Alden Global confers the title of ‘The logistics man of India’ upon Jai Karan Sharma, Chetak Group

GURUGRAM: Late Jai Karan Sharma, Founder Chairman, Chetak Group was posthumously conferred with the title of ‘The logistics man of India’ for his exemplary and pioneering work in Logistics by Alden Global Value Advisors, at their 55^th Inflection Logistics and Warehousing Innovation Forum and Awards, here today.

The Inflection Conference and Awards are endorsed by The Council of Supply Chain Professionals, The USA, Singapore Institute of Materials and Centre of Excellence, NASSCOM.

Late Jai Karan Sharma, son of a farmer, hailing from Jhinjhar, a small village in Haryana was a self-made entrepreneur who started from scratch and went on to build the Chetak Group, one of the leaders in Logistics, in India.

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On behalf of late Jai Karan Sharma, the award was received by his sons Mukesh Haritash, Rajesh Haritash and Sachin JKS Haritash, Directors, Chetak Logistics.

The Awards were given by Rajesh Kaul, Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Tata Motors (Commercial Vehicles).

Also present on the occasion were Manohar Bhat, former Head of Sales and Marketing), Kia Motors, Arun Arora, Director Chetak Foundation and senior management of Chetak Group and the family members of Shri Jai Karan Sharma.

While giving away the award, Rajesh Kaul, Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Tata Motors (Commercial Vehicles) said, “I am happy and privileged to be part of this prestigious occasion honouring Shri Jai Karan Sharma with the title of ‘The Logistics Man of India’. We have had an amazing experience interacting with him and his organisation in close conjunction giving shape to many logistics dreams and achieving multiple transportation related milestones. He had been an astute visionary doing pioneering work with a fervent focus on customer satisfaction. With his sharp business foresight and deep understanding of customer requirements, he created new benchmarks in logistics performance, always willing to challenge the status quo and trying path-breaking innovations and technologies. He was one of the early exponents of managerial leadership in the transport sector showing the industry how to transform fragmented unorganised units into professionally organised businesses. He is credited with bringing the logistics sector to the mainstream. My wishes to his family for his inspiring legacy, which will only make his company’s name brighter, in the future.”

Jai Karan Sharma’s success sparked the imagination of a generation of progressive Indian entrepreneurs. He was a business statesman and visionary who introduced, what is now called Integrated Logistics solutions with multi-modal transportation, warehousing, packaging and just-in-time solutions, and way back in the 1980s. He had a knack for visualising the future economic scenario, which helped him take the most daring decision relating to fleet expansion and asset acquisition which resulted in sectoral growth and huge employment generation.

Speaking on the occasion Sandeep Anand, CEO, Alden Global Value Advisors and Member Logistics Committee FICCI said, “We are happy to honour and recognise Shri Jai Karan Sharma, Founder Chetak Group with the title of “The Logistics Man of India”.  The entire logistics community unanimously decided that he is the most deserving person to receive this award for establishing the logistics sector as an important contributor to the nation’s growth.”

Shri Jai Karan Sharma was also a people’s man. He would remember the name of his drivers as he believed in the dignity of labour and made it his mission to accord respect to the community. He stood for inclusive growth. He supported numerous potential entrepreneurs in setting up their own transport companies. He created livelihood opportunities for thousands of people. He had a passion to help underprivileged people of the society. He contributed to the education sector by supporting the infrastructure development of schools and colleges for economically weaker children.

Mukesh Haritash said in his acceptance speech, “On behalf of our father, I am humbled to receive The Logistics Man of India Award along with my brother Sachin. Our father was our inspiration. We were witness to his entrepreneurial journey, his tribulations and his triumphs. He was our Guru and we aspire to follow his footsteps. We thank Alden Global and the entire Logistic Community for bestowing this honour upon our father. We commit to work hard and take our father’s legacy forward and aim to take Chetak Group to even greater heights.”

Shri Sharma’s contributions to the social and economic development of society at large have been numerously recognised by many national and international organisations. In the past he was awarded the “Transport Rattan” by AIMTC, the “Rashtriya Udyog Ratan” Award, “Outstanding National Citizen” Award by NSG, he was also bestowed with the title of “Transport Samraat” by AIMTC and the Udyog Rattan Award by Institute of Economic Studies.

His dream lives on, through the Chetak Foundation, a social arm of Chetak Group, set up by  Smt. Krishna Sharma, his wife and their sons Mukesh, Rajesh and Sachin Haritash, as a tribute to its founder Late Shri Jai Karan Sharma’s vision of making a positive impact to the lives of underprivileged communities. The Foundation is focussing on various areas including Education, Environment, Health, Livelihood, Nutrition and Road Safety.

Established in 1979, Chetak Group, equipped with over 1.5 million sq ft of modern warehousing facilities, across India, the Group provides Total Supply Chain Solutions including Transportation Services through all modes, Warehousing & Distribution, International Freight Forwarding, Customs Clearance & Logistics Services. Located in the national capital, the group has 60 offices and branches spread across India, at major industrial hubs, to provide effective solutions to its customers.

Chetak Group equipped with over 2400 customised vehicles, Chetak enjoys the impressive clientele of industry leaders in automobiles since its inception. These include all major national and global automobile brands such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata, Hyundai, JCB, Kia, Honda, among many others.