TP Gopalan Nambiar, who was the founder of BPL, passed away at the age of 94 on October 31st. He was the father-in-law of former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Nambiar’s son Ajit Nambiar is currently heading as the chairman and chief executive officer of the consumer electronics company.
Nambiar founded BPL in 1963 during the ‘License Raj’ era. He established the first manufacturing facility of the company in Palakkad, Kerala, and later shifted its base to Bengaluru.
The company expanded its fold and included fridges, washing machines, video cassettes followed by other electronic devices, and by the 1990s, was hailed as a giant in India’s electronic sector.
However, BPL faced increased competition from South Korean companies like LG and Samsung, which was followed by internal disputes within the controlling family which further contributed to the company’s decline, stated a media report.
Several eminent personalities took to X to express their condolences.
Sad to learn of the passing of Shri TPG Nambiar (96), visionary Kerala industrialist who ushered in a new chapter in electronics manufacturing here by setting up a state-of-the-art facility at Palakkad after acquiring British Physical Laboratories in 1961, renamed BPL Limited. A… pic.twitter.com/f6oV0YFQpv
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 31, 2024
Founder of BPL Group, T P Gopalan Nambiar, passes away at 94; mourned by political leaders and family. A great visionary Business Leader who was a forerunner of our tele tech industry. Om Shanthi 🙏
https://t.co/8Z999BrBsP— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) October 31, 2024
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