Vijaypat Singhania is the former chairman emeritus of the

Raymond Group Raymond Group is an Indian branded fabric and fashion retailer, incorporated in 1925. It produces suiting fabric, with a capacity of producing 31 million meters of wool and wool-blended fabrics. The group owns apparel brands like Raymond, Ra ...

and a former

Sheriff of Mumbai The Sheriff of Bombay is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year on a prominent citizen of Bombay. The Sheriff is an officer of the High Court and the nominal Head of the High Court Department which carries out the or ...

, from 19 December 2005 to 18 December 2006. A keen aviator, Singhania holds the world record for highest altitude gained travelling in a

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...

, notably carried out at the age of 67. Singhania also holds a world record for his solo microlight flight from UK to India in 1988. Singhania has over 5,000 hours of flight experience. In 1994 he won the gold medal in the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...

air race covering a distance of 34,000 km spanning 24 days. To mark this occasion he was conferred the rank of Hon. Air Commodore of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

. In 2003, he was awarded the

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as the National Adventure Awards is the highest adventure sports honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two individuals to reach t ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, in 2005 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

, and in 2006, the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, the third highest civilian award by the

. Singhania wrote the book 'An Angel in the Cockpit', an account of his journey from the UK to India on a microlight aircraft in 1988. In March 2007 he was nominated to be Chairman of the Governing Council, IIM Ahmedabad (succeeding

N.R. Narayana Murthy Nāgavārā Rāmarāo Nārāyana Mūrthy (born 21 August 1946) is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the founder of Infosys, and has been the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief mentor of the company before ret ...

). He is entangled in a property dispute with his son, and had this message for parents across the country: "Love your children and care for them, but don't love them so much that you are blinded". In 2015, he handed over his shares, worth over Rs. 1,000 crore, to

Gautam Singhania Gautam Vijaypat Singhania (born 9 September 1965) is an Indian industrialist. He is the chairman and managing director of the Raymond Group, the world's largest producer of suiting fabric. Biography Gautam Singhania was born in an Marwari indu ...

the younger of his two sons, and had this to say in 2017 to NDTV, "In the 79 years of my life, I'd never thought I would have to take a family dispute to court after giving away everything I had and that I wouldn't even have a roof over my head." At the time he was living in rented accommodation and demanding to be reimbursed for the rent.

References

Bibliography

* Living people Businesspeople from Mumbai Rajasthani people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports Recipients of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award Indian aviators Indian Air Force officers Honorary air commodores Sheriffs of Mumbai Aviation history of India Indian aviation businesspeople Flight altitude record holders Textile industry in Maharashtra Balloon flight record holders Year of birth missing (living people) Indian aviation record holders Indian balloonists {{India-bio-stub