His' is a legendary rags to riches journey during which he shattered established business theories and rewrote new ones

Business Personality KARSANBHAI K. PATEL Man behind the hugely successful brand, NIRMA

GENERAL Dr. Karsanbhai Khodidas Patel was born in 1945, into a farmer family from Mehsana, North Gujarat. He finished his B.Sc. in Chemistry at age 21 He worked as a lab technician, first in the New Cotton Mills, Ahmedabad, of the Lalbhai Group and then at the Geology and Mining Department of the state Government

In 1969, Karsanbhai set up Nirma, (named after daughter Nirupama) selling detergent powder as an after-office business The one-man company would bicycle through the neighborhoods’ selling handmade detergent packets door to door At a price of Rs. 3 per kg, (one third the price of leading detergents), it was an instant success The beginning of Nirma

NIRMA’S HUGE SUCCESS Quality detergent powder, using indigenous technology Housewife friendly advertisement jingles Phosphate free & hence environment friendly At a third of the prevailing price, without compromising on the product Process of manufacturing was labour intensive, which offered large scale employment; it became the leading employer

After establishing its leadership in economy priced detergents, Nirma entered the premium segment, launching toilette soaps, Nirma beauty soap and also Shuddh Salt 35% market share in detergents 20% market share in soap cakes Nirma also has successful operations in neighboring countries Today, Nirma’s worth is 2000 crore INR

AWARDS & ACCOLADES ‘Udyog Ratna’ by the Federation of Association of Small Scale Industries of India, New Delhi 'Outstanding Industrialist of the Eighties’ by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce The Govt. of India twice appointed him Chairman of the Development Council for Oils, Soaps & Detergents Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Florida Atlantic University, USA for business and marketing acumen and philanthropy Honorary Doctorate by Devi Ahlya University, Indore

In the last one decade, he has turned his attention to the growing challenges in the educational sector Dr. Patel firmly believes that to withstand global competition and to satisfy the growing need for quality professionals, an educational institution must constantly grow, innovate, build strength and strive to become self-reliant In 1995 he founded the Nirma University of Science & Technology, Ahmedabad

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Nirma Uni.’s Official Site & My Wonderful Friends!