GOVIND LALJIBHAI
DHOLAKIA, 74 Surat, Gujarat
Company Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt Ltd
Net Worth Rs 4,800 crore
A Cut Above the Rest
Known as GLD in business circles and Govind kaka at home, Govind Laljibhai Dholakia was born in a remote village in Gujarat and grew up working on a farm. When he came to Surat in 1964, “I’d work 14 hours a day,” he says, “like the 200-300 other diamond polishers in the city.” One could turn only 28 per cent of the rough stone into a finished diamond, but with persistence and scientific cutting, Dholakia managed to salvage 34 per cent, making it a bigger gem of higher value. "But my employer asked me to replace it with a smaller one. I refused," he recalls. It became a trigger for him to start his own company, Shree Ramkrishna Exports, in 1970.
Located in Katargam-the heart of the global diamond trade in Surat-the six-storey SRK Empire and the adjacent nine-storey SRK House serve as the company headquarters.
With 6,000 employees, a turnover of Rs 16,000 crore in 2021-22, the company boasts a clientele that includes Tanishq and De Beers.
His success has made Dholakia popular in the B-school circuit, where he lectures about both his growth and values. -Jumana Shah
Where he invests profits Back into business or in charitable ventures
This story is from the November 21, 2022 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 21, 2022 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Grand Young Master
Seventeen-yearold D. Gukesh has become the youngest player to win the Candidates chess tournament
SPORTING SPIRIT
BADMINTON PLAYER ASHWINI PONNAPPA, 34, IS OFF TO HER THIRD OLYMPICS, THIS TIME WITH A NEW PARTNER, TANISHA CRASTO
PORTRAITS OF A PEOPLE
Etchings by the colonial Flemish artist F. Baltazard Solvyns are getting a new lease of life in an exhibition at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai
Centennial Man
A seminal exhibition of K.G. Subramanyan's works in his birth centenary year at Emami Art, Kolkata takes an imaginative and immersive curatorial approach
Rhythms of Nature
ARTIST AND MUSIC COMPOSER GINGGER SHANKAR'S LATEST SINGLE COMBINES SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC WITH INUIT THROAT SINGING
SEARCHING FOR THE SOUND
Kashmiri musician Faheem Abdullah’s debut album Lost; Found is a collaborative effort
FOUND IN TRANSLATION
With its excellent translations, Songs of Tagore makes Rabindrasangit accessible to the non-Bengali reader
Of Freedom and Friendship
T.C.A. RAGHAVAN'S CIRCLES OF FREEDOM FOLLOWS THREE YOUNG MUSLIMS DRAWN INTO THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE
The Razor's Edge
Salman Rushdie's Knife is an eloquent, first-person account of the horrific attack on him. It's also a love story
THE LAST-MILE PUSH
The India Today Smart Money Financial Summit had top experts discussing how technology could be leveraged to widen the reach of personal finance tools