Lalit Mohan Thapar (27 October 1930 – 17 January 2007), often referred to by his initials LMT, headed the LM

Thapar Group The Thapar Group is an Indian conglomerate founded by Karam Chand Thapar. The following companies are or have been a part of the group: Greaves Cotton, The Pioneer, Sohna Stud Farm Pvt Limited, TT & G Trading Pvt Limited, Built Middle East Pv ...

of companies. He was born to

Karam Chand Thapar Karam Chand Thapar (1900–1962) was the founder of the Thapar Group of companies. He was originally from Punjab. He started his career in 1920 as a coal trader in Calcutta, and built up the family fortune through Karam Chand Thapar and Bros. ...

, the founder of the Thapar Group of companies that owned companies such as Crompton Greaves,

BILT Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT) is a subsidiary of Avantha Group, and was once India's largest manufacturer of writing and printing paper. The current chairman of the company is Gautam Thapar, who succeeded his late uncle L.M. Thapar. B ...

and

JCT Mills Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club (formerly known as JCT Mills FC; abbreviated as both JCT FC, or simply JCT) was an Indian professional football club based in Phagwara, Punjab. Founded in 1971, the club was sponsored by Jagatjit Cotton ...

. Inder Mohan Thapar, Brij Mohan Thapar and Man Mohan Thapar are his brothers. He was educated at

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mode ...

. He graduated in engineering from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, USA. He became chairman of Ballarpur Industries Limited in 1962. He died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

on 17 January 2007.

Thapar Group

The Thapar Group was established by Lala Karam Chand Thapar. After his death in 1963, his third son, L.M. Thapar, took over the Group, which then included the

Oriental Bank of Commerce Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) was an Indian public sector bank headquartered at Gurgaon, Haryana. It had 2390 branches and 2625 ATMs across India. In April 2020, the bank along with United Bank of India has been merged with Punjab National ...

, as well as

Oriental Insurance The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The headquarters is present in New Delhi. It has 29 regional offices and more than 1500 active branches ...

. Both these companies were subsequently nationalised. Other Group companies and concerns in India are or were '' The Pioneer'',

Greaves Cotton Greaves Cotton Ltd. is an Indian engineering company that manufactures engines and heavy equipment. It is traded on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). History The company was founded in 1859 by Jame ...

, JCT Electronics, Crompton Greaves and

Ballarpur Industries Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT) is a subsidiary of Avantha Group, and was once India's largest manufacturer of writing and printing paper. The current chairman of the company is Gautam Thapar, who succeeded his late uncle L.M. Thapar. BI ...

. With the division of the Thapar family assets, L.M. Thapar inherited, among other companies,

. BILT eventually became part of the

Avantha Group Avantha Group is an Indian business conglomerate. Its businesses include power generation and distribution, power transmission and distribution equipment and services, paper and pulp, farm forestry, and infrastructure. Divisions Avantha Group ...

Personal life

Single and a resident of New Delhi's upmarket

Amrita Shergill Marg Amrita Sher-Gil (30 January 1913 – 5 December 1941) was a Hungarian-Indian painter. She has been called "one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century" and a pioneer in modern Indian art. Drawn to painting from an ear ...

, Thapar was fond of the good life and was known for being charming and polished. He was an avid art collector, with an impressive personal gallery of some of the finest works of art. His ''bon vivant'' persona was highlighted in most of his obituaries. In 2005, he handed over the reins of his business empire to his nephew Gautam (son of Brij Mohan Thapar), leaving his voting rights, shares and most of his personal effects to Gautam in his will. Thapar died on 17 January 2007 from

and

at a hospital in New Delhi. His remains were cremated the following day at the Lodhi Cremation Ground in Delhi. He funded a project to document and verify data with regard to dead martyrs of the Indian Armed Forces at a time when publicly getting such accurate information was difficult.

References

External links

Businessworld Obituary Economic TimesLM Thapar MBA Admission 2018
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Economist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thapar, L. M. Thapar, L.M. Thapar, L.M. L The Doon School alumni Thapar, L.M.