Indu Jain, the chairperson of Times Group, passed away on Thursday at the age of 84 due to COVID-19 complications. A spiritualist, Jain founded the Times Foundation in 2000 with sustainable development as one of its key goals. The Foundation engages in community service and runs the Times Relief Fund to offer assistance in the event of natural disasters. Born in a Sahu Jain family in 1936, Indu Jain was married to the late Ashok Kumar Jain, former chairman of Times Group or BCCL. BCCL publishes English dailies The Times of India and The Economic Times.
Passionate about women’s rights, she was the founder president of Ficci Ladies Organisation. She also served as chairperson of the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust, a literary and research foundation presenting India’s highest literary awards for work in Indian languages. Jain was also the recipient of Padma Bhushan in 2016. In 2019 she got the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Institute of Company Scretaries of India for translating excellence in corporate governance into reality. She is survived by sons Samir and Vineet Jain. Samir Jain is vice chairman of BCCL, India's largest and diversified media company with brands across publishing, television, internet, radio & outdoor. Vineet Jain is managing director at BCCL. Indu Jain took over as the company chairman in 1999 after the death of her husband Ashok Jain, the owner of Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited.