# S. P. Oswal

S. P. Oswal Jain is an Indian industrialist and the present head of the Vardhman Group. The Government of India honoured him in 2010 with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, for his services to the fields of trade and industry.

## Early life and business career

   It was done in the year 2001–02, when farmers had lost interest in cotton cultivation due to huge losses they used to suffer. Their crop was getting damaged due to repeated pest attacks, S. P. Oswal said about the Village Adoption Initiative, Being a yarn manufacturer, it was my duty to guide the farmers because cotton was entire textile industry's raw material.
S. P. Oswal Jain was born in 1942, in Punjab. He is a post graduate in Commerce from Punjab University which he passed with Gold Medal. In the eighties, Oswal joined his family business group, Vardhman Group of Companies. He presently heads the group. S.P. oswal is Jain by religion.
Oswal is reported to have contributed to strengthen the spinning industry in North India. He is also regarded as the force behind the establishment of Ludhiana Stock Exchange in 1983. Apart from leading the Vardhman Group into a position of prominence in the Indian business milieu, Oswal was also involved in many socially relevant initiatives.
Oswal is married to Shakun and the couple has a daughter, Suchita, whose husband, Sachit Jain, is an Executive Director of the Vardhman Group.

## Village Adoption Program

The state of Punjab witnessed a sudden drop in the yield of cotton, in 2001, due to devastation of crops and shrinking of cotton fields. S. P. Oswal, as a measure to bring back the cotton yield to desirable levels, started an initiative of Village adoption whereby by the villagers are provided with advanced cultivation techniques and support such as soil testing and water and fertiliser management. The initiative was reported to be successful in improving cotton yield. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, then President of India, mentioned about the initiative twice in his addresses, the first on Technology Day address of 11 May 2004 and, again, on the following Republic Day of India on 26 January 2005. He also made a visit to Gehri Butter, one of the participating villages, on 10 December 2005.

## Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management

Inspired by the teachings of Aurobindo, S. P. Oswal established a trust, in Ludhiana, by name, Sri Aurobindo Socio Economic and Management Research Institute. Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management was opened in 2004, under the trust, to create career oriented and disciplined management professionals. The college is affiliated to the Punjab University.(PBP) S. P. Oswal has also contributed to the setting up of a public school, Sri Aurobindo Public School, in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, which started functioning in 1996.

## Nimbua Greenfield (Punjab) Limited

During the start of the century, S. P. Oswal rallied a few like-minded companies for tackling the issue of hazardous waste disposal. Nine companies, including Vardhman Group, came forward and with the assistance from Punjab Pollution Control Board and the Government of India, a public limited company, Nimbua Greenfield (Punjab) Limited, was floated on 1 March 2004. The primary focus of the company was to develop common facilities for the storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste.
The newly formed company set up a facility at Nimbua village, in Mohali on 23 October 2007. The company claims that it treated and disposed 113763 tonnes of hazardous industrial waste since inception till 31 July 2013. This waste management, spread on a land f 20 acres, facility has an estimated life till 2030.

## Positions

Business Positions
* Chairman and managing director – Vardhman Textiles Ltd
* Chairman – Vardhman Holdings Ltd
* Chairman – Vardhman Acrylics Ltd
* Chairman – Nimbua Greenfield (Punjab) Ltd
Social Positions
* Chairman – National Committee on Textiles, Confederation of Indian Industry
* Director – Exim Bank of India
* Director – UTI Trustee Company Pvt Ltd (He resigned from the post in 2013)
* Chairman – Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
* Chairman – Managing Committee- Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management
* Member – National Council, Confederation of Indian Industry
* Member – Industrial Advisory Council, Government of Madhya Pradesh
* Member – Board of Governors – Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar
* Member – Senate, Punjab University
* Founder President and Director (1983–87)- Ludhiana Stock Exchange

## Awards and recognitions

* Padma Bhushan – 2010
* Udyog Ratna – Punjab University