Sahu Shital Prasad Jain

Sahu Shital Prasad Jain was reckoned as one with great insight in matters of industrial finance, banking, taxation, company law etc. and made image for himself more particularly in these spheres and is widely respected for his knowledge. He hails from the known Sahu Digambar Jain family of Najibabad, Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh.

Sahu Shital Ji born at Najibabad on June 6, 1921, although his record date is 2nd January 1922. He studied in Meerut College and Lucknow University in Honours. He gave further impetus in 1936-38 to Meerut College Jain Students' Association. Having studied science and arts, he started in industrial / financial field at Dalmianagar in Bihar and in 1952 shifted to Calcutta after Dalmia-Jain Group partition at the behest of his Chacha Shanti Prasad Ji Jain as 10% owner of the Sahu-Jain Group manifested by 10% shares in Sahu-Jain Limited now with Mukul Ji. Sahu Shital Ji devoted himself wholly to the building up and development of Sahu Jain Organisation as a monopoly house in early 50s. What with acquisition of jute mills in Bengal, continuing industrial companies already in Bihar in the field of sugar, paper, vanaspati, cement, asbestos cement, vulcanized fibre, cast iron foundry, Sahu Shital Ji enlarged his canvas of horizon including take-over of The Jaipur Udyog Limited and Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (Times of India) including becoming its Chairman. This was apart from his being Chairman/Director of several companies including Light Railways, Lahore Electric Supply Co. et cetera. His acumen helped the take-over of The Punjab National Bank Ltd. immediately after India's partition and which was in a precarious financial condition due to aftermath of India's partition and Sahu Shital Ji remained an active Director of PNB Ltd. for long and later on in 1969 on Bank Nationalization helped to save the PNB Ltd. from liquidation. Sahu Shital Ji also facilitated transition of Bharat Bank Ltd. to Bharat Nidhi Ltd. as one of the then large investment company as its Chairman. The Economic Times found its origin in his tenure of. Directorship. Sahu Shital Ji was also Director of Indian National Airways Ltd. before nationalisation of civil aviation. Sahu Shital Ji was also Chairman of Maharashtra Steels Ltd.

He was ex-Trustee of the Central Board of Trustees, Employees' Provident Fund (established by the Government of India), ex-Committee Member of Chamber of Commerce & Industry, All India Organisation of Industrial Employees, Indian Chamber of Commerce Calcutta, Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Calcutta, Indian Chemical Manufacturers' Association Calcutta, etc; ex-Chairman, Bharat Chamber of Commerce Calcutta Standing Committees on Finance and on Industry, Indian Chamber of Commerce Calcutta Taxation & Commercial Laws Sub-Committee and various Committees of ASSOCHAM, FICCI, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Western U. P. Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Committee on Industrial Development, Working Group on Implementation of Strategy for National Capital Region Development Symposium, co-sponsored by U. P. Govt. in 1973, etc.

He was member National Panel of Arbitrators of American Arbitration Association, New York and Vice-Patron of Red Cross Society, member of several cultural and spcial organisations in Calcutta and also several Digamber Jain organisations country- wide.

Sahu Shital Ji was married in 1945 to Pramodini Ji of Delhi and daughter of Lala Chunni Lal Jain, Advocate and also Panch of Delhi Pracheen Jain Samaj. They have 3 living children. Rajiv Babu - popularly known as R. P. Jain, Rashmi Bai Ji - married to Lala Ramesh Chand, son of Lala Darshan Lal Ji 'Chaiwale' of Dehradun and Mukul Sahu Jain.

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