Sahara Group was founded in 1978 in Lucknow, India by Subrata Roy Sahara. It has grown to become one of India's largest conglomerates, with diversified business interests in finance, real estate, media and entertainment, tourism and hospitality, and products and services. Some of Sahara's business lines include para-banking, mutual funds, home loans, life insurance, real estate development projects, hotels including the Plaza Hotel in New York, news and entertainment media, and film production and distribution.