Many of us may not know who Shiv Nadar is but he is the founder of one of the greatest global information technology company in India. He is also the only Indian to establish a computer systems industry in India. Whether we believe it or not, this billionaire industrialist was not born with a silver spoon. Unlike many billionaires, everything he has has been earned by his hard work and dedication.
Let us know about the life of this industrialist.
| Born | 14 July 1945 (age 77), Moolaipozhi, madras |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Education | Electrical and Electronics engineering from PSG college of Technology in Coimbatore |
| Occupation | Founder of HCL technologies, Founder of SSN college of engineering, Founder of Shiv Nadar University |
| Wife | Kiran Shiv Nadar |
| Children | Roshni Nadar |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2008) |
| Foundation | Shiv Nadar Foundation |
| Net worth | $26.4 Billion |
| Website | HCL Technologies |
Early life of shiv nadar
Nadar was born in 1945 in Moolaipozhi about 10 kilometers in the Thoothukudi district of the Indian state of Madras(now Tamil Nadu). His father was Sivasubramaniya Nadar and his mother was Vamasundari Devi, who was the sister of S. P. Adithanar, founder of Dina Thanthi, the largest regional newspaper.
He had been a brilliant student right from his childhood and had to continuously change schools to get the best education. He did his initial studies at Town Higher Secondary School, Kumbakonam, and then at Elango Corporation Higher Secondary School, Madurai, and lastly at St. Joseph Boys Higher Secondary School, Trichy, where he completed his higher secondary education.
He received his pre-university degree from the American college in Madurai and got his degree in electrical and electronics engineering from PSG college of Technology in Coimbatore.
Career of shiv nadar
Shiv Nadar kick-started his career in 1967 from Walchand group’s Cooper Engineering Ltd. in Pune. He soon quit the job to start on his own venture with a few of his colleagues namely Ajai Chowdhry, Arjun Malhotra, Subhash Arora, Yogesh Vaidya and a few more. His first company along side his partners was Microcomp, which targeted on merchandising tele digital calculators in India.
His company Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) was founded in 1976 with an investment of only 1,87,000. Initially HCL only made calculators and microprocessors but in 1980 the company set it’s foot outside of the indian borders. They sold IT hardware to Far East Computers in Singapore. The venture reportedly attained 1 million in revenue in the very first year.
NIIT (National Institute of Information Technology) was beginning to set up in 1981 to address the growing need for computer education in India. He invested into the institution and was made its biggest shareholder till the year 2003. By 1983, 16-bit microprocessors and relational data base management system was being developed by the HCL. This gave the company a wider spectrum to grow. It shortly earned it’s name in India and abroad.
In 1989, he tried to gain his footing into the American computer hardware market. Initially, it failed, because of their failure in fulfilling the restriction of the American market. although in 1991, they partnered with Hewlett Packard to form
HCL HP Limited. This partnership helped them earn better revenue in the American market. In 1998, he decided to divide his company in four different categories HCL Technologies being the global IT Service Company, HCL Infosystems being the
Indian IT hardware leader, HCL combat being the network service company and HCL Perot for IT applications.
In the July of 2020, he stepped down from the position of the chairperson of HCL Technologies and appointed his daughter Roshni Nadar in his place.
His work towards education and health care
In 1994, he opened Shiv Nadar Foundation that worked in providing better and quality education for the future generation.
Since he had always been interested in the field of education so, in 1996, he founded the SSN College of Engineering in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the name and honour of his father, Sivasubramaniya Nadar.
In 2008, his trust set up two Vidyagyan schools in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh and offered scholarships to 200 students from over 50 districts in Uttar Pradesh.
Ever since he started the Shiv Nadar foundation, he has donated more than $1 billion, which helped in the underprivileged to gain access to quality education. From 2005 till 2014, he also served as a member of the executive board of Indian School of Business.
Achievements
In 2007, on the 150th convocation of the University Of Madras, he was one of the ten people to receive an honorary doctorate from the University.
In 2008, he received a Padma Bhushan by the president of India Mrs. Pratibha Patel for his incredible work in the field of trade, education and industry development.
In 2013 his name was there in the Forbes list of ’48 Heroes of Philanthropy’ within
the Asia Pacific region.
Again in 2015, his name was there in ‘The Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year’ list by Forbes International.
In 2013, Shiv Nadar was awarded the ‘BNP Paribas Grand Prize for Individual Philanthropy’ for the Shiv Nadar Foundation and his work towards the field of education.
He managed to top the Philanthropy list of Hurun India twice – in 2016, 2019 and again in 2022.
Personal life
He is married to Kiran Shiv Nadar, who is an Indian Art Collector and founder of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Together they have a daughter, Roshni Nadar who is now the chairperson of the HCL Technologies.
Net worth
According to Forbes, He is the 3rd richest person in India and the 56th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $26.4 Billion. He controls about 60 percent of Indian software developers.He also owns about 50 percent of the computer maker and service business HCL Infosystems.
Lesser known facts about Shiv Nadar
- He changed various schools to get the best education. Till 10th standard, he had to change his school thrice.
- He completed the majority of his studies in the Tamil language itself.
- He couldn’t speak English until the age of 22.
- His friends called him Magus, which means wizard in Persian
- His wife Kiran Nadar is an Asian Games medallist and a well-recognized bridge player.
- His company Hindustan Computers Limited was founded in a garage.
Conclusion
So this was the life story of Shiv Nadar who today is India’s 4th richest person according to Forbes and ‘India’s most generous’ according to Edel Give Hurun India Philanthropy List for 2022. His life is not only inspirational but also helpful and empowering to future generations.
