Bhupendra Kumar Modi (born 2 January 1949), known informally as Dr. M, is an Indian-born Singaporean businessman, social entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is the founder-chairman of Smart Group of companies, the founder of the Global Citizen Forum and the global chairman of the Foreign Investors India Forum. He is also the Honorary President of the

World Federation of United Nations Associations The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) (French: ''Fédération Mondiale des Associations pour les Nations Unies'', FMANU) was founded in 1946 as a Federation of national associations. Its objectives are to promote the values o ...

Early life and education

Modi is the son of Raibahadur Gujarmal Modi and Dayawati Modi. He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-BHU) and received an MBA from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. He has been awarded a PhD. in Financial Management.

Career

In 1975, as a part of Modi Rubber, Modi made the first Indo-International technical collaboration in the tyre industry with

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 1981, Modi established Graphics India, which became the sole distributor of Rank Xerox copiers in India, and formed Modi Xerox as a joint-venture with Xerox, setting up India's first office automation product manufacturing facility in Modipur, Rampur in the Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. In 1987, Modi formed a joint-venture with Italian computer firm

Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been par ...

. Modi Olivetti was the first Indian joint-venture to manufacture advanced PC's and floppy disks. He also entered into a joint venture with

Alcatel Alcatel may refer to: * Alcatel, a former French telecommunications equipment company, which became Alcatel-Lucent and is now part of Nokia * Alcatel Mobile, a brand of mobile phones, tablets and wearables, formerly a joint venture between Alcatel ...

in 1992; Alcatel Modi Network Systems was the first Indian private sector company to manufacture telecom equipment and export digital switching systems and to set up a GSM network in India. In 1993, his company Modi Telstra became the first company to launch cellular services in India and received the first Telecom Engineering Commission Certification of Quality. The inaugural mobile call in India was made on the Modi Telstra network by the then Chief Minister of Kolkata, Jyoti Basu to Sukh Ram, the then Union communications minister, in July 1995. Later Modi formed Spice Communications, a joint-venture with Telekom-Malaysia (now

Axiata Axiata Group Berhad, commonly known as Axiata, formerly known as TM International Berhad, is a Malaysian multinational telecommunications conglomerate with extensive operations in Asia. The group Axiata's primary business is in investment h ...

) which went on to become the leading telecom operator in Northern and Southern India. In 2000, Modi established Cellebrum (now

Spice Digital Spice Digital Limited (formerly registered as Cellebrum Technologies) is an Indian telecommunications company headquartered in Noida, India, a subsidiary of Spice Connect. The company deals in Mobile Value Added Services, along with Telco So ...

), a mobile value-added services company for telecom operators. In 2004, he founded Spice Hotspot, the first Indian mobile retail chain. Spice Mobiles was among the earliest producers of Indian-branded handsets. In June 2008, he exited the telecom business in a deal with

Idea Cellular Idea Cellular (commonly referred to as Idea, and stylised as ''!dea'') was an Indian mobile network operator based at Mumbai, Maharashtra. Idea was a pan-India integrated GSM operator and had 220.00 million subscribers as of June 2018. Id ...

, at that time the fourth largest

mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

deal involving an Indian entity. In 2009, Modi acquired a major stake in i2i, a listed company in Singapore Stock Exchange, renaming it S-i2i, (now SEVAK LTD.),) a regional distributor and provider of info-communication products and services in Singapore and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. In 2013, Modi was included in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

's 50 Richest List by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

. In the same year, he dropped use of the name 'Spice' in favour of 'Smart'. He also entered into the entertainment industry as co-producer of the film '' OMG!'', and producer of the tele-serial ''

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

''. In 2015, Smart Group entered the wellness and healthcare sector, partnering with multiple global wellness groups including the

American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes the field of anti-aging medicine, and the organization trains and certifies physicians in this specialty. As of 2011, approximatel ...

(A4M), the Global Wellness Institute, and Fountain Life. The group's plans include developing wellness communities, a virtual wellness platform and preventive healthcare centres, such as the Modi Yoga Retreat in Rishikesh,

Noida Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...

, and the Smart Metabolic Anti-Aging centre in New Delhi. SEVAK LTD. has partnered with

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), packa ...

to operate a fully commercially-owned electric vehicle fleet in Singapore. Since 2019, Modi has been Global Chairman of the Foreign Investors India Forum (FIIF), an initiative supported by international affiliates and most domestic chambers of commerce to promote foreign investment into

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Social philanthropy

In January 2013, Modi founded the Global Citizen Forum, a progressive social organisation with the mission statement of creating "One World Beyond Gender, Religion and Nationality". The organisation has held several events around the world, including at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Personal life

Modi is married to Veena Modi and they have three children.

Filmography

As co-producer

* 2010, ''No Problem'': co-produced with

Rajat Rawail Rajat Rawail is an Indian film producer, director and actor working in the Hindi film industry. He is best known as the producer of films such as ''No Problem'' (2010) and ''Ready'' (2011). Early life and family Rawail was born and brought u ...

and

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

* 2012, ''

OMG – Oh My God! ''Oh My God!'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi language satirical comedy-drama film written and directed by Umesh Shukla and produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, S Spice Studios, Grazing Goat Pictures and Playtime Creations. The storyline is based ...

'': co-produced with Vikram Malhotra. It won the 'Best Hindi Film Award' by Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences and 'Best Adapted Screenplay' in 60th National Film Awards.

As producer

* 2013,

is a historical drama based on the life of Buddha that shows how a prince 'Siddhartha', became 'Buddha', aired on Sunday, 8 September 2013 at 11 am on Zee Tv and Doordarshan. * (Upcoming) ''Adi Shankaracharya'', a historical drama based on the life of the Hindu saint Sri Adi Shankaracharya, who is credited with the revival of Hinduism in the 8th century CE. Serial air date & Broadcast partner - TBD.

Books

* ''Hinduism The Universal Truth'' (1993) * ''Performance — A Manager's Challenge'' (1995) * ''One God'' (2000) * ''India and Hinduism'' (2002)

Awards and honours

* In 1997, Modi was appointed as chairman of the Cellular Operators Association of India. * In 2000, Modi was appointed as the coordinator for Indian subcontinent for Millennium World Peace Summit by United Nations. *In 2004, the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

issued a proclamation in appreciation of Modi's efforts to promote deeper understanding between the countries and congratulated him on his innovations and humanitarian efforts worldwide *2009, Modi received a special commendation from the then Singapore Minister-Mentor Lee Kuan Lew on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Lee Kuan Institute of Public Policy. * In 2013, 'Ambassador of Peace Award' conferred by the Universal Peace Foundation. * In 2015, 'Lifetime Achievement Luminary Award' by Channel News Asia, Singapore. *In 2017, 'Entrepreneur of the Year Award' by Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce. *In 2018, 'Global Thought Leader for Global Peace Award' by Stardust. *In 2019, Modi was appointed the Honorary President for World Federation of United Nation Associations.

References

External links

* http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/b-k-modi-buys-51-stake-in-wall-street-finance/20/55/72858/on * http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/BK_Modis_10_Million_penthouse_hits_headlines_in_Singapore-nid-56641-cid-TNI.html * http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_telecom-too-big-for-one-ministry-says-bk-modi_1403112 * http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/a-brand-for-himself/431524/ *https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/singapore-applauds-indian-businesses-contribution/1280963 *https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-of-brands/a-witness-to-history-remembering-indias-first-mobile-call-25-years-ago/77319209 {{DEFAULTSORT:Modi, B. K. Banaras Hindu University alumni Marshall School of Business alumni Businesspeople from Delhi People from Modinagar 1949 births Living people Modi family