2025-01-25 11:07:00 :
In the pantheon of Indian industrial giants, few stories capture the imagination of Om Prakash Jindal. From Hisar’s humble bucket-making workshops to building one of India’s largest steel empires, his story reads like a masterclass in entrepreneurial audacity. What truly sets him apart is the rare ability to seamlessly navigate the unforgiving world of heavy industry and the complex labyrinth of politics.
industrialist’s apprentice
Before he was known as the patriarch of the Jindal Group, he was a young man with an obsession with understanding how things worked. In the 1950s, when most of his contemporaries were seeking stable government employment, he took an unconventional path by learning pipe bending and welding as a dealer in steel pipe and tube. This hands-on experience meant he wasn’t just another businessman issuing orders from an air-conditioned office – he learned the nuts and bolts of his business.
The journey of Jindal, who was born in 1930 in a small village in Nalwa, Haryana, was anything but conventional. As a child, he packed Calcutta (then Calcutta) where he learned the basics of wholesale and retail textile trading. Soon though, he realized that steel was the backbone of a nation, and he subsequently began to develop a vision for a business that, by the time of his tragic death in a helicopter conflict in 2005, was turning over $4 billion a year and operating operations. Across multiple continents.
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Calcutta is his Karam Bhoomi. Here he started out as a metals trader, although he went on to establish his first factory in Howrah’s neighbor Liluah. In his 20s, he was part of his newly formed company Jindal India Ltd, following another factory in the city. He subsequently established Jindal Steel and Power, JSW Group and Jindal Stainless Limited.
The genesis of the organization’s subsequent expansion and success was his mastery of vertical integration and his pressure to innovate. By controlling the sources of raw materials, such as iron ore and coal, he ensured a stable supply chain for steel production. Building a power plant ensured that his steel business always had a steady source of electricity. This holistic approach insulates his industry from external shocks and allows for better control of the value chain.
In the late 1960s, when India’s steel sector was dominated by giants such as Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Tata Steel (Tisco), he had the foresight to enter steel pipes. In 1983, he set up India’s first private sector cold rolling mill in Thane. This is a smart move given India’s heavy import dependence on specialty steel products.
This ability to think also gave him much-needed capital. In the pre-liberalization era, when domestic funds were scarce, he used export earnings to finance expansion, building strong banking relationships, innovating suppliers and creating joint ventures for technology and markets.
Without the privilege of a formal education, he relied on an intuitive understanding of the business and an uncanny ability to spot opportunities. The boy who wanted to be a wrestler ended up becoming a Titan. His journey from combative to complementary led him to learn and teach the value of collaboration, the hallmark of all successful endeavors.
politician
What really sets him apart, however, is his unique position in politics. Unlike many businessmen and politicians who used their position to advance their own business interests, he approached politics with the same direct approach to his business dealings. As Haryana’s MLA and later power minister, he would speak his mind even if he did not align with the party’s stand. His style of politics is one of lonely promises or words, refreshingly different from the usual politician expressions.
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Instead, he made his businessman’s pragmatism political. Not surprisingly, his constituency, Hisar, benefited from improvements in infrastructure and industrial growth during his tenure. After his death in 2005, his second wife Savitri took over the political mantle and the tradition continued with son Naveen Jindal.
A rare successful inheritance
Before his death, he put in place a succession plan that ensured that when the organization moved into a formal home division in 2009, the process was smooth and fussy-free. After Prithviraj’s death, the steel pipe business, carbon steel business Sajjan and Power Business Naveen were inherited, while the stainless steel business went to Ratan Jindal. The family then sorted out the complex cross-continuation structure, simplifying it so that the four sons and their mother Savitri Devi received 20% of the promoter’s shares in the creation of five holding companies.
From humble beginnings in a small Indian town to forging a vast industrial empire, Om Prakash Jindal is a reminder that the spirit of innovation and the courage to dream can lead to extraordinary achievements, even in the face of monumental challenges.
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