Meet Naveen

A well-known Indian Industrialist and Philanthropist, Mr. Naveen Jindal is the Chairman of Jindal steel & Power limited (JSPL), India's leading infrastructure Conglomerate with interests in steel, mining and power sector.

His vision at JSPL is driven by the core principle of Nation Building. Under his leadership, each of the businesses of JSPL is focused towards building world-class capabilities to make India self-reliant and a global economic powerhouse. His tenacity and drive have transformed JSPL into a conglomerate with presence across Africa, Oman and Australia.

Naveen was declared the Industry Communicator of the year by the World Steel Association in 2016. He was featured by the Fortune magazine as Asia's 25 Hottest People in Business for turning a struggling steel company into an Asian blue-chip giant. JSPL, under his leadership, was declared as the highest wealth creator in the world between the Years 2005-2009 by the Boston Consulting Group. In 2011, The Economic Times-Corporate Dossier list featured him as India's Most Powerful CEOs. Ernst & Young conferred upon him the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the field of Energy and Infrastructure in 2010.

He is the President of the Flag Foundation of India. He led a campaign to democratise the Tricolour, and his decade-long legal struggle resulted in a historic Supreme Court judgment allowing every Indian to display the Indian Flag with pride on all days of the year. He was elected twice to Indian Parliament where he served as a Parliamentarian for 10 years and made many contributions.

Mr. Naveen Jindal is also the founding Chancellor of O P Jindal Global University, which is ranked the number one private university in India as per the QS World university rankings 2021.

Mr. Jindal completed his MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in 1992. In recognition of his exceptional entrepreneurship skills and public service, the School of Management of the University of Texas, Dallas christened it as the Naveen Jindal School of Management. This recognition has led to the establishment of the Naveen Jindal Institute for Indo-American Business Studies.

He is an avid sportsperson, an active Polo Player and a National record holder in skeet shooting. He is married to noted Indian classical dancer and a compassionate CSR leader Ms Shallu Jindal. The couple is blessed with two children, Venkatesh and Yashasivini.

Inspiration

Born on August 7, 1930 in Nalwa village, in Haryana's Hisar district, Shri O.P. Jindal began his career with a small bucket-manufacturing unit in Hisar. In 1964, he commissioned a pipe unit under the name Jindal India Limited, followed by a large factory in 1969 called Jindal Strips Limited, which are now part of the $15 billion diversified O.P. Jindal Group.

Education and healthcare were of prime concern to Shri O.P. Jindal. He founded the N.C. Jindal Institute of Medical Care in Hisar and the girls' residential school Vidya Devi Jindal School also in Hisar. He had donated large sums of money to the needy individuals, and deserving social and religious institutions.

His passion for people's welfare ultimately led him to a career in politics. He was a three-time MLA from Haryana (1991, 2000 and 2005), and also the first Indian industrialist to become a Lok Sabha MP. He was also the state's serving Power Minister at the time of his death. O.P. Jindal passed away on March 31, 2005, at the age of 75, leaving in his wake a mantra of economic progress with a social purpose.

He bequeathed to his son Naveen a belief in self-reliance in business, as also a conviction that the betterment of business sans the betterment of the people is pointless and unsustainable.

Today, the journey of his life stands as a shining example for us. It has the power to inspire us in ways more than one.

Flag Foundation of India

To strengthen the bond of today’s youth with Tiranga, Mr Naveen Jindal fought a long and hard legal battle that not only allows Indians to hoist the National Flag throughout the year, but also motivates them to draw inspiration from it. After many years of struggle and disappointments, on 23rd January 2004, the Supreme Court of India cited a new fundamental right that permitted ever Indian to hoist the national flag on all days of the year. After this landmark ruling, Naveen and his wife Ms Shallu Jindal established the Flag Foundation of India.

Policymaker

In 2006, Naveen Jindal moved a private member Bill for a comprehensive Food and Nutrition Security Scheme, which became the basis for the Food Security Act. Moreover, he also secured smoking ban that was implemented in the parliament form July 2004.

Citizens’ Alliance for Reproductive Health and Rights

In 2011 Naveen Jindal added another feather in his cap by establishing the ‘Citizens’ Alliance for Reproductive Health and Rights’, an organisation that brings together politicians, media persons and NGOs in a bid to spread awareness about family planning, maternal and child mortality, and other related issues.

The Naveen Jindal School of Management

In a first for an Indian, the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) renamed its ‘School of Management’ as ‘The Naveen Jindal School of Management’ in 2011. The honour was made in recognition of Mr Jindal’s unrelenting support to his alma mater.

Naveen is also the founder and chancellor of the O.P. Jindal Global University (OPJGU) in Sonepat, Haryana, which he set up in 2009 in memory of his father, Om Prakash Jindal. His efforts towards improving the education system in India were acknowledged when Mr Jindal was awarded the ‘Justice PN Bhagwati Award’ by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam for his contribution to the education system and philanthropy.

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