The Hindu Business Line : O.P. Jindal killed in copter crash in UP

FROM bucket manufacturing to mega steel and power units, Mr Om Prakash Jindal, Chairman of the Jindal Group, had spent 40 unstinted years building an organisation of considerable repute and magnitude.

His unfortunate demise on Thursday in a helicopter crash has left business circles aghast. While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered an enquiry into the accident, industry circles bemoan the loss of an industrialist who went beyond his brief to find himself a place in the political map as well.

The 74-year old industrialist, popularly known as OP, controlled 20 factories worth around Rs 12,000 crore under the Jindal banner. Born on August 7, 1930 in village Nalwa of district Hisar in Haryana, his father was a farmer. But Mr Jindal's keen interest in technical work, took him for higher studies to the industrial training institutes of Bengal and Orissa.

His industrial career began with a small bucket manufacturing unit in Hisar and in 1964, he commissioned a pipe unit christened Jindal India Ltd, currently known as Jindal Industries Ltd. In 1969 he laid the foundation of a large factory under the name Jindal Strips Ltd. Today, Jindal Strips contributes one of the largest shares in India's total stainless steel production.

Mr Jindal was also known for his philanthropic activities, including as Chairman of the N.C. Jindal Charitable Trust (named after his father), under whose auspices a 500-bed hospital, a girls' residential school and several other activities were run. He was also the nominated Chairman of the Maharaja Agarsen Medical Education & Scientific Research Society and a custodian trustee of the Agroha Vikas Trust.

His chequered political career too was at its helm currently. He was Minister of Power, Printing & Stationery in the Haryana Government. In 1991, he had become a Member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly and was soon after elected as Member of Parliament in the 11th Lok Sabha.

India Inc condoles death: The captains of Indian industry today condoled Mr Jindal's demise. Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said that he was a man of great acumen, and in his death, India has lost a great industrialist, who had built up a reputation for ingenuity of products and product integrity.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President, Mr Onkar S. Kanwar, called him a true Indian entrepreneur who had channelised all his energies into building a professional organisation. ``In business or politics, he was much ahead of his times... little wonder then that he was placed among the 12 Indians in the Forbes 2005 list of billionaires," he said.

The President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), Mr Mahendra K. Sanghi, also expressed deep shock and sorrow over his demise.

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