Maulik Jasubhai, the CEO and Chairman of the Jasubhai Group, is a visionary chief who has carried ahead the legacy of his father, Jasu Shah, the founding father of the group. Established in 1966, the Jasubhai Group has grown right into a multifaceted enterprise, pioneering developments in engineering, media, and philanthropy. With a wealthy historical past of innovation in sectors resembling chemical compounds, oil and gasoline, refining, and automation, the group has additionally made its mark on the worldwide stage, internet hosting the world’s second-largest worldwide expos by means of its non-profit Chemtech Basis.
Maulik holds a level in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon College and an MBA from Wharton Enterprise Faculty. Beneath his management, the Jasubhai Group has expanded its presence internationally and strengthened its foothold in industries as various as pharma, water expertise, and aerospace engineering. He additionally based Jasubhai Digital Media, which launched influential publications like Digit and ZDNet India. As Honorary Consul Common of Austria in Mumbai since 2020, Maulik’s world outlook shapes his work in each enterprise and philanthropy.
Along with his enterprise endeavours, Maulik steers the Jasubhai Basis, a charitable belief centered on training, healthcare, arts, and tradition. The inspiration, funded totally by income from the group, embodies the ethos of giving again to society, a worth deeply ingrained by his father. On this interview, Maulik displays on his father’s legacy, his personal improvements, and the evolving function of philanthropy in shaping India’s socio-economic future.
Nikhil Sardana: Your father’s work with the Chemtech Basis, which he launched in 1974, has had a big affect on India’s chemical processing and allied industries by creating platforms for industrial collaboration and information change. How does your work with the Jasubhai Basis, established in 1984 to assist artwork, tradition, training, and healthcare, mirror a continuation or evolution of his legacy in a special sphere?
Maulik Jasubhai: The Chemtech Basis and the Jasubhai Basis are totally separate entities with no direct overlap. The Chemtech Basis, established by my father, was centered on creating platforms for industrial interplay, significantly within the chemical processing and allied industries. When my father returned from Germany after residing there for a decade, he acknowledged that India’s rising industrial sector wanted technical platforms to foster collaboration and innovation. This led to initiatives like Chemical Engineering World and the Chemtech World Expo, which had been modelled on the German system of business exhibitions and technical publications.
By the Chemtech Basis, we have additionally developed a strong Scholar Outreach Program. At each occasion, we host round 3,000 to five,000 engineering and science college students, together with their college, the place college students current their authentic analysis and tasks. This system additionally offers alternatives for college kids to interview with main industrial firms for internships. Actually, Chemtech has been facilitating internship packages since 1974, lengthy earlier than internships grew to become a regular follow in India.
In the meantime, the Jasubhai Basis, established later, focuses on charitable work within the areas of artwork, tradition, training, and healthcare. Whereas the foundations function in several sectors, they each share the ethos of contributing to society and constructing platforms for development—whether or not within the industrial or social sectors. So, in that sense, my work with the Jasubhai Basis could be seen as an evolution of my father’s legacy, increasing his dedication to optimistic societal impression.
NS: What are among the key milestones the Chemtech Basis has achieved over time, and what are your aspirations for its future?
MJ: The Chemtech Basis began with a easy premise—modelled after the world’s largest course of plant tools present, ACHEMA—to assist the chemical business worth chain. Over time, we have expanded this mannequin by including almost ten completely different verticals to assist the ecosystem. The chemical business can not survive in isolation. It wants inputs like water, automation, and corrosion prevention applied sciences, amongst others. Our aim has been to construct an ecosystem that meets the wants of those core industries in India.
Since 2010, my focus has been on creating this broader business ecosystem. We now serve a number of vertical industries, all contributing to the chemical processing worth chain—from oil and gasoline to refining, specialty chemical compounds, APIs, and past.
As for the longer term, we goal to maintain evolving with rising industries and their wants, specializing in sustainability and inexperienced expertise.
NS: May you elaborate in your philanthropic work by means of the Jasubhai Basis and focus on the way you see the function of philanthropy evolving in response to India’s altering socio-economic panorama?
MJ: My father was a first-generation entrepreneur, and it is uncommon for somebody like him to begin a non-profit charitable basis. He believed in giving again to society in larger measure than he obtained, regardless of how small the contribution. That’s how the Jasubhai Basis was born in 1984, specializing in three areas: training, healthcare, and humanities and tradition.
We’re a comparatively small basis, funded totally by income from our companies, with no exterior donors. We establish tasks that we will assist as a result of we don’t have the administration capability to run giant packages ourselves. For instance, we created a big endowment at IIT Gandhinagar when it was nonetheless a younger establishment. This endowment was essential as a result of, not like older IITs, Gandhinagar didn’t but have a well-established alumni community to fund it.
In one other occasion, my father labored with Nationwide Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) Chairman Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook to ascertain the Symphony Orchestra of India’s (SOI) Music Academy. He arrange an endowment for a music coaching and appreciation institute, making certain a pipeline of skilled musicians to assist the SOI for years to come back.
As India’s socio-economic panorama adjustments, philanthropy will play a vital function in shaping the nation’s future. Schooling and healthcare stay the first focuses, however we additionally must put money into the cultural material that provides richness to life. My hope is that my daughters will finally tackle the duty of operating the muse and carry ahead this work.
NS: Innovation appears to be a relentless theme in your work. How do you preserve inspiration and proceed to innovate throughout such a various vary of fields?
MJ: There’s no secret components to innovation. I’ve been lucky to have been uncovered to many alternative environments all through my life. I grew up in Goregaon, proper subsequent to buffalo stables, and later moved to South Mumbai. Residing in Europe and the US additionally broadened my horizons. If one thing excites me, I pursue it relentlessly, typically for a decade or extra. I believe variety in experiences fuels my artistic drive.
NS: What recommendation would you provide to the following technology of philanthropists in India, significantly these fascinated by supporting artwork and tradition?
MJ: Traditionally, artwork and tradition have been supported by royalty, whether or not in Europe, India, or elsewhere. Right this moment, it falls upon entrepreneurs who create wealth to step up and assist these areas. Expertise and healthcare are important, however artwork and tradition add that means and richness to life. With out patrons, this house would endure. Entrepreneurs should acknowledge this duty, because the royalty of outdated not exists.
NS: As India emerges because the fifth-largest economic system on the planet, what function do you imagine philanthropy will play in shaping the nation’s future?
MJ: India’s financial rise presents each alternatives and challenges. We have to create a social safety web to make sure that all residents have entry to fundamental requirements like training, meals, water, and shelter. I imagine common fundamental revenue (UBI) might play a key function on this. Packages like MGNREGA have proven us that UBI is viable, particularly in rural areas. Initiatives like Ayushman Bharat are nice steps towards common healthcare, however we have to assume broader, protecting fundamental revenue as nicely. On the identical time, wealth creation stays important. Entrepreneurs should proceed to generate wealth as a result of with out wealth, there’s nothing to distribute. As soon as created, it’s our responsibility to make sure no citizen is left behind.