Contributions of Business Legends to the Indian Industry:

1. Shri.Sunil Mittal’s Contributions to Indian Telecom Industry:

Sunil Mittal is recognized as Telecom Mogul. He is the founder of Bharti Enterprises consisting

of Telecommunications, Retail,Insurance, Digital TV, Real estate.

He is the founder of telecom majors Bharti Airtel and Bharti Teletech.

 The Group flagship Bharti Airtel, with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa and a

customer base of over 275 million, is India's largest telecom company and world's fourth largest

mobile operator. Bharti Airtel clocked revenues of over USD 14.5 billion in FY2013.

Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian

multinational telecommunications services company headquartered in New Delhi, India. It

operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa, and the Channel Islands. Airtel has a GSM

network in all countries in which it operates, providing 2G, 3G and 4G services depending upon

the country of operation. Airtel is the world's third largest mobile telecommunications company

by subscribers, with over 275 million subscribers across 20 countries as of July 2013. It is

the largest cellular service provider in India, with 192.22 million subscribers as of August

2013.Airtel is the Second largest Asia-Pacific mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China

Mobile.

Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and second largest provider of fixed

telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. It

offers its telecom services under the "airtel" brand, and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti

Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve Cisco Gold Certification. It also acts

as a carrier for national and international long distance communication services. The company

has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable

connecting Chennai and Singapore.

Bharti Airtel added 5.10 lakh subscribers to take its base to 20.97 crore at the end of July,2014.

Its market share in India is highest with a value of 28.41%.

Airtel is credited with pioneering the business strategy of outsourcing all of its business

operations except marketing, sales and finance and building the 'minutes factory' model of low

cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been copied by several operators.[9] Its network—

base stations, microwave links, etc.—is maintained by Ericsson and Nokia Siemens

Network whereas IT support is provided by IBM, and transmission towers are maintained by

another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India). Ericsson agreed for the first time to be paid by

the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front,

which allowed Airtel to provide low call rates of  1/minute (US$0.02/minute).

The company is India’s largest integrated telecom company in terms of customer base and offers

mobile, fixed line, broadband, IPTV, DTH and enterprise services.

Bharti Teletech is India’s leading telecom & allied Products Company. It is one of the largest

manufacturers of land line telephones in the world. With a strong distribution network across the

country, the company is also the primary distributor of IT and Telecom products from

international brands such as Motorola, Blackberry, Thomson, Polycom, Transcend,

and Logitech.

Bharti Airtel has acquired many telcom majors in Bangladesh(Warid Telecom) France (Vivendi)

and South Africa’s Zain Group.

Mittal has also been working towards educating India through the Bharti Foundation, which is

the philanthropic arm of the Bharti Group. The Foundation has established over 254 schools in

villages across India and offers free quality education with free books, uniform and mid day

meals to poor children.

Major Sponsorships done by Bharti Airtel:

On 9 May 2009 Airtel signed a major deal with Manchester United. As a result of the deal, Airtel

gets the rights to broadcast the matches played by the team to its customers.

Bharti Airtel signed a five-year deal with ESPN Star Sports to become the title sponsor of

the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament. But now the deal is terminated

and Karbonn Mobiles is sponsoring Champions League Twenty20 cricket.

Airtel, also signed a deal to be title sponsor the inaugural Formula One Indian Grand Prix during

the 2011 season.

Airtel, signed a deal to be title sponsor the I-League for 2013–14 I-League.

2. Contributions of Subhash Chandra to Media & Entertainment Industry:

Dr. Subhash Chandra is the Chairman of the Essel Group as well as of other Companies of Essel

Group. His industry leading businesses include television networks and film entertainment, cable

systems, satellite communications, theme parks, family entertainment centers and online gaming.

A self-made man, and a true visionary, Dr. Chandra has consistently demonstrated his ability to

identify new businesses and lead them on the path of success.

Dr. Chandra is rightly referred to as the Media Moghul. With his pioneering vision and

entrepreneurial mindset to achieve growth, he revolutionized the television industry by launching

the country's first satellite television channel -Zee TV in 1992 and later the first private news

channel, Zee News. ZEE as a brand today, has achieved a global recognition, reaching over 730

million viewers in 169 countries offering a rich bouquet of 33 channels in general entertainment,

sports, lifestyle, movies, English and regional genres and alternative lifestyles having both, local

and international presence. Aiming to reach a billion viewers by the year 2020, ZEE is all set to

join the league of Emerging Market Multinationals.

Some of the subsidiaries of ESSEL Group which represent the essels presence in entertainment

industry are:

Fun Multiplex Pvt Ltd

One of the premier cinema chains in India, Fun Cinemas has a Pan-India footprint covering 82 screens across 20 cities. FMPL garners about 10% of market share among top national chains despite the huge growth in the category with numerous new players.

Pan India Network Ltd.Playwin, India's first and largest online gaming company, is in the business of providing infrastructure, data communication, marketing support and service to facilitate a secure online lottery network.

Pan India Paryatan LimitedPan India Paryatan Limited (PIPL), belonging to the 'Essel' group of companies, owns and operates two amusement parks viz.

E-City Bioscope Entertainment Pvt LtdE-City Bioscope Entertainment Pvt Ltd" (ECBEPL) was formed to establish a chain of commercial complexes, housing complexes, construction business, multiplex cinema-cum-family activity centers (FACs) across Non-Metro Towns all over India.

E-City Digital Cinemas Pvt Ltd

The company was established in April 2004, and is committed to revolutionizing the Indian movie business by implementing state-of-the-art digital technology at the various independent cinema houses in this fragmented industry.

For his contributions to the industry, Dr. Chandra has been awarded the International Emmy

Directorate Award at their 39th International Emmy Awards night in New York. Mr. Chandra

became the first Indian ever to receive a Directorate Award recognizing excellence in television

programming outside the United States. He has also been awarded the Honorary Doctorate of

Business Administration by the University of East London.

Dr. Chandra has made his mark as an influential philanthropist in India. He has set up TALEEM

(Transnational Alternate Learning for Emancipation and Empowerment through Multimedia) to

provide access to quality education through distance and open learning. He is also the Chairman

of the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India - a movement to eradicate illiteracy from rural and

tribal India. The Foundation provides free education to nearly 10,35,444 (1 million +) tribal

children across 36,783 villages through one-teacher schools. He is the moving force behind the

Global Vipassana Foundation - a trust set up to help people raise their spiritual quotient. Dr.

Chandra is also the Founder Chairman of Global Foundation for Civilization Harmony (India)

(GFCH), an Eastern initiative for conflict avoidance and a partner of the United Nations Alliance

of Civilization (UNAOC). The founder patrons of GFCH include His Holiness Dalai Lama and

former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, among others.

3. Contributions of Brij Mohan Lall Munjal to Indian Automobile Industry:

Brijmohan Lall Munjal is an Indian businessman and the chairman of Hero Group, which has

Hero Cycles and Hero MotoCorp under its flagship.

He has contributed to Indian Small Scale industry and has been awarded National Award for

outstanding contribution to the Development of Indian Small Scale Industry in 1995.

The establishments which talk about his achievements are:

Hero Cycles Ltd

In 1954 Hero Cycles Ltd moved up the value chain by making a shift from supplying to

manufacturing. They started manufacturing handlebars, front forks and chains. In 1956, the

Punjab Government issued tender notices for twelve new industrial licenses to make bicycles in

Ludhiana. Brijmohan Lall Munjal and his brothers participated in the bid and won the contract.

Hero Cycles was registered as a large-scale industrial unit. The capital was partly financed by

the Government of Punjab.

In 1961 Rockman Cycles Industries was established to manufacture bicycle chains and hubs.

Under his leadership Hero Cycles was the first company to export bicycles in large scale. In

1975 they had earned the distinction of Largest bicycle manufactures in India. By 1986 Hero

Cycles Limited entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest manufacturers of bicycles in

the world.

Hero Honda

Before entering into a joint venture with Honda Motors, Dr. Munjal started the Majestic Auto

Limited and started manufacturing Hero Majestic Moped. To manufacture motor cycles in 1984

the Hero Group started a joint venture with Hero Honda and established a plant

at Dharuhera Haryana. Hero Group expanded so big that by 2002 they had sold 8.6 million Bikes

producing 16000 motorcycles a day.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

The Legacy continued with the industry named Hero MotoCorp Ltd. After Hero Honda Motors

Ltd. joint venture (A joint venture of Hero with Japanese motors industry Honda) broke up in

Aug 2011 after all the settlements were done in board of directors meeting to pay some royalty to

Honda Motors Ltd.(Japan) as their Honda was used in Hero Honda on bikes till 2013. The name

Hero Honda was used till 2013 by the industry as it had gain so much popularity with that name

in South Asia Pacific Region that in India it had become a brand name being the biggest

consumer of their bikes and it would be very difficult for them to establish industry Hero

MotoCorp Ltd. with same demand and prestige in market after nurturing it as Hero Honda for

almost three decades (1983–2011). People used to trust blindly on the name of Hero Honda

Bikes that even on the resale of the bikes People were ready to pay a good amount.

The separation gave an opportunity for Hero to expand its market globally with the name Hero

MotoCorp Ltd. Previously; it was not permitted for Hero Honda to sell their bikes outside Asia

Pacific Region and in countries where Honda group used to do so due to some other internal

reasons of the industry.

The industry after its globalisation sold their bikes tremendously with a rapid production.

The company is the largest two wheeler manufacturer in the world.In India, it has a market share of about

46% share in 2-wheeler category. The 2006 Forbes 200 Most Respected companies list has Hero Honda

Motors ranked at #108. On 31 March 2013, the market capitalisation of the company was INR 308

billion.

In Starting week of August 2013 the industry recorded a benchmark never before reached by an

Indian Two wheeler Automobile industry manufacturer by producing 50 million bikes.

4. Contributions of JRD Tata to Indian Automobile Industry:

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata is an aviator and a business Tycoon.He is the first Indian Pilot

to be issued commercial pilot license.

J. R. D. Tata was inspired early by pioneer Louis Blériot, and took to flying. On 10 February

1929, Tata obtained the first pilot licence issued in India. He later came to be known as the father

of Indian civil aviation. He founded India's first commercial airline, Tata Airlines in 1932, which

became Air India in 1946, now India's national airline.He and Nevill Vintcent worked together in

building Tata Airlines. They were also friends.

In 1945, he founded Tata Motors. In 1948, JRD Tata launched Air India International as India's

first international airline. In 1953, the Indian Government appointed JRD Tata as Chairman

of Air India and a director on the Board of Indian Airlines – a position he retained for 25 years.

For his crowning achievements in aviation, he was bestowed with the title of Honorary Air

Commodore of India.

Tata Motors Limited is India’s largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of INR

2,32,834 crores (USD 38.9 billion) in 2013-14. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each

segment, and among the top in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize

car and utility vehicle segments.

The Tata Motors Group’s over 60,000 employees are guided by the mission “to be passionate in

anticipating and providing the best vehicles and experiences that excite our customers globally.''

Tata Motors Limited (formerly TELCO, short for Tata Engineering and Locomotive

Company) is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered

in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and a subsidiary of the Tata Group. Its products include

passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses, construction equipment and military vehicles. It is

the world's seventeenth-largest motor vehicle manufacturing company, fourth-largest truck

manufacturer and second-largest bus manufacturer by volume.

Tata Motors has auto manufacturing and assembly plants

in Jamshedpur, Pantnagar, Lucknow, Sanand, Dharwad and Pune in India, as well as in

Argentina, South Africa, Thailand and the United Kingdom. It has research and development

centres in Pune, Jamshedpur, Lucknow and Dharwad, India, and in South Korea, Spain, and the

United Kingdom. Tata Motors' principal subsidiaries include the British premium car

maker Jaguar Land Rover (the maker of Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover cars) and the

South Korean commercial vehicle manufactuer Tata Daewoo. Tata Motors has a bus

manufacturing joint venture with Marcopolo S.A. (Tata Marcopolo), a construction equipment

manufacturing joint venture with Hitachi (Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery), and a joint

venture with Fiat which manufactures automotive components and Fiat and Tata branded

vehicles.

TATA MOTORS MOST REPUTED COMPANY: NIELSEN REPORT

Tata Motors has emerged as the most reputed company in India in a survey by Nielsen, a global

information and measurement firm.

The survey that tracked the reputation of 32 companies in India based on what they offered in

terms of service levels, product quality, financial performance and talent pool.

TATA MOTORS WON THE AWARD FOR THE BEST LEARNING ORGANISATIONS OF

ASIA (2011-12)

5. Contributions of Dr.Karsenbhai Patel to Indian FMCG Industry:

Nirma is one of the few names - which is instantly recognized as a true Indian brand, which took

on mighty multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules to win the heart of princess, i.e. the

consumer.

Nirma, the proverbial ‘Rags to Riches’ saga of Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, is a classic example of the

success of Indian entrepreneurship in the face of stiff competition. Starting as a one-man

operation in 1969, today, it has about 18,000+ employee-base and annual turnover is more than

7,000 Crores INR.

India is a one of the largest consumer economy, with burgeoning middle class pie. In such a

widespread, diverse marketplace, Nirma aptly concentrated all its efforts towards creating and

building a strong consumer preference towards its ‘value-for-money’ products.

There was an inescapable reality about the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment in

India: the huge population portended that sooner than later purchasing power would develop

enough muscle to help various FMCG categories penetrate deep into the country's semi-urban

and rural markets. The trigger for this was an innocuous event in 1969.Today, it is universally

recognised that Nirma's entry into the market radically changed the entire FMCG perspective. It

set the stage for a new scramble for rural markets in which multi-national companies as well as

established Indian players became fierce competitors. Nirma's focus was on ensuring that

products like detergents were made affordable to even the lower economic strata of society. This

philosophy had a profound effect on the entire FMCG sector and laid the roadmap for others to

follow. In pure market terms, Nirma proved that supply, at the right price, could create its own

demand. MNCs, which were hedging their bets till then, woke up to altered market realities and

the latent rural potential of India.The government's relaxation of norms also encouraged these

companies to look at economies of scale in order to make FMCG products more affordable.

Players in the organised sector, till then only focusing on the urban markets, vied to outdo each

other in reaching the rural consumer first. Consequently, today soaps and detergents have almost

90% penetration in India. Today, the company's two brands, Nirma and Nima with 32 variants,

are distributed through more than 2 million retail outlets, generating gross sales in excess of Rs.

4000 crore (US$ 833.30 million).The company has a significant presence in the personal care

category through detergent powders and cakes, toilet soaps, scouring bars and in the food

category through free-flow, edible salt.

He has served twice as Chairman of the Development Council for Oils, Soaps and Detergents.

The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce has felicitated him as an ‘Outstanding Industrialist of the

Eighties’. In 1990, the Federation of Association of Small Scale Industries of India (FASII),

New Delhi, awarded him the ‘Udyog Ratna’. In 2001, Karsanbhai was awarded an honorary

doctorate by Florida Atlantic University. Padma Shri Award for the year 2010. Today, Nirma

is the flagship company of the group with complete rights and ownership of the brand. Its wholly

owned subsidiary – Nirma Consumer Care Limited is the distribution arm. Nirma and Nima are

named after Dr. Karsanbhai Patel's daughter, Nirupama. The white dancing girl, featured in

Nirma's television advertising is, perhaps, the most enduring image of Nirma. Though Ms. Patel

passed away in a car accident, she continues to live on in the corporate logo and the best-selling

brands of the company Nirma's radio spot has been aired without a break for 33 years Till 1986,

Nirma was a single product brand Nirma is one of the largest selling detergent brands in the

world More than 2 million retail outlets stock Nirma products and reach 400 million consumers.

The company that was started in 1969 with just one man, who used to deliver his product from

one house to the other, today employs around 14 thousand people and has a turnover of more

than $ 500 million. In 2004 Nirma's annual sales were as high as 800000 tonnes. According to

Forbes in 2005 Karsanbhai Patel's net worth was $ 640 million and it's going to touch the $ 1000

million mark soon. Achievements Some six years ago, an ACNielsen Retail Audit had ranked

Nirma India's seventh largest consumer brand. Remarkably, this status was achieved entirely on

the strength of homegrown research and marketing strategies. Its story of success – from a small,

backyard company to one of the largest detergent manufacturers in the world – merited a

Harvard Business Review case study. The Nirma success story is the result of its founder, Dr.

Karsanbhai Patel's relentless focus on quality, cost and value. The distribution model, sustained

line extensions, innovative packaging, backward integration and umbrella branding strategies

have all enhanced the brand's leadership.To achieve control on cost, size and scale of operations

and supply of keyraw materials, Nirma pursued a backward integration strategy and established

its own soda ash, linear alkyl benzene (LAB), fatty acid, glycerine and huge salt works facilities.

It's a matter of record that Nirma became one of the largest soda ash manufacturers in India and

the 7th largest globally. On this path to success, Karsanbhai has won himself many accolades,

along with people’s acceptance and love.

Nirma is one of the few names - which is instantly recognized as a true Indian brand, which took

on mighty multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules to win the heart of princess, i.e. the

consumer.

Nirma, the proverbial ‘Rags to Riches’ saga of Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, is a classic example of the

success of Indian entrepreneurship in the face of stiff competition. Starting as a one-man

operation in 1969, today, it has about 18,000+ employee-base and annual turnover is more than

7,000 Crores INR.

India is a one of the largest consumer economy, with burgeoning middle class pie. In such a

widespread, diverse marketplace, Nirma aptly concentrated all its efforts towards creating and

building a strong consumer preference towards its ‘value-for-money’ products.

6. Contributions of Dr.Verghese Kurien to the Indian Dairy Industry:

Dr.Verghese Kurien famously known as the milkman of India , redefined the meaning of milk as

a powerful tool for economic development.

He worked towards bringing a White Revolution in India and executed the much needed

programme of "Operation Flood". Dr. Kurein was the man responsible for turning India from

a milk deficient country to the largest producer of milk in the world today. He brought in the

technological revolution in the dairy farming industry.

He revolutionized the ndairy industry through opration flood with the following objectives.

Operation Flood is the world's biggest dairy development program

Operation Flood's objectives included:

• Increase milk production ("a flood of milk")

• Augment rural incomes

• Fair prices for consumers 

He established the institutions like

• GCMMF : Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.

• NDDB: National Dairy Development Board.

• He returned to India after completion of his studies and on May 13, 1949 he headed for

Anand, a place in Kaira district of Gujarat where he was supposed to spend five years as

an officer of the Dairy division in return for the scholarship paid by the government.

He contributed the best supply chain model AMUL to Indian dairy farmers.

AMUL Model brought in a radical change in the Indian Dairy farming.It brought in the the world

class supply chain system in the dairy farming and dairy products retailing.

AMUL is responsible for channelizing the Operation Flood programme which helped to achieve,

social empowerment, economic empowerment, and political empowerment.

Social Empowerment:

Social Empowerment

Social empowerment deals with issues of exclusion and inclusion. They become important in a

religiously diverse, multicultural, and highly stratified society like India where rural poor face

many forms of exclusion. While Operation Flood is not an all-purpose development program and

cannot hope to sweep away economic and social inequalities that existed in rural India for

centuries, it has nonetheless had a profound impact on the social landscape of the countryside.

Economic Empowerment

The economic empowerment aspects of OF deal with connecting people and their institutions

with markets.

In the pre-OF era, milk pricing was not used as an instrument of dairy development. No effort

was made by any government to ensure a remunerative price to the producer, but the consumer

price of milk supplied through government-run city milk schemes was invariably subsidized.

This had two adverse effects on dairy development. First, in the absence of a year-round

remunerative price for milk, the producer did not have any incentive to increase milk production

through better breeding, feeding, and management of animals. Therefore, milk production

increased at a miserably low rate of 1 per cent per year in the pre-OF era. Second, by selling milk

for less than its cost and less than the open market price, city milk schemes incurred huge losses

year after year, and as a result were not able to save and plough back any money into

modernizing and expanding their activities. Thus, the milk pricing policy followed before 1970

was both anti-producer and anti-dairy development.

For the first time, OF accorded the highest priority to ensuring a year-round and dependable

market at remunerative prices for rurally produced milk. Indeed, OF was originally conceived as

a marketing project. The producer price of milk in most OF areas is determined by the state

government concerned and is set at a level that is considered remunerative to the milk producers.

Although the cost of milk production is not explicitly considered in setting the producer price,

there is evidence to show that the terms of trade over the last decade or so have been favourable

to the milk producers. The time-series data on the producer price of milk and the wholesale price

of oilcakes, which account for nearly three-fourths of the total cost of milk production, confirm

this. Over the period 1987 to 1996, the compound annual rate of growth in the producer price of

milk was 10.9 per cent as compared to 5.8 per cent in the wholesale price of oilcakes.

The strategy evolved by early dairy cooperatives in Gujarat proved decidedly superior to

alternative ones being tested in the 1960s, such as the Key Village Scheme or the system under

which government-owned milk plants collected and processed milk produced by contractors. The

Anand Pattern emphasized keeping cattle in the hinterland and transporting milk to cities by

farmer cooperatives, rather than transporting cattle as well as fodder to cities. Thus the system

had strong comparative advantage. As a result, the early dairy unions in Gujarat �such as Kaira,

Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, and others �rapidly emerged as large and successful farmer

organizations, with hundreds of thousands of members dominating the economies of their

domains.

Political Empowerment

The OF programme was able to connect the grassroots-level dairy cooperatives not only with the

state and central governments, but also with international agencies.

7. Contributions of Shri.M.S.Oberoi to Indian Hospitality Industry:

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 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 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. 

8. Contributions of G D Birla to Indian Automobile & Textile and Cement Industry

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 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.

9.Contributions of Shri Dhirubhai Ambani:

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.

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".

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 entrepreneurial career by selling "bhajias" to pilgrims in Mount Girnar over the

weekends.

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.

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".

Awards and recognitions

• November 2000 – Conferred 'Man of the Century' award by Chemtech Foundation and

Chemical Engineering World in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the growth and

development of the chemical industry in India

• 2000, 1998 and 1996 – Featured among 'Power 50 - the most powerful people in Asia by

Asiaweek magazine.

• June 1998 - Dean's Medal by The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for

setting an outstanding example of leadership. Dhirubhai Ambani has the rare distinction of being

the first Indian to get Wharton School Dean's Medal

• August 2001 – Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence for Lifetime

Achievement

• Dhirubhai Ambani was named the Man of 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 Centuries".

10. Contributions of Shri Kishore Biyani to Indian Retailing Industry:

A true Indian retail czar, Kishore Biyani is the Group CEO of Future Group and Managing

Director of Pantaloon Retail. Popularly known as KB, he is the man who triggered the concept of

retail supermarkets in India like Big Bazaar, Pantaloon, Mega Mart and Bangalore Central. With

his sheer ‘guts and instincts’ he created Future Group, a USD 1 billion enterprise and

spearheaded the emergence of Pantaloon Retail as the leading retailer in the country.

 

Born on August 9, 1961 into a small trading family, Biyani started his first business enterprise

selling stonewash fabric to small shops in Mumbai. Famous for his unconventional style of

running the business he was initially written off by the media. His stores were referred as 'dirty’

and he was never called for any trade body meetings or investors conference. Biyani defied the

status quo and challenged the conventional mindset by significantly thinking big.

 

A staunch believer in the group’s corporate credo, ‘Rewrite Rules, Retain Values,’ Biyani

considers indianness as the core value driving the group. Led by its flagship enterprise Pantaloon

Retail, today operates around 16 million square feet of retail space in over 85 cities and towns

and 65 rural locations across India. Headquartered in Mumbai it employs around 35,000 people

and is listed on the Indian stock exchanges.

 

Future Group’s retail arm follows a multi-format retail strategy and some of its leading formats

include Big Bazaar, Central Food Bazaar, Pantaloons, Ezone, Home Town and Planet Sports. It

also operates popular shopping portal, futurebazaar.com and rural retail chain, Aadhar. Future

Group’s other businesses include financial services, insurance, brand development and logistics.

 

While retail continues to form the core business of Future Group its appetite for food is steadily

increasing with newer retail formats and is scaling up operations with Foodhall, its latest venture

into the food retail space, which would offer a different format to cater to the growing aspirations

of the consumers. Its tag line ‘for the love of food’ has strike a chord with the consumers to take

the food retail business to next level.

 

Presently, the company’s existing food retail chains comprise the no-frills, small format KB’s

fair price stores, Food Bazaar and Food Rite. Foodhall will be the fourth organized food retailing

chain in the group’s portfolio. Targeting affluent consumers its aim is to tap the urban Indian

consumer who wants to experiment with both imported food items like wines and chocolates and

grocery regulars like exotic spices and organic lentils. It is for the discerning customer and will

be opened in 15 different locations with the largest one coming up on MG road in Bangalore.

 

Another venture, Future Fresh is into the supply of fruits and vegetables and is sourcing from

across the world, from New Zealand to Canada. It is also setting up supply chains of food and

vegetables. The idea is to give consistency and quality in fruits and vegetables in the long run

coupled with world class technology and processes.

 

The 49-year-old maverick received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. In year

2006 he was awarded ‘The First Generation Entrepreneur of the Year’ by CNBC Indian Business

Leaders. The same year he was awarded the ‘Young Business Leader’ conferred by the IIM

Lucknow National Leadership.

 

He recently authored the book, ‘It Happened In India.’ which traces his struggle, failures,

restlessness, and sheer grit. The book has sold some 100,000 copies, more than any other

business book published in India so far. Often been called ‘the Sam Walton of India,’ Biyani’s

success is a classic example of how deep insights can create an impregnable differentiator among

your competition which are purely led by observations and theoretical market research reports.

 

Though most of KB’s deep understanding is attributed to his ‘marwari trading family

upbringings and his interest in observing people and understanding their behaviour he jokes as a

child he has always been a big source of irritation for his family as he used to question every

damn thing in the world.

 

The elite food futurist, who discards the conventional mode of thinking, is now sharpening his

focus in the food space at a time when retail chains run by the Tatas and Birlas have already

forayed into this arena with a similar set-up.

 

Though he would never consider collaborating with Wal-Mart he asserts,“We are investing a lot

in food through future ventures in food processing centres, FMCG products and so on. In the

next three to four years we want to be the largest food and FMCG Company in the country. What

makes our innovations different is that we try to sell by people and not to people.”