Shantanurao Laxmanrao Kirloskar (28 May 1903 – 24 April 1994) was an Indian businessman who was instrumental in the rapid growth of the

Kirloskar Group Kirloskar Group is an Indian Conglomerate (company), conglomerate, headquartered in Pune and manufacturing plant in Kirloskarvadi. The group exports to over 70 countries over most of Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe. The flagship and holding c ...

. S.L. Kirloskar was the son of

Laxmanrao Kirloskar Laxmanrao Kashinath Kirloskar (20 June 1869 – 26 September 1956) was an Indian businessman. He was the founder of the Kirloskar Group. Biography Laxmanrao was born on 20 June 1869, in a Maharashtrian family in Gurlahosur, a village in Belgaum ...

, who established the

and the township of

Kirloskarwadi Kirloskarvadi is India's second-oldest industrial township that developed around the Kirloskar Brothers Ltd factory in the Palus, Sangli district, in Maharashtra state, India. It is the second-oldest industrial township in India. On 10 March ...

. S. L. Kirloskar earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. He was among the first Indians to graduate from MIT. He also became a reserve officer in the US Army at the same time. 1940 S.L. Kirloskar founded Mysore Kirloskar Ltd. to manufacture machine tools. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Kirloskar Group grew rapidly under the leadership of S.L. Kirloskar. In 1946 he established Kirloskar Electric Company and Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited at

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

and

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 ...

, respectively. He is credited with developing the manufacture of the

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

indigenously as an import substitute after India attained

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. He penned an autobiography under the title ''Cactus and Roses''. Kirloskar was awarded

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

in the year 1965 for his contribution to trade and industry. On 26 February 2003

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

, the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

, released a commemorative postage stamp marking the 100th anniversary of Kirloskar's birth.

Awards

*Rashtrabhushan Award of

FIE Foundation FIE Foundation is a charity trust established in 1970, belongs to 'Fie Group of Industries' Ichalkaranji, in Maharashtra State of India. Background Mr. P. D. Kulkarni ( Panditkaka Daji Kulkarni), The Chairman of FIE Group, who was also the tru ...

Ichalkaranji Ichalkaranji ( t͡səlkəɾəɳd͡ʒiː is a city in Kolhapur District, Maharashtra, India. It is situated at the bank of the Panchganga River. History As described by Horace George Franks in the book ''The Story of Ichalkaranji'' (1929), ...

References

External links

india.gov.inKirloskar GroupKirloskar Brothers Limited, Kirloskar Group Flagship Company
* ttp://www.investsmartindia.com/IIL_NEW/StockWatch/company/directorReportShow.aspx?cocode=338&sccode=522068&symbol=-1 Director's report – Kirloskar Oil Engines Limitedbr>Speech
by the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

on occasion of S. L. Kirloskar's birth centenary
Birthdate of S. L. Kirloskar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirloskar, S. L. 1903 births 1994 deaths Businesspeople from Pune Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry Marathi people Kirloskar Group MIT School of Engineering alumni