History

The history of RPG began in 1820 when Ramdutt Goenka, from a small town in Rajasthan, India, came to Calcutta on the east coast, to do business with the British East India Company. The following milestones speak of his enterprising efforts, and the subsequent growth of the RPG group.

  • By the 1900s the Goenkas establish themselves in diverse business sectors like banking, textiles, jute and tea.
  • Sir Hariram Goenka and Sir Badridas Goenka are conferred knighthood by the Queen of England for outstanding contribution to business and the community.
  • In 1933, Sir Badridas Goenka becomes the first Indian to be appointed Chairman of the Imperial Bank of India (now the State Bank of India). 
  • He is elected President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in 1945.
  • Keshav Prasad Goenka (son of Sir Badridas Goenka) carried the spirit of entrepreneurship forward.
  • In 1950 Goenkas acquire two British trading houses - Duncan Brothers and Octavius Steel.
  • After successful acquisitions in the areas of tea, automobile, tyre, jute, cotton textile and electric cables, Keshav Prasad Goenka  passes on his business empire to his three sons.
  • One of the sons, Rama Prasad Goenka (better known as RP Goenka), establishes RPG Enterprises in 1979 with Phillips Carbon Black, Asian Cables, Agarpara Jute and Murphy India as constituents.
  • The 80s see further acquisitions by the RPG group, the first being CEAT Tyres of India in 1981. The group then goes on to acquire KEC (1982); Searle India, now RPG Life Sciences (1983); Dunlop (1984); HMV (1988); and finally CESC, Harrisons Malayalam, Spencer & Co. and ICIM, all in 1989.
  • RP Goenka's sons Harsh (Chairman) and Sanjiv (Vice-Chairman) spearhead the group’s management from 1990.
  • RP Goenka currently oversees the group’s affairs as “Chairman Emeritus”. Today, RPG has more than twenty companies across eight business sectors, with a Turnover of Rs. 16,000 cr.