Anu Aga (born 3 August 1942) is an Indian billionaire businesswoman and social worker who led Thermax, an energy and environment engineering business, as its chairperson from 1996 to 2004. She was among the eight richest Indian women, and in 2007 was part of 40 richest Indians by net worth according to ''

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'' magazine. She was awarded with the Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award by ALL Ladies League, the all ladies wing of ASSOCHAM. After retiring from Thermax, she took to social work, and in 2010 she was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

for Social Work by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. She is currently Chairperson of Teach For India. She was nominated to

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

, the Upper House of

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India (ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President o ...

on 26 April 2012, by President

Pratibha Patil Pratibha Devisingh Patil (born 19 December 1934), also known as Pratibha Patil Shekhawat, is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2007 to 2012. She was the first woman to become the president of India. A m ...

. As per Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, dated October 9, 2024, Anu Aga is ranked 67th with a net worth of $4.7 Billion.

Early life and education

Anu Aga was born to a

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

family on 3 August 1942 in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. She graduated with a B.A. in economics from St Xavier's College,

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, and with a post graduation in medical and

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, mood, emotion, and behavior. Initial psychiatric assessment of ...

social work from the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS),

. She had also been a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

and studied in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for four months.

Personal life

Anu was married to Rohinton Aga, a graduate of the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

and gave birth to a daughter, Meher, and a son, Kurush. Rohinton died in 1996 of a massive stroke, and a little over a year later, her son Kurush died at the age of 25 years. Today, Arnavaz 'Anu' Aga lives in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, Maharashtra. Her daughter, Meher Pudumjee is the current Chairperson of Thermax, taking over from her mother in 2004. She is a post-graduate in chemical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London and joined Thermax in September 1990, and is also a member of the

Confederation of Indian Industry The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental business and industry organisation and advocacy group headquartered in New Delhi, India, founded in 1895. CII is a membership-based organisation. ...

's (CII) Family Business Forum and the Young Indians (YI).

Career

Anu started her career in Thermax in 1985 and later headed its human resources division from 1991 to 1996. After the death of her husband, Rohinton Aga, she took over as Chairperson of Thermax, retiring in 2004 and succeeded by her daughter and company vice-chairperson, Meher Pudumjee. Anu has since remained on the company's board of directors, and is involved with social work. As a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, she served on several committees, including the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice from May 2012 to May 2014, and again from September 2014 to the present. She was also a member of the Parliamentary Forum on Children from August 2012 to May 2014, the Committee on Empowerment of Women from September 2012 to September 2013, and the Committee on Commerce from August to December 2012.

Awards

*Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Awar
Anu Aga
*'Power Brands: Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar (BMVP) – Edition 2019' for business leadership and philanthropy. *Padma Shri award in 2010. *Lifetime Achievement Award by MAEER's MIT group, Pune in 2015.

References

External links

Anu Aga – Director, Profile
Thermax India. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aga, Anu Indian billionaires 1942 births Living people Businesspeople from Mumbai St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Indian social workers Businesspeople from Pune Members of National Advisory Council, India Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Indian women business executives Women in Maharashtra politics Parsi people 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian women educational theorists 20th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century Indian women scientists 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Indian business executives 21st-century Indian businesspeople 21st-century Indian businesswomen 20th-century Indian businesswomen Women members of the Rajya Sabha Social workers from Maharashtra Women educators from Maharashtra Educators from Maharashtra Businesswomen from Maharashtra Tata Institute of Social Sciences alumni