Hari Shankar Singhania (20 June 1933 – 22 February 2013) was the President of J.K. Organisation, a leading Indian industrial group, which has its roots extending nearly 100 years, and is one of the largest industrial groups in India. It has multi-business, multi-product and multi-location operations. Most of the companies in the group are public limited entities, with more than 40,000 employees. The group has more than shareholders, with a nationwide sales and service network of over 10,000 distributors and many retailers and service centres. The group has export interests in nearly 90 countries across the globe. Mr. Singhania was the architect of most of the J.K. Organization group of companies which currently manufacture a large range of products including automotive tyres and tubes, paper and board, cement, V-belts, oil seals, power transmission equipment, woolen textiles, readymade suits and apparel, food and dairy products, hybrid seeds, steel engineering files, and cosmetics. Born in Kanpur, Mr. Singhania initially worked in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. In the 1960s, he moved to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

and established himself as a leading industrial figure in the growing city. Throughout his life, Mr. Singhania remained active in business, political and nonprofit communities. He was offered the post of

Indian Ambassador to the United States The Indian Ambassador to the United States of America is the chief diplomatic representative of India to the United States, housed in the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C. The current ambassador is Taranjit Singh Sandhu who succeeded Harsh Va ...

by Prime Minister

PV Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian lawyer, statesman and politician who served as the 9th prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He is known for introducing various liberal reforms to Indi ...

, a position he declined. Widely travelled overseas, Mr. Singhania was a keen gardener and an enthusiastic photographer.

He has served as

Within J.K. Organisation * Chairman, JK Paper Ltd. * Chairman, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. * Chairman, JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd. * Chairman, Bengal & Assam Company Ltd. * President, Governing Body, Lakshmipat Singhania Education Foundation. * Chancellor,

JK Lakshmipat University JK Lakshmipat University (JKLU) was established in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, in the year 2011. The curriculum and pedagogy of the university emphasises experiential learning through projects. The University is sponsored by the J. K ...

* President, Governing Body, Lakshmipat Singhania Medical Foundation. * Chairman, Population Foundation of India, a leading N.G.O. devoted to the cause of Population Stabilization (founded in 1970) * President, Managing Committee, Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute for Liver, Renal & Digestive Diseases (PSRI), New Delhi. Others * President,

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every sec ...

(ICC), Paris, the world organisation of business (1993–1994) * President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) (1979–1980) * Vice-President, Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (1982–1985) * Member, Board of Trade of the Government of India (1989–1990) * Director, Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) (1983–1989). * Member, Board of Commonwealth Development Corporation, London. (1996 -1999) * Director, Atlas Copco AB (Swedish Company) and chairman, Atlas Copco (India) Ltd. (1996–2002) * Member, Indo-French CEO Forum ( 1997–2011) * Member, Indo-German Consultative Group (1996–1997) * Member, Society, Governing Body and Advisory Board, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India (2002–2005) * Chairman, Governing Board,

Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, for three consecutive terms of five years each (1992 – 2007– Total 15 years). * Promoter Member, Governing Board, International Management Institute, India (IMI). * Co-Chairman, Indo-US Joint Business Council (1989–1991) * Co-Chairman, India-Japan Business Cooperation Committee (1982–1986) * Co-Chairman, Indo-Korea Joint Business Council (1986) * Director,

Shipping Corporation of India The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is a government corporation that operates and manages vessels servicing both national and international lines. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, with its headquart ...

(1976 – 1977.) * Director, The Oriental Fire & General Insurance Co. Limited (1977 – 1979.) * Chairman, Development Council for Pulp, Paper and Allied Industries set up by the Government (1990–1991) * Chairman, Joint Committee on Paper Industry. * Member, Indian Council for Agricultural Research,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

(1991– 1994) * Chairman, Indian Jute Mills Association (1967–1968) * President, All India Organization of Employers (1972 -1974.) * Director, Urban Mass Transit Co. Ltd. (1993–1996) * Director, DCM Ltd. (1990–2001) * Director, DCM Daewoo Ltd (Formally DCM Toyota Ltd) (1984 -1997) * And various other Indian/International Institutions and companies. Appointed by

to serve on various Committees from time to time.

Awards

* Prestigious National Award "

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

" in the year 2003 by the President of India, for his contribution in the field of trade and economic activities. * In 2005 was awarded one of the highest Swedish Awards

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of ...

by the King of Sweden for his contribution to the development of Indo-Swedish business relations. * "2008 Paper Industry International Hall of Fame Award" by the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame, Inc, United States. * In 2010 received the "Lifetime Achievement Award for Asia Pacific entrepreneurship" from Enterprise Asia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singhania, Hari Shankar Businesspeople from Delhi 1933 births 2013 deaths Jute industry of India Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry