Subhash Chandra
Subhash Chandra | |
---|---|
Born |
Hisar, Haryana, India | 30 November 1950
Residence | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
Nationality | Indian |
Ethnicity | Indian |
Occupation | Founder and Chairman of Essel Group |
Net worth | US$3.7 billion (March 2016)[1] |
Religion | Hinduism |
Website | www.esselgroup.com |
Subhash Chandra (born 30 November 1950), full name Subhash Chandra Goel, is an Indian media mogul, businessman, television personality, motivational speaker and philanthropist.[2] He is chairman of India's largest TV channel network Zee Media, Essel Group and is an Indian conglomerate.[3][4]
Early years
Subhash Chandra was born on 30 November 1950. In 1970, while he was studying in 10th grade he dropped out of school to join family business of commission agent and trader who procured and supplied rice to Food Corporation of India.[5] In 1980s he started manufacturing flexible packaging (mainly plastic tubes) for toothpaste, etc. under the name Essel Packaging. He followed up with a leisure park EsselWorld in north Bombay. In 1992, he launched Zee Television, in collaboration with Li Ka Shing and first online lottery and first Dish TV in India.[6]
Controversy
On June 2015, a police case was registered against Subhash Chandra and his son embezzling over Rs 1 billion.[7] The news channels owned by him as part of Essal Group of which he is also the Chairman has been accused of various controversies. The channel is tried for allegedly extorting 100 crores from the Jindal Group[23] and two senior journalist have been arrested so far.[24][25] Naveen Jindal accused Zee News of trying to extort 100 crores from him for not airing stories against his company in Coal Scam. Zee News refuted the charges and made counter charges of Jindal offering them 25 crores to halt their investigations against Jindal Steel in the coal scam.[26]
In December 2013, Arvind Kejriwal accused Zee News of showing the wrong information about his and Anna Hazare's relationship. Zee media banned Sonu Nigam after he shared a video that proved Dr. Kumar Vishwas voice about the farmer's suicide in Aam Aadmi Party had Voice edited By Zee News to humiliated Dr. Kumar Vishwas image in public.[27][28][29]
In yet another case in Supreme Court, Himgiri Zee University owned by Mr Subhash Chandra, allegedly issued fake academic degrees and indulged in tax evasion.[8]
Business
His channel Zee TV competes with, among others, Sony Entertainment Television and STAR Plus. His TV channels, numbering up to 70, including those in local language Hindi reach 959 millions people spread over 169 countries.[1] He launched India's first satellite TV channel, Zee TV, in 1992.[9] Other interests include packaging, theme parks, lotteries and cinema multiplexes. He started the failed Indian Cricket League, a domestic Twenty20 cricket league intended as a challenge to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the nation's governing body in Cricket. In November 2009, he took over management responsibility of Daily News & Analysis (DNA), which features among the top 8 English dailies in India and is one of fastest growing English newspapers in the country.
Daily newspaper
In 2005, in collaboration with Dainik Bhaskar group, Subhash Chadra launched an English daily, DNA, in Mumbai to challenge the well settled The Times of India newspaper and the competition was one of the biggest newspaper battles of Mumbai and sustaining earlier losses, the newspaper eventually turned around.[10]
International Channels
In March 2016, Chandra announced his media company's entry into the international news space with an English news channel, World is One News.
Chandra is the founder-Chairman of the Global Foundation for Civilizational Harmony, an interfaith group.[11]
He has donated land for Global Vipassana Pagoda at Borivili and contributed to the spread of this meditation method.[12]
Awards
Emmy award in 2011.[13]
References
- 1 2 "Forbes – Subhash Chandra". Forbes.com. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
- ↑ "Essel Group eye global venture, rule out Lalit Modi’s involvement". Indian Express. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "Zee group: Each brother to own 70–80% of business". Times of India. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "Dish TV posts Q1 net profit of Rs 54.21 crore". Economic Times. India Times. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "Subhash Chandra Biography- About family, children, education, wife, age, and more". business.mapsofindia.com. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
- ↑ Khandekar, Vanitha Kohli (25 March 2015). "40 Years Ago... And now: Subhash Chandra's chutzpah shaped his media business". Business Standard. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ↑ India, News World. "FIR Against Subhash Chandra-Led Essel Group For Embezzling Rs 100.61 Cr". News World India. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
- ↑ India, News World. "Himgiri Zee University: A Case Of Pan India Fake Degrees, Land Scam And Misplaced Patriotism". News World India. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
- ↑ Adhikari, Anand (25 May 2014). "Passing the Baton". business today.intoday.in. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ↑ Ajwani, Deepak (14 March 2014). "At The Zee Group, Son Punit has taken the Baton from Subhash Chandra". Forbes India Magazie. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ↑ "Subhash Chandra". gfchindia.com. 22 January 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ↑ Nair, Sulekha (30 September 2013). "Remembering SN Goenka, the man who brought Vipassana back to India". firstpost.com. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ↑ "Zee TV's Subhash Chandra to Receive Emmy Honor". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2013.