Seth Walchand Hirachand is widely hailed as the Father of the Indian Transportation Industry. He is remembered as the man who took an ambitious yet pragmatic stand in challenging British monopolies, a feat that resulted in India’s first shipyard, aircraft factory and automobile factory.

He began his entrepreneurial foray in the Construction industry, first as a railway contractor and then as a contractor to other departments of Government.  Some of the major projects executed by him include tunnelling through the Bhor Ghats for a railway route from Mumbai to Pune and laying of water pipes from Tansa lake to Mumbai. Other major projects executed by him include the Kalabag Bridge over the Indus River and a bridge across the Irrawaddy River in Burma.

A proud son of India, Seth Walchand Hirachand led the battle against undue restrictions on Indian entrepreneurship during the freedom struggle. A daring visionary, his firm belief that Indian businessmen could compete with the best in the world underscored his successful forays into uncharted waters.

By the end of his journey, Seth Walchand Hirachand had created enterprises that spanned the entire industrial spectrum, including Construction, Shipping, Engineering, Agriculture and Agricultural Products, Automobiles, Aerospace, and Finance.