Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi graced the centenary celebrations of Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. (KBL) organised in New Delhi today. As part of the event to commemorate 100 years of KBL, Hon’ble Prime Minister released a postage stamp and the Hindi version of the biography of Late Shri. Laxmanrao Kirloskar, Founder of Kirloskar Brothers, titled ‘Yantrik ki Yatra – The man who made machines.’
Recounting the glorious 100 years of the company, Mr, Sanjay Kirloskar, Chairman, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., said: “We are proud that our history of firsts established India’s engineering credentials in the world. And true to the values of our company, we are thankful we could contribute to India’s landmark green revolution.Over the years, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. has helmed some of the country’s and the world’s most important projects.”
KBL, a global leader in fluid management and pumping solutions, was established in the year 1888 by Shri. Laxmanrao and was incorporated as a Public Limited company in 1920.
“Our mission has been to ensure that India becomes self-reliant in fluid management in all core sectors and strategic areas and we are happy that we have been able to achieve this goal. Today, India can rely on an Indian company for pumps across all its core sectors -- power, oil and gas, industry, building and construction, municipal water, irrigation, marine and defence, and retail.” added Mr. Kirloskar.
The biography unveiled by Hon’ble Prime Minister illustrates Shri. Laxmanrao’s exemplary journey from starting a bicycle and wind mill dealership with his elder brother in Belgaum in 1888 under the ‘Kirloskar Brothers’ moniker to establishingKirloskar Brothers Ltd.as one of the largest and most successful business houses in India, relying on his grit, determination and strict adherence to ethics.
The postage stamp unveiled by Shri. Narendra Modi in the presence of the Kirloskar family members including Mrs. Pratima Kirloskar, Mr. Alok Kirloskar and Ms. Rama Kirloskar, commemorates KBL’s 100 years of incorporation and features an image of Shri. Laxmanrao.
The event also saw the 5th generation of Kirloskars, Mr. Alok Kirloskar and Ms. Rama Kirloskar, engage in an interesting Waterfront Chat with noted economic analyst, advisor and author Mr. Pranjal Sharma moderating the discussion, which centred around various aspects of how the rise of technology has led to a change in manufacturing sector and why building self-reliance was important from the nation-building perspective.