Chairman of the Times Group, Indu Jain is no more

Jain became the chairman of the Times Group in 1999.

Indu Jain, chairman of the Times Group, philanthropist, patron of the arts, and passionate proponent of women's rights, passed away yesterday evening. She was 84.

Indu Jain became the chairman of the Times Group in 1999. She set up The Times Foundation in 2000 which is a "non-profit that provides community services" and runs the Times Relief Fund to offer assistance during cyclones, earthquakes, floods, epidemics and other crises.

She was the founder president of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), established to promote entrepreneurship and professional excellence among women in India. She also served as chairperson of Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust, originally founded by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain, her father-in-law, in 1944 to promote literature in Indian languages. The Jnanpith Award, conferred by the Trust annually, is acknowledged to be one of the most prestigious honours for authors writing in Indian languages.

She received many honours, including the Padma Bhushan in January 2016. She was conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India in 2019, an award for Lifetime Contribution to Media by the All India Management Association in 2018, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indian Congress of Women.

In the year 2000, she addressed the United Nations at the Millennium World Peace Summit.

The statement concludes, "Indu Jain once said, Living in the present means not having regrets for the past, not worrying for the future. Life is what is now. I was born a seeker. I was very inquisitive and curious to explore. I don’t see a choice between ‘being happy’ and ‘having a purpose’. The alternatives that seem different may just turn out to be the same. Life is an incredible adventure, and you should give it your best. She certainly did."