Lakshman Das Mittal (also spelled as Lachhman Das Mittal; born in

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the ...

in August 1931) is an Indian businessman. He is the owner and chairman of the Sonalika Group. He is 82nd richest person of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. with the net worth of USD $2.31 billion. He has been the Chairman of Tractor Manufacturer's Association of India and member of National Council of Confederation of Indian Industry.

Early life and education

Lachhman Das Mittal was born in 1931 in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. Mittal earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in English & Urdu from

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is an Indian collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Lahor ...

. He began his career as an insurance agent with the

Life Insurance Corporation of India The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector life insurance company headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's largest insurance company as well as the largest institutional investor ...

(LIC). In 1970 he started producing wheat threshers with the help of local blacksmiths in

, Punjab. The following year his family went bankrupt and by 1970 his net worth was Rs 1 lakh. He said, "Once I applied for dealership of

Maruti Udyog Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a publicly listed Indian subsidiary of Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation. It is the largest automobile manufacturer in India, specialising in small cars. The company was established by the Government ...

but was rejected. Today, I give out dealerships." According to ''Forbes'', Mittal was ranked 82nd among India’s richest individuals with a net worth of $2.31 billion. In the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' list of India's 100 richest individuals, published on October 9, 2024, he was ranked 54th with a net worth of $5.69 billion.

Career

Mittal began his business career in 1970 after taking early retirement from the state-owned LIC. Sonalika started manufacturing thrashers in 1970. In 1970, he founded Sonalika Group, and in 1996, he established Sonalika Tractors, which went on to become India's third-largest tractor manufacturer by market share. Mittal later transferred the leadership of the Sonalika Group to his sons, Amrit sagar Mittal and Deepak Mittal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mittal, Lakshman Das 1931 births Living people Businesspeople from Punjab, India People from Hoshiarpur Indian billionaires 21st-century Indian businesspeople Indian industrialists 20th-century Indian businesspeople