India’s Man of Steel: Sajjan Jindal

Sajjan Jindal can ideally be termed as a Man of Steel. The industrialist has been conferred with the EY Entrepreneur of the year 2022 award. 

The Indian billionaire industrialist, who is the chairman and the managing director of the JSW group of companies, is known for his vision and his foresightedness. This has made the group diversify from steel to mining, energy, sports, infrastructure and software business. 

Jindal, who has served as the chairman of the World Steel Association from 2021 to 2022, is a mechanical engineer from the Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bengaluru. He has been instrumental in establishing the Indian Steel Association in 2014. 

As a fresh graduate, he joined his father Late Om Prakash Jindal’s OP Jindal Group in 1982. In 1983-184, Jindal's father decided to test his son’s prowess and asked him to turn around operations at two facilities near Mumbai.]

Jindal proved that he was indeed a ‘Man of Steel’. He promoted Jindal Iron and Steel Company Limited (JISCO) for manufacturing of Cold Rolled and Galvanised Sheet Products in 1989. He promoted Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Limited (JVSL), JSW Energy Limited (JSWEL), Jindal Praxair Oxygen Limited (JPOCL) and Vijaynagar Minerals Private Limited (VMPL) to ensure complete integration of the manufacturing progress in 1995. In 2005, his steel companies, JISCO, and JVSL, were merged to form JSW Steel. 

Apart from business, politics too runs in his family. His father OP Jindal was also a parliamentarian and his youngest brother Naveen Jindal, who leads Jindal Steel and Power, is a former MP from the Indian National Congress.