Ludhiana is a prominent industrial city in the state of Punjab. Recent statistics show that Ludhiana contributes the most to the Punjab’s overall GDP. Out of Punjab’s GDP of 6.98 Lakhs Crores in 2023, Ludhiana contributes a whopping 19.6% in the total which is more than any other region in Punjab. From these numbers, it won’t surprise you to know that several of the most well-known and richest businessmen in the whole country have industries based in Ludhiana. After being established in Ludhiana, their enterprises then went on to become some of the most prolific conglomerates from India. Below are ten of the most influential, Ludhiana-based industrialists and their contribution to the GDP and the job market:
- Rajinder Gupta, Trident
Rajinder Gupta is Chairman of Trident Group, a business conglomerate headquartered in Ludhiana. Home textiles, paper manufacturing, chemicals, and power are the main industries for the Trident Group. Rajinder Gupta is a school dropout who went from earning 30 rupees per day from hard labour to a net worth of nearly INR 17,000 crores. He left Trident’s board of directors in 2022, citing family and health concerns. He is said to be popularly known as “Punjab’s Dhirubhai Ambani.” He was awarded the Padma Bhushan award in 2007 for his outstanding contributions to the trade and industry sectors. According to Forbes the annual wealth list, he is the richest man in Punjab in 2023.
His Company was established in 1990 and has witnessed a turnover of INR 7,000 crores. He has 20,000 employees at his company.
- Kamal Oswal, Nahar Group
Kamal Oswal is the Managing Director at Nahar Industrial Enterprises. Mr. Oswal is a resident of Ludhiana. He is the Managing Director and Vice Chairman at the Nahar Group of Companies. According to the company page, the Nahar Group of Companies is a leading industrial house of Northern India, continuously growing and diversifying its activities for the economic prosperity of its shareholders and stakeholders. It started as a small woollen worsted spinner and hosiery manufacturer in 1949 but subsequently established itself as a leading textile giant in northern India. Since then, the company has branched out into other industrial fields such as sugar manufacturing, investment lending, financial advisory etc. The Nahar group of companies saw a turnover of INR 8,400 crores in 2022. It currently employs 25,500 employees.
- Pankaj Munjal, Hero Company
Pankaj Munjal is the chairman and managing director of Hero Cycles Limited. He was born in Ludhiana and is currently one of the richest businessmen of India. Mr. Munjal always had a love for automobiles and therefore graduated in Science and training in automotive manufacturing and joined his father's company in 1988. Hero cycles, headquartered in Ludhiana, was founded in 1956, and today it is one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the world. In 2016, Hero cycles exported to over 70 countries worldwide. The company witnessed a turnover of INR 4,000 crores as of fiscal year 2022. 4,300 workers are employed in the Company.
- S.P. Oswal, Vardhman Textiles
Shri Paul Oswal Jain is an Indian industrialist and the present head of the Vardhman Group. The Government of India honoured him in 2010, with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, for his services to the fields of trade and industry. He was born in 1942 in Punjab and is a post graduate in Commerce from Punjab University which he passed with a Gold Medal. Apart from his company, he is also regarded as the force behind the establishment of Ludhiana Stock Exchange in 1983. Oswal was also involved in many socially relevant initiatives such as the Village Adoption Initiative, which he established to compensate for the cotton yarn shortage in Punjab in 2001.
His company Vardhman textiles is based in Ludhiana and was founded in 1965. It saw a INR 12,000 turnover as of 2022 and has 30,000 employees.
- K.K. Seth, Seth Industrial Corporation (Neelam Cycles)
K.K. Seth is the chairman of the Ludhiana-based Seth Industrial Corporation, established in 1964. Seth Industrial Corporation is currently established as a partnership firm and is one of the foremost manufacturers and exporters of an extensive array of E-Rickshaws and Bicycles. Its flagship brand of Neelam Cycles is a leading pioneer of Bicycle and Rickshaw manufacturing in the country. Rajesh Seth and Raman Seth are the directors of Seth Industrial Corporation. It saw a 250 crore turnover in 2023 and provides the livelihood for 1,400 employees.
- Rajni Bector, Cremica
Rajni Bector founded Mrs. Bector’s Food Specialities and the Cremica Group of Companies. She was born in 1940 at Karachi and was raised in Lahore. Her father was a wealthy accountant and several of her family members were high ranking government officials. This allowed her to escape partition relatively unscathed but she still had to witness the horrors of the event in 1947. Her family shifted to Delhi and settled there. While a student of Miranda House in Delhi, she got married in 1957 before she could finish college and graduated only after marriage. She got married to a businessman based in Ludhiana who helped her with the marketing and the establishment of her brand. Bector was very fond of cooking and throwing parties. With the help of her husband, Dharamvir Bector, they set up a backyard kitchen from where baking magic began. She started experimenting with cookies, salads, and ice creams and started inviting friends and their children to taste her products. From catering for events and small parties, she went on to build one of the most successful and lucrative food enterprises in the country. She started her business in 1979.
She was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021. Her company saw a INR 1,700 crore turnover as of fiscal year 2022. It currently provides the wages for 3,500 employees.
- Rohit Poddar, Poddar Tyres
Rohit Poddar is the Managing Director of Poddar Developers Ltd. and the Poddar Group. He has been handling various businesses such as automobile tyre manufacturing, textile & apparel manufacturing and organic farming for two decades. He has studied at Cathedral School Mumbai, Winchester College (UK) and holds a B.Sc. (Hons) Degree in Civil Engineering and Business Management from Kings College London, UK. He is also a fellow of the Aspen Institute India for the India Leadership Initiative focusing on business ethics and was also voted one of the 200 Global Young Leaders by Asia Society in 2010.
His company saw a turnover of INR 300 crores in 2022, and pays the wages of over 1,000 employees.
- Amit Gupta, Leeford Healthcare Limited
Amit Gupta is the Managing Director for Leeford Healthcare Limited. He currently lives in Ludhiana. He was awarded the Vardhman Award for Entrepreneur of the year in 2020. The company started in 2006. With constant innovation and research it diversified into more than 35 therapeutic categories along with personal care and Nutraceuticals. Today, the company is ranked as the 3rd best Generic pharmaceutical company in India. It saw a turnover of INR 2,000 crores and currently has 5,000 employees across India.
- Onkar Singh Pahwa, Avon Cycles Limited
Onkar Singh Pahwa is the Chairman of Avon Cycles Limited. Following the Partition in 1947, his father Sohan Lal Pahwa shifted to Ludhiana and started making bicycle parts to support himself and his family. Then, along with his brother Hans Raj Pahwa, he started Avon Cycles Company Limited in 1951.
In 1997, the family business was reorganized. Control of the company Avon Cycles Limited exclusively passed to the family of Onkar Singh Pahwa. Under Mr. Pahwa’s leadership, the company witnessed a turnover of over 500 crores. It currently employs over 1,500 personnel.
- Balvir Kumar, Octave Apparels
Balvir Kumar is the Managing Director at Octave Apparels. Mr.Kumar has been running the company successfully since 1991. Octave is a well-known name not only in the city but the whole country with almost 360 brand outlets across India. It has been witnessing a steady turnover of over INR 250 crores every year since its establishment with more than 2,400 employees.