Dr Keki Hormusji Gharda, a legend in chemical engineering who revolutionised the industry with his groundbreaking innovations, forever changing the landscape of Indian chemicals manufacturing, passed away on 30 September 2024. Dr Gharda, a Padma Shri awardee, was the founder, chairman, and managing director (CMD) of Gharda Chemicals Ltd, a research-driven company specialising in agro-chemicals, polymers and high-performance pigments.
"Earn a lot but.. very honestly.. live economically.. and spend generously and maximally for the community around, especially underprivileged one," is, in a nutshell, the philosophy practised by Dr Gharda.
Dr Gharda's innovations transformed India's chemicals industry by reducing the nation's dependence on imported chemicals and dyes. He developed cost-effective, indigenous alternatives that profoundly impacted the country's agricultural sector. His innovative solutions enhanced the productivity of Indian farmers and drove growth in the agro-chemicals industry.
In 1965, he started his company in a small rented shed with a drum as a table and a carboy as a chair. Over the next four decades, Gharda Chemicals has repeatedly flummoxed multinationals like Sandoz, Bayer and Hoechst by making their products at a fraction of the cost through technological virtuosity. In the process, it has recorded many firsts in dyestuffs, pesticides, veterinary drugs and polymers, and it has fetched dozens of awards from the government and industry. In 2004, Dr Gharda became not only the first Indian but also the first Asian to win the prestigious Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists (AIC).
In his
tribute posted on X, Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, former director general (DG) of CSIR and president of Indian National Science Academy, says, "Keki was an institution. May Keki, the institution, live on for eternity as a timeless inspiration…"
Dr Garda was interviewed by Moneylife's editor, Debashis Basu and managing editor, Sucheta Dalal in their book 'Pathbreakers-2'. They wrote that the conversations of this young man of 77 in 2010 were punctuated by many jokes, wisecracks, and innumerable funny anecdotes.
Dr Gharda told them that he taught for a while at UDCT (university department of chemical engineering). There, too, like in the US, he followed an unorthodox teaching method.
He told students, 'I won't teach you what is in the textbooks. You are all going to hold responsible positions in the chemical industry, where there will be a huge price to pay for any mistakes that you will make. So I will not give you any special credit for the right answers, but heavy penalties for the wrong ones'.
Do read the interview which we have made free for a few days (link at the end of this article). Also, do buy a copy of the Pathbreakers 2 where we have featured interviews with Ratan Tata, Hemendra Kothari, RK Laxman, Amitabh Bachchan, Lord Meghnad Desai, Prahlad Kakkar, Uday Kotak and many others.
Dr Gharda was an avid reader and had promoted Bai Ratnabai Gharda Library at Bandra in Mumbai. He had said that he followed a frugal lifestyle.
After a Bachelor of Science (B Sc) degree from Mumbai University, Dr Gharda obtained a Master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Following the defence of a doctoral thesis, he received a Ph D in chemistry from the University of Oklahoma.
On his return to India, Dr Gharda set up Gharda Chemicals, which is one of the largest agrochemical companies in the country today. For his contribution to chemistry and chemical engineering, Dr Gharda received the American Institute of Chemists's 'Chemical Pioneer' award. He also got the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce And Industry (FICCI) award for research and technology for the development and commercialisation of poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) at the hands of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the then President of India.
Dr Gharda was also known for his philanthropic contributions, with the first foundation started in 1966. The Abaan and Keki Gharda Memorial Trust, named after his wife and him, was formed in 2009 and receives 99% of the proceeds from the sale of his shares in the company. He had promoted the Gharda Scientific Research Foundation, a non-profit limited-liability company dedicated to developing and researching basic technologies. The aim is to use the earnings of this foundation to promote more technologies in health and education. He also founded the Gharda Institute of Technology in Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra.