The following article is an initiative of JK organisation and is intended to create awareness among readers
Hari Shankar Singhania was a leader like no other. He spearheaded numerous businesses as the President of J.K. Organisation, a leading Indian industrial group, which has a legacy of over 125 years. One of the largest and eminent industrial groups in India, it has multi-business, multi-product and multi-location operations and is recognised as a dynamic force which played a key role in the economic resurgence of India.
Most of the companies in the group are listed and has more than 40,000 employees. The group has over 500,000 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 over 100 countries across the globe.
Singhania, the visionary industrialist who passed away in 2013, was the architect of most of the J.K. Organisation group of companies, which currently manufacture a wide range of products including automotive tyres, paper, cement, V-belts, oil seals, power transmission equipment, woollen textiles, readymade suits and apparel, food and dairy products, hybrid seeds, steel engineering equipment, defence and aerospace electronic equipment and cosmetics.
Born in Kanpur, Singhania initially worked in Kolkata. In the 1960s, he moved to Delhi and established himself as a leading industrial figure in the growing city. Throughout his life, he remained active in business, political and several community development projects. He was a global traveller and a keen gardener and an enthusiastic photographer.
Singhania was also a recipient of the prestigious Padma Bhushan, which he was awarded in 2003 for his contributions in the field of trade and economic activities. He was also the President of International Chambers of Commerce. In 2005 he was also presented with one of the highest Swedish awards, The Royal Order of the Polar Star by the King of Sweden for his contribution to the development of Indo-Swedish business relations.
