Escorts Group Chairman Rajan Nanda dies after brief illness; industry mourns loss of businessman

Escorts group Chairman Rajan Nanda (76) passed away on Sunday after a brief illness, a company statement said on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_4901091” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rajan Nanda, Chairman, Escorts Group. Pic courtesy: Escorts Website[/caption] Nanda joined Escorts in 1965 at the age of 23, and in 1994, he took over as the Chairman of Escorts Group, when his father and the founder Chairman, HP Nanda, stepped down after 50 year-long innings. He died at the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon. Incidentally, Medanta was founded by renowned cardiac surgeon Naresh Trehan who once used to run the Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre owned by Rajan. The hospital was sold to Fortis in 2005 to bring down debt at Escorts. Rajan Nanda was an active member of several apex trade and industry bodies. As a member of the CII National Council, he had served as Chairman of its Agriculture Committee. He also dabbled in the telecom industry, launching cellular services in west Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Kerala under the Escotel brand in 1997. He, however, had to sell the business to Idea Cellular in 2004 at a loss as it could not compete with players with deep pockets. It was under his stewardship that new technologies were introduced in various businesses to spearhead the growth to the next level. Nanda was also instrumental in setting up an R&D facility for Escorts at Faridabad which today is the bedrock for innovation and new product development According to the company website, Nanda has been centrally involved in every aspect of the company’s management. “Nanda has navigated the company in times of unprecedented challenges in the economy. His focus is on strengthening Escorts foundation by leveraging inherent design and development capabilities, instituting lean manufacturing practices, and better use of assets to move up the value chain.” Escorts is a leading manufacturer of tractors and construction equipment in the country. It also caters to railways with its various products. Vikram Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, tweeted condolences.

CII President Rakesh Bharti Mittal said with the demise of Nanda, India has lost a powerful force and industry stalwart. “CII has had the benefit of his visionary thoughts and guidance from time to time on policy matters to move industry always in a progressive way in the country, specially agriculture. His style of functioning included innovative ideas and strong engagement with all in a consensual manner,” he added. Nanda’s passion shone through in everything he did and his business acumen helped drive the manufacturing sector of the country as a whole, Mittal said. PTI MSS ANZ MR MR CII President Rakesh Bharti Mittal said with the demise of Nanda, India has lost a powerful force and industry stalwart. “CII has had the benefit of his visionary thoughts and guidance from time to time on policy matters to move industry always in a progressive way in the country, specially agriculture. His style of functioning included innovative ideas and strong engagement with all in a consensual manner,” he added. Nanda’s passion shone through in everything he did and his business acumen helped drive the manufacturing sector of the country as a whole, Mittal said. Amitabh Bachchan connection Nanda’s son Nikhil is married to leading Hindi actor Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter Shweta. Nikhil is managing director of the company. On hearing of demise, Amitabh Bachchan, who was filming ‘Brahmastra’ in Bulgaria, is returning to India. l. “My relative Mr Rajan Nanda, Nikhil’s Father, Father in Law of Shweta, .. just passed away .. leaving for India,” Big B wrote in a blog post. “My hidden heart can bleed within .. unseen .. but it takes not away the pain of its emission … instead .. it pleads not for attention but gets beaten for the absence of its attention about ..” he wrote. -–With PTI inputs