bank of Hyderabad
and her grandfather was a district judge. She did her BSc. in Chemistry from Madras Christian
College and subsequently earned a Master's Degree in Finance and Marketing from IIM
Calcutta. Indra Nooyi also holds a Master's Degree in Public and Private management from the
Yale School of Management.
Before joining PepsiCo in 1994, Indra Nooyi was Senior Vice President of Strategy and
Strategic Marketing for Asea Brown Boveri, and Vice President and Director of Corporate
Strategy and Planning at Motorola. She also had stints at Mettur Beardsell and Johnson &
Johnson. At PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi played key roles in the Tricon spin-off, the purchase of
Tropicana, the public offering of Pepsi Cola bottling group and the merger with Quaker Foods.

51. Indra Nooyi has been ranked No.4 on Forbes magazine's annual survey of the 100 most
powerful women in the world.
Lakshmi Mittal Profile
Born: June 15, 1950
Achievement: World's largest steel maker and the third richest man in the world.
Lakshmi Mittal has become something of a cult figure in the global steel industry. His company
Mittal Steel is the largest steel maker in the world. After the recent merger between Mittal Steel
and Arcelor which raged a big debate throughout the Europe, Laxmi Mittal current controls 10%
of the total steel production and the combined entity that has come into force post-merger is
three times the size of its nearest competitors.
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was born on June 15, 1950 at Sadulpur, in Churu district of Rajasthan, in
a poor family. The extended family of 20 lived on bare concrete floors, slept on rope beds and
cooked on an open fire in the brickyard in a house built by his grandfather. Laxmi Mittal belongs
to Marwari Aggarwal caste and his grandfather worked for the Tarachand Ghanshyam Das firm,
one of the leading Marwari industrial firms of pre-independence India.
The family later on moved to Kolkata where his father Mohan Mittal became a partner in a steel
company. Lakshmi Mittal graduated from St. Xaviers in Kolkata with a commerce degree in
1969. He began his career working in the family's steelmaking business in India and in 1976,
Lakshmi Mittal founded Mittal Steel Company. He split from his father and two younger brothers
in 1994 and took the international arm, with interests in Indonesia and Trinidad and Tobago,
while the rest of the family kept the domestic Indian business. In the last few years Mittal Steel
has made a number of acquisitions, buying up a network of steel producers in former
communist countries including Kazakhstan, Romania and Ukraine, and pushing into the U.S. in
2004 with the $4.5 billion purchase of International Steel Group. Today, Mittal Steel is the only
truly global steel producer in the world with operations on 14 countries, spanning 4 continents.
Lakshmi Mittal is also known for his opulence. In 2003, he acquired the Kensington mansion,
said to be the world's most expensive home, from Formula One racing's Bernie Ecclestone for
£70 million ($128 million). His daughter Vanisha's $50 million wedding bash is touted as the
most expensive wedding of the 20th century.
In March 2006, Lakshmi Mittal was listed as the third wealthiest person in the world after Bill
Gates and Warren Buffet by Forbes Magazine.
Sabeer Bhatia Profile
Born: 1969
Achievements: One of the co-founders of Hotmail; Named by TIME as one of the "People to

52. Watch" in International Business (2002)
Sabeer Bhatia is one of the poster boys of Indian success story at Silicon Valley. He is better
known as the man who co-founded Hotmail. He later sold it to Microsoft for $400 million and
today Hotmail is the world's largest e-mail provider, with over 50 million registered users.
Sabeer Bhatia was born in 1969 at Chandigarh. He comes from a humble background. His
father was an army officer and his mother worked with the Central Bank of India. Sabeer Bhatia
had his earlier schooling at Bishop Cotton's School in Pune and later on at St Joseph's College
in Bangalore. After passing out from school he joined the Birla Institute of Technology (BITS) at
Pilani. At Pilani, he qualified to try for a transfer scholarship at Cal Tech, considered to be the
world's most competitive scholarship. Sabeer Bhatia was the only applicant in the entire world in
1988 to get a passing score of 62.
In 1988 Sabeer Bhatia came to America and completed his B.Sc. with honours and earned a
master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. In 1992, while working on his
Ph.D., Sabeer dropped out and joined Apple Computers as a systems integrator. He worked for
Apple Computer for a year. Then he worked for another startup, Firepower Systems Inc. In
1995, Sabir Bhatia co-founded Hotmail Corporation along with Jack Smith, a colleague at Apple
Computers. They launched pioneering web-based e-mail service Hotmail. At the end of 1997,
he sold Hotmail to Microsoft for $400 million. Sabeer Bhatia t worked for Microsoft for a year
until March of 1999, and then in the middle of 1999 he founded Arzoo.com
Arzoo.com was supposed to be a real-time marketplace for technology related solutions and
support. It was envisaged as a platform that would enable engineers, developers and scientists
from around the world to monetise their expertise on the one hand, and enable corporations to
improve the productivity of their employees on the other. Sabeer Bhatia's vision was to make
Arzoo.com, the world's largest human network of intellectual capital. But Arzoo.com failed with
the burst of dot-com bubble. In 2006 Sabeer Bhatia relaunched Arzoo as a travel portal. Sabeer
Bhatia has also started a new venture called BlogEverywhere with co-founders Shiraz Kanga
and Viraf Zack.
Sabeer Bhatia has won several honors and awards. These include: "Entrepreneur of the Year,"
award by the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (1997); and "TR100" award,
presented by MIT to 100 young innovators who are expected to have the greatest impact on
technology in the next few years. He was named by TIME as one of the "People to Watch" in
International Business (2002)
Lord Swaraj Paul Profile
Born: 1931
Achievement: Knighted by British Queen in 1978; Awarded Padma Bhushan in 1983.
Lord Swaraj Paul is one of the most famous Indian origin entrepreneurs, based in Britain. He is

53. the founder of multinational company Caparo-the UK-based steel and engineering group.
Swraj Paul was born in Jalandhar in 1931. His father ran a small foundry and used to make
steel buckets and farming equipments. Swaraj Paul did his graduation from the Punjab
University and subsequently obtained a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. After his return to India, Swaraj Paul
joined the Apeejay Group, which his father had founded. Destiny took him to London in 1966,
where he went for his daughter's Leukemia treatment, and stayed there forever.
Swaraj Paul started his business in Britain in 1968. After acquiring one steel unit, he went on to
acquire more units and founded the Caparo group in the year 1978. Caparo developed into one
of the leading producers of welded steel tube and spiral-welded pipe in the UK. In 1996, Swaraj
Paul stepped down from the management of the Caparo group and handed over the reins to his
three sons.
Lord Swaraj Paul has won several honors and awards. He was knighted by the British Queen in
the year 1978 and became the Lord Paul of Marylebone and a member of the House of Lords.
Lord Swraj Paul wrote the biography of Indira Gandhi and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in
1983. He was bestowed with the Pro-Chancellorship of the Thames University in 1998.
Vinod Dham Profile
Born: 1950
Achievement: Known as the father of the Pentium processor.
Vinod Dham is popularly known as the father of the Pentium processor. Born in 1950 in Pune,
he had his initial schooling in Pune. He did his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Delhi
College of Engineering in 1971. Thereafter he had a brief stint with Continental Devices, a Delhi
based semiconductor company.
In 1975, Vinod Dham went to the US and did his Masters in Electrical Engineering from the
University of Cincinnati. After completing his Masters in 1977, Vinod Dham joined the National
Cash Register (NCR) at Dayton, Ohio. Vinod was a team member of the NCR's memory design
group. He received many patents for his work at NCR.
While making a presentation at the IEEE conference in Monterrey, California on re-
programmable memory, Vinod Dham received an offer from the Intel to work with them. In
January 1990, Vinod was in-charge of developing the 586 or Pentium processor. He worked
relentlessly on the project and the Pentium processor was a big hit in the market. Vinod Dham
rose up the corporate ladder and reached the position of the Vice President of the Intel's
Microprocessor Products Group. He quit Intel in 1995.
Thereafter, Vinod joined NexGen, a start-up firm as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice
President.. When Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) acquired NexGen in 1996, Vinod Dham

54. looked after the development of AMD's famous K6 Processor, world's fastest personal computer
microprocessor. Later on he quit AMD.
Presently, Vinod Dham is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Silicon Spice, a
communications technology development firm.
Vinod Khosla Profile
Achievement: One of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems.
Vinod Khosla is an epitome of Indian success story at Silicon Valley. He is a venture capitalist
and is better known as one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems.
Vinod Khosla came from an ordinary middle class background. His father was in army. At the
age of 16, Vinod Khosla read about the founding of Intel. This motivated him to nurture dreams
of starting his own technology company. At the age of 20, after graduating in Electrical
Engineering from IIT Delhi, Vinod Khosla started a soy milk company to cater to those people in
India who did not have refrigerators. But his venture failed.
Vinod Khosla went to the US and did his Masters in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie-
Mellon University. His entrepreneurial ambitions attracted him to Silicon Valley and
subsequently he did his MBA from Stanford University in 1980.
After graduating from Stanford, Vinod Khosla founded Daisy Systems with two other founders.
Daisy Systems was the first significant computer aided design system for electrical engineers.
The company went on to make huge profits but driven by the frustration of having to design the
computer hardware on which the Daisy software needed to be built, Vinod Khosla left the
company.
In Vinod Khosla, started the standards based Sun Microsystems in 1982 to build workstations
for software developers. Sun was funded by his long time friend and board member John Doerr
of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. At Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla pioneered "open
systems" and RISC processors. He left Sun Microsystems in 1985 and joined Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers (KPCB) in 1986, where he continues to be a general partner of KPCB funds
through KP X.
Vinod Khosla also challenged Intel's monopoly by developing Nexgen/AMD. He also
conceptualized the idea and business plan for Juniper to take on Cisco's dominance of the
router market. Vinod Khosla is also one of the founding fathers of The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE),
a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals founded in 1992. In 2004, he
formed khoslaventures to fund knowledgeable entrepreneurs in their new "social impact"
ventures.
Vinod Khosla has a keen interest in nascent technologies that can have a beneficial effect and

55. economic impact on society. Presently, he is looking into practicality of the use of ethanol as a
gasoline substitute.