A leading Indian entrepreneur, Prahlad Chhabria, has been honoured at the prestigious Institute of Directors in London with a silver platter in recognition of his contribution to 'entrepreneurship'.
Chairman of the UK-India Business Council Lord Karan Bilimoria presented the silver platter at a function organised to celebrate the launch of Chhabria's autobiography 'There's no such thing as self-made man', a fascinating book depicting his rise from humble beginnings to Chairman of a leading Indian business enterprise.
About 220 dignitaries from the diplomatic, political and business community attended the function hosted by SriChand and Gopichand Hinduja, chairman and president respectively of the Hinduja Group.
Prominent among those present were India's Acting High Commissioner Asoke Mukerji, Ambassadors of Thailand, Belgium and Egypt. Besides, some members of the House of Lords including Lord Bagri, Lord Brennan, Lord Hameed and Lord Marshall were present.
Launching the book, leading NRI Labour MP Keith Vaz said the success story enumerated by Chhabria was an example of the contribution being made by prominent Indian businesspeople around the world, including many NRIs based in the UK.
"He is an example to us all for how hard work, integrity and customer service will bring success," Vaz said.
Lord Bilimoria spoke about Chhabria's vision that had created the Finolex Group from a humble beginning into a leading industrial group. "The importance of infrastructure development in India was identified by Chhabria well before most others," he said.
During his speech, Srichand Hinduja focused on the many lessons in the book for leading businesspeople around the world. "This man's quiet approach reflects a relentless focus on the important tasks on hand. Further, his model that growth comes from the grass roots and relies upon the team, not I, but we, are lessons for business success worldwide," he said.
Keith Vaz held a luncheon on Thursday to honour Chhabria and the Hinduja Family at the House of Commons. Present on the occasion were members of parliament including Helen Goodman, Bishop Auckland, Virendra Sharma, Mark Fisher and Marsha Singh.
All proceeds from the sale of the book would be donated to the paediatric unit at the King Edward Memorial Hospital based in Pune, Maharashtra. The Finolex Group is one of India's leading business conglomerates with interests in diverse areas such as telecommunications, petrochemicals, irrigation and education.