Subrata Roy facts for kids

Subrata Roy (born June 10, 1948 – died November 14, 2023) was a famous Indian businessman. He started a very large business group called Sahara India Pariwar in 1978.

Sahara India Pariwar ran many different types of businesses. These included places like Aamby Valley City, Sahara Movie Studios, and even an airline called Air Sahara.

In 2012, India Today magazine said that Roy was one of the ten most important businessmen in India. In 2004, Time magazine called the Sahara group "the second largest employer in India." This means they had more workers than almost any other company, second only to Indian Railways. Sahara had over 5,000 offices across India and employed about 1.2 million people.

Early Life and Education

Subrata Roy was born in Araria, India, on June 10, 1948. His family was Bengali Hindu. His parents, Sudhir Chandra Roy and Chhabi Roy, came from a wealthy family in what is now Bangladesh.

Roy went to school at Holy Child Institute in Kolkata. Later, he studied mechanical engineering at the Government Technical Institute in Gorakhpur. He started his very first business in Gorakhpur.

Building a Business Empire

Roy joined a small company called Sahara Finance in 1976. This company used a special way of collecting money called a chit fund. In 1978, Roy took over the company and changed how it worked. Sahara became known for accepting small deposits from many people.

In the 1990s, Roy moved his main office to Lucknow. From there, his company grew into one of the biggest business groups in India. Sahara India Pariwar became involved in many areas. These included money services, education, building homes, media, movies, travel, health care, and hotels.

Key Ventures and Growth

In 1992, the Hindi newspaper Rashtriya Sahara was launched. In the late 1990s, Roy started building the huge Aamby Valley City project near Pune. In 2000, Sahara TV began broadcasting, and it was later renamed Sahara One.

Sahara also started three weekly magazines in 2003. These were Sahara Time (in English), Sahara Samay (in Hindi), and Sahara Aalmi (in Urdu).

Global Investments

Sahara's reach grew even bigger in 2010 when they bought the famous Grosvenor House Hotel in London. In 2012, they also bought the historic Plaza Hotel and the Dream Downtown Hotel in New York City.

Workforce and Reach

Sahara had a huge number of people working for them, around 1.2 million. This included regular employees, consultants, and agents. In 2004, Time magazine called Sahara the second-largest employer in India.

Sahara also had many investors and people who deposited money with them. It was said that about 13% of all families in India had some connection with Sahara's financial services.

New Business Ideas

Roy was always looking for new ideas. He planned to start an online education platform called Edunguru. This project was meant to help students in smaller towns and villages across India. He put together a team of experts from top universities to create over 14,000 hours of lessons.

In June 2019, Roy announced that Sahara would start making electric vehicles (EVs). This new business, called 'Sahara Evols', would offer different types of electric cars and related services.

Helping Others

Subrata Roy and Sahara India Pariwar were involved in many efforts to help people.

In 2013, when floods hit the Uttarakhand region, Sahara helped with relief. They provided a lot of drinking water, juice, food, candles, and matchboxes. They also sent 25 medical vans with doctors and free medicines. The group also said they would build 10,000 houses to help people rebuild their lives.

After the Kargil War, the Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, praised Sahara India. This was because Sahara gave financial help to the families of 127 soldiers who died in the war.

In 2021, the Hotel Sahara Star in Mumbai worked with an organization called Feeding India. As part of its social responsibility, the hotel provided food to people who were hungry.

Awards and Recognition

Subrata Roy received many awards and honors for his work.

In 2013, he received an honorary doctorate in business leadership from the University of East London. In 2011, he won the Business Icon of the Year award in London. He was also named the ITA – TV Icon of the Year in 2007. In 2004, he received the Global Leadership Award.

Roy also received an award from the Indian Television Academy Awards. He was given an honorary degree (D.Litt.) by Lalit Narayan Mithila University.

From 2003 onwards, Roy was often listed in India Today magazine's list of the 50 Most Powerful People in India. In 2012, he was named the tenth-most influential businessman.

Death

Subrata Roy passed away on November 14, 2023, at the age of 75. He died because his heart and lungs stopped working. He had been battling health problems like cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes for a long time. He was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai on November 12 before his death.