Leading The Way

Meet Archana Garodia Gupta, a lady of many talents and a heart.

- Benaifer J Mirza

An entrepreneur, a quizzer, a writer and a lady who thinks for others—this defines Archana Garodia Gupta. Born in Kolkata in a traditional Marwari environment, Garodia Gupta’s family moved to Delhi when she was five years old. Right from those early years, she was amidst books, art and culture. While her father, Balkrishna Garodia, was a voracious reader, a classical music aficionado and a world cinema enthusiast, her mother, Chandra Garodia, was ahead of her time and didn’t believe in imposing stereotypes. All these factors came together to give Garodia Gupta, the eldest of five sisters—the others being Aparna, Manjari, Meenakshi and Shruti—a childhood that facilitated her development into a multi-faceted woman and an achiever.

A student of Modern School, Garodia Gupta not only topped in her Class 10 examinations but also represented her alma mater at several inter-school quiz competitions. Later, she pursued an Economics Honours degree from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, passing out with a university ranking. She also holds an MBA degree from IIM Ahmedabad, having been amongst the top 15 students of her batch. She has also trained in Indian classical music from well-known gurus, including Pandit Vinay Chandra Maudgalya, Pandit Vasant Thakar and the brilliant Shubha Mudgal. Further, she joined her family’s flourishing textiles spinning business and developed exports of specialised products to many countries.

A woman for the women

Garodia Gupta plays an integral role at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and is currently the National Chairperson of the FICCI Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) committee. She also works closely with FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the women’s wing of FICCI and has served as its president in 2015-16.