The Group

Dr. Ramnath A. Podar & Mrs. Podar with HE Dr. Rajendar Prasad, the First President of India at Podar's residential House
Mr. K. R. Podar with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India at Podars residence in Jaipur
Mahatma Gandhiji

History of the ‘Podar Group’ runs parallel to the history of Modern Indian Industry. The group embarked upon the industrial firmament as early as 1926 by promoting a textile unit, Toyo Podar Mills Limited, in Joint Venture with Toya Menka Kaisha Limited, a subsidiary of Mitsui of Japan. It was the first Indo-Japanese joint venture in India.

International relations compulsions during the 2nd World War, however, led to the severing of ties with the Japanese Company. But Podars had the capacity and grit to continue the show on their own. They did it of course, albeit with a difference, they not only consolidated but diversified as well.

Pursuing a policy of concentric diversification, Podars started adding one unit after the other and soon had seven textile units and a plastic unit under their yoke.

Before the insurance and banking business in India were nationalized, Podars were in this business also and had earned a good reputation amongst the customers as well as bankers. For a brief period Podars were also in the field of sugar, engineering and mica.

However, all of them were divested, because the group wanted to concentrate in the field they were masters at.

For administrative reasons, the group was split and independent profit centers were created to strengthen each sub-unit and the group in total.