A Man Of Balance

- Pooja Mujumdar

COMMON SENSE, INTUITION AND TAKING THE RIGHT business decisions are Sanjay Kumar Jain’s forte. These, along with his courage to face the unknown, are what have helped him address the most difficult challenges as the managing director of T T Limited. The flagship company of the T T Group—a business that was founded by Dr Rikhab C Jain in 1970—it has diverse interests that span from agro-commodities, cotton and yarn to fabrics and garments, a presence in the textile value chain and across different distribution channels.

Tracing his roots

Sanjay Kumar Jain has his roots in Rajgarh, in the Churu district of Rajasthan and is currently based in Kolkata, where his father had relocated for better education and work opportunities. It was not long before Jain’s father moved to England together with his wife to pursue his Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS). It was here that Jain and his sister were born. The family, however, returned to India in 1975—when Jain was in the second grade— after his grandfather suffered a heart attack.

Giving himself a sound education

Endowed with superior intellect, Jain was consistently a good performer academically. Having stood first in his Class 12 board exams from La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata, he proceeded to St Xavier's College, Kolkata to pursue his BCom (Hons), while simultaneously studying cost accountancy and company secretaryship and chartered accountancy as well! He went on to earn all-India 1st and 4th rankings in the intermediate and final exams of cost accountancy (ICWA) respectively, before passing his Bachelor's exams in 1991, ranking 13th from the University of Calcutta. Even today, Jain’s eyes sparkle with pride as he says, “I was the first student in my college to acquire a cost accountancy qualification a year before completing my graduation!”