Shobhana Bhartia (born 1957) belongs to the Birla family, which runs an industrial empire. Her father is KK Birla and her grandfather is GD Birla, a patriarch of the family. She married Shyam Sunder Bhartia Chairman of Jubilant Organosys Limited, a Rs. 14-billion Pharma firm and they have a son Shamit Bhartia who is a Director at the HT Media group. Shobhana Bhartia is the Vice Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media Limited, the second largest print company, in which the KK Birla family owns 75.36 per cent stake valued at Rs 834 crore in 2004. HT Media Limited publishes two prominent newspapers, Hindustan Times and Hindustan. She is married and has two sons.
Education & Career of Shobhana Bhartia
Shobhana took her graduation from the Kolkata University. She joined Hindustan Times in 1986 and became the first woman and one of the youngest person to be the chief executive of a national newspaper.
Important Works of Shobhana Bhartia
Shobhana focuses on Hindustan, the Hindi daily, and the HTs Internet initiatives. As the nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, she introduced the ‘The Child Marriage (Abolition) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, 2006’.
She is the Chairperson of the Press Trust of India; Deputy Chairperson of the Executive Committee, Audit Bureau of Circulations; Member, Executive Committee, the Indian Newspaper Society and Commonwealth Press Union, London; Member, Board of Directors of Hero Honda Limited; Member, Apex Committee of Commonwealth Games-2010; Member, Governing Council, India Habitat Centre; Member, Alliance of Civilizations, a high-level group formed by Secretary-General, United Nations; Member, Board of Governors, of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT); Member, the Board of the Indian Public School Society (The Doon School); Member, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board; Trustee, Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, and Trustee of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.
Awards and Achievements of Shobhana Bhartia
Shobhana was awarded Economic Times Corporate Excellence Award (2007); the Business Woman award, The Economic Times Corporate Excellence awards (2007); the Padma Shri (2005); Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.( 2005); Outstanding Business Woman of the Year, 2001, by PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry; the Outstanding Businesswoman Award from the Punjab, Haryana, Delhi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2001); the Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (1996); the National Unity Award (1993); the National Press India Award (1992); Vijaya Shree Award (1991); Mahila Shiromani Award (1990); and ICDO National Award Development by the International Cultural Organisation in (1989). Her name finds a place among the 50 most powerful people in Indian media.