Prahlad P. Chhabria, founder and chairman of Pune-based electrical wires and cables firm Finolex Group, died on Thursday following a brief illness. He was 86.
The founder of the Rs.10,000 crore Finolex group of companies rose from humble beginnings.
In July 1945, Chhabria and his brother K.P. Chhabria came to Pune from Karachi in search of a livelihood. Within six months, Chhabria had set up a small shop which sold electrical cables.
Before setting up the shop, there was a time when he was working 14 hours a day for a Pune moneylender, sending Rs.30 a month to his widowed mother and nine siblings in Karachi.
The Finolex Group has two major companies—Finolex Cables Ltd (set up in 1954) and Finolex Industries Ltd (set up in 1981).
Chhabria introduced many innovative solutions such as jelly-filled telecom cables and drip irrigation, according to a statement by the company.
He also set up Finolex Plasson Ltd, the first joint venture by an Indian company with Israel, it stated.
“He is survived by his son Prakash and daughter Aruna and their families,” the company said in the statement.
Chhabria established Mukul Madhav Foundation and the Hope Foundation and Research Centre that is active in the fields of medical assistance, education and social welfare for the under privileged.
Chhabria also established Mukul Madhav Vidyalaya at Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Finolex Academy of Management and Technology, Ratnagiri, and the International Institute of Information Technology at Hinjawadi, Pune.
