K.P.P Nambiar, renowned industrialist and founding Chairman of KELTRON died, on 1st July 2015 in Kerala.
Long back in fifties, beyond the inception of electronics and communication market in India, Kunnath Puthiyaveetil Padmanabhan Nambiar, a young man of 22, migrated to England with a sum of 7000 Rupees in his pocket. By sheer hard work, he could achieve huge success in England yet he returned to India in 1963 and began his career as a professor at Delhi IIT.
Later he worked in electronics departments in various firms including Tata Services and Philips and finally he began his dream project Kerala State Electronic Development Corporation, fondly known as KELTRON. Under his guidance, KELTRON became one of the pioneering electronic brands made in India. KELTRON continues to be one of the leading electronic corporations in India, standing steady in the changing market trends across the century. KELTRON is India’s first and the largest electronics corporation employing over two thousand.
In 1975, Nambiar became the first Indian technocrat to be the secretary in Industry department of Kerala Government. During 1987-89 he was an advisor in the Central Government Electronics department. In 1987, another brainchild of Nambiar, Technopark Thiruvananthapuram became a reality.
He was also the founding chairman of Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIM-K).
For his contributions, the nation awarded him Padma Bhushan in 2006.
Nambiar was a visionary whose business sense included a steady and sustainable progress which would be a torchlight for the current quick buck start-ups that fade in the market fluctuations. Today we live in a generation where not the value but the price matters. Nambiar gained success long back when India was not open to foreign investment which might be why the firm remains devoid of corruption and survives in the dangerous waters of 21st century market.
He belongs to an era of businessmen who had a firm root in ethics which is why he started his business venture in Kerala, his homeland putting aside a safe and secure life opportunity abroad. Nambiar’s footsteps would be an inspiration to every wannabe businessman who wishes to create and innovate.
