OdishaLIVE Bureau
Dr. Bithal Das Mundhra, Chairman Emeritus of Simplex Infrastructures Limited was recently awarded with the degree of D. Litt. (Honoris Causa) by KIIT University at its 13th Annual Convocation held on 11th November 2017. Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Vice President of India honoured Dr. Mundhra in the occasion at Bhubaneswar.
His citation reads: “Your Journey to head the company through your work in various capacities speaks volumes of your assiduousness. In fifty years you have taken the flagship Simplex to such a height that you could become the Founding Chairman of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and an active member of BAI, NCMAR and CIDC.
Getting ‘Vishwakarma Award’ is no mean achievement for someone in construction field, nor is it easy to get into the ‘Hall of Fame’ in infrastructure. Your active patronage to Indian Culture, your philanthropy and your involvement in diverse social services earned you many awards and accolades. Your vision for making rural India developed in infrastructure would go a long way in the integration of Bharat with India”.
Born in 1942, Dr. Mundhra started his construction career at the age of 19 at various construction sites of Simplex. He was inducted in the Board of Simplex in 1969 and became Managing Director in 1987. Under his leadership, Simplex emerged as one of the leading construction companies in India executing every year innumerable construction projects all over the country and abroad.
Dr. Mundhra has made considerable contribution to the fields of literature, modern science and classical music. Under his guidance, some of the eminent literatures have been published by Bharatiya Vidya Mandir namely, Indian Culture-Encyclopaedic Survey in Eight Volumes, Bharatiya Chitrakala, Bharatiya Murtikala, Rosary of Hymns; Selected poems of Surdas, Kamayani and various other topics. He has also published and is advisory editor of research oriented Hindi bi-Monthly magazine “Vaichariki”.
