Naveen Jindal
Naveen Jindal at the World Economic Forum
MP
Incumbent
Assumed office 2004
Preceded by	Kailasho Devi
Constituency	Kurukshetra
Personal details
Born	(1970-03-09) 9 March 1970 (age 42) Hisar, Haryana, India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Shallu
Children	1 son and 1 daughter
Residence	Delhi and Kurukshetra
Alma mater	Delhi Public School, Mathura Road University of Delhi University of Texas at Dallas
Profession	Industrialist Politician Philanthropist[1] Sportsman
Religion	Hinduism
Website	Naveen Jindal
As of June 15, 2007 Source: [1]

Naveen Jindal (born 9 March 1970) is an Indian politician and Member of Parliament^[2] (MP) from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency in the northern Indian state of Haryana. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Jindal Steel and Power Limited,^[3] which is part of the $15 billion diversified O.P. Jindal Group founded by his late industrialist father.

It was his initiative that led to a revision of the Flag Code of India which now grants every private citizen the right to fly the Flag of India (also known as the "Tiranga") publicly with dignity and honour on all days of the year.^[4]

He is an active campaigner for population stabilisation, women’s empowerment, environmental conservation, health and education. As an acknowledgement of his support to his alma mater, in 2011 the University of Texas at Dallas, renamed its School of Management as the Naveen Jindal School of Management.^[5]

Along with his wife – Kuchipudi dancer Shallu Jindal – he founded the Flag Foundation of India, which is their effort to foster among Indian youth respect for the Tiranga and the values it embodies.

He lives in Delhi with his wife and their two children.

Early life and education[link]

Naveen Jindal was born in Hisar, Haryana, on 9 March 1970, the youngest child of the late industrialist-philanthropist-politician O.P. Jindal, former Minister of Power in the government of Haryana, India, and his wife Savitri Jindal. Naveen studied at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, New Delhi, before graduating in Commerce from Hans Raj College, Delhi University in 1990. He completed an MBA degree from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1992. He was the President of the Student Government and recipient of the Student Leader of the Year Award at the University of Texas at Dallas.

National flag initiative[link]

As President of the Student Government at the University of Texas at Dallas, Jindal displayed the Indian flag whenever possible, inspired by the American tradition that sees a show of the US flag as a mark of patriotism. He continued to do so when he returned to India, flying the flag at his factory premises in Raigarh in present-day Chhattisgarh. However, the Commissioner of Bilaspur objected to this practice, citing the Flag Code of India which at the time permitted private citizens to fly the Indian Tricolour only on Independence Day and Republic Day. Jindal filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court in February 1995 contesting the restraints being placed on him by officials, and later disputed the government position in the Supreme Court too. On January 15, 2002, the Union Cabinet accepted the report of the Dr P.D. Shenoy Committee that it had constituted to look into the matter, and announced that citizens will be free to fly the national flag on all days of the year from January 26, 2002. The Government subsequently issued a new flag code (Flag Code of India 2002) which contained guidelines for flying the national flag. On January 23, 2004, the Supreme Court of India ruled in Jindal’s favour.

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Parliament in 2005. It was passed unanimously, granting citizens the right to display the national flag on clothes and caps in a duly prescribed manner.

The concept of “monumental flags” has been introduced in India. These gigantic flags are now flown at several locations across India. Following a subsequent campaign, he got a favourable ruling^{[citation needed]} from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on December 22, 2009, permitting monumental flags to be flown at night with appropriate illumination, contrary to the requirement at the time that all flags should be lowered after dusk.

On February 18, 2010, the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha accepted his proposal to allow MPs to display the national flag as a lapel pin while seated in the House.

On August 9, 2010, the High Court in Bilaspur, observed that not lowering the flag at night is not a violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. The judgment opened the door for the common person to fly the Tiranga at night.

Jindal established the Flag Foundation of India with his wife Shallu to instill pride in the Tiranga among citizens through the arts, seminars and workshops aimed particularly at children and the youth.

Politics[link]

Jindal’s involvement in politics dates began in his student days. His father, the late O.P. Jindal, was a Minister in the Haryana government. After completing his post-graduation in the US, Naveen returned to India and began managing his father’s political affairs. In 2004 he stood for elections from the Kurukshetra constituency in the north Indian state of Haryana on an Indian National Congress ticket. He won, beating his nearest rival Abhay Singh Chautala by a margin of 1.6 lakh votes. He was re-elected in the 2009 general elections. The two-time MP from Haryana is part of the “youth brigade” of the current Lok Sabha. His focus as an MP has been the problems of corruption, over-population, women’s exploitation, environment, health and education. Also on his agenda is the incorporation of the best practices of business management in politics.

Jindal is leading efforts to form a Citizens’ Alliance for Reproductive Health and Rights, as a parliamentarians’ response to take collective action for improved reproductive health for the people of India. The Alliance aims to raise awareness and address reproductive health needs of the people, including the need for healthy mothers and children and planned families.^[6]

Parliamentary responsibilities & initiatives[link]

• Member, Standing Committee on Home Affairs
• Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Defence
• Special Invitee, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Civil Aviation
• Convener, Parliamentary Forum on Children
• Executive Member, Indian Parliamentary Group
• Additional Member, Parliamentary Forum on Population & Health
• Member, Kurukshetra Development Board
• Sports Secretary, Constitution Club of India
• Previously Convener, Sub-Committee on Modernisation of Prison Administration, Ministry of Home Affairs (2007, 2008)
• Based on Jindal’s plea^{[citation needed]}, smoking was banned in the Central Hall of Parliament

Business[link]

With an annual turnover of over US $2.9 billion, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) is part of the US $15 billion diversified O.P. Jindal Group. JSPL (earlier known as Jindal Strips Limited) was a moderately performing enterprise when Naveen Jindal first took over its Raigarh and Raipur operations in 1993. Today, JSPL operates the world’s largest coal-based sponge iron manufacturing plant in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, and plants in Jharkhand and Orissa. The company has set up captive power plants using waste products from the sponge iron making process to generate power.

Naveen Jindal is the Chairman of Jindal Power Limited (a subsidiary of JSPL) which runs the 1,000 MW O.P. Jindal Thermal Power Plant in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh – India’s first such 1,000 MW plant in the private sector.

Sports[link]

Shooting[link]

Jindal is an international level skeet shooting champion who has represented India on various major global platforms.^{[citation needed]} He has trained under Juan Giha Yarur of Peru. Jindal was part of the team that represented India at the Busan Asian Games in South Korea in 2002. He has also participated in the World Cup in Lonato, Italy (2001). He was part of the gold-medal-winning Indian skeet team at the Singapore Open Shooting Championship in 2007. He is a member of the Governing Body of The National Rifle Association of India.

Personal life[link]

Naveen Jindal is the youngest child of Savitri and the late Om Prakash Jindal. His father was born into a farming family in Haryana’s Hisar district, and became the founder of the steel and power conglomerate, the O.P. Jindal Group. O.P. Jindal stood for elections to the Haryana Legislative Assembly and won thrice in 1991, 2000 and 2005. He stood for elections to the Lok Sabha from Haryana’s Kurukshetra constituency in 1996 and won. He was serving as the Power Minister in the Haryana government when he passed away on March 31, 2005, at the age of 75.

Naveen’s mother Savitri Jindal is a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from Hisar and is the Chairperson Emeritus of Jindal Steel and Power Limited and JSW Steel.

Naveen has eight siblings: sisters Saroj Bhartia, Nirmala Goel, Urmila Bhuwalka, Sarika Jhunjhunwala and Seema Jajodia; and brothers Prithviraj, Sajjan and Rattan Jindal who are industrialists like him.

Naveen is married to Kuchipudi dancer Shallu Jindal. The couple have two children, a son and a daughter.

Honours and awards[link]

Individual[link]

• Jindal has been conferred with the Justice P.N. Bhagwati Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to legal education and corporate philanthropy. Instituted by the Capital Foundation, the award was presented by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, December 2011^[7]
• University of Texas at Dallas, renamed its School of Management after Naveen Jindal in 2011. It is now called the Naveen Jindal School of Management.^[8]
• Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the field of Energy and Infrastructure, 2010^[9]

Shooting[link]

International[link]

• Gold medal in the team skeet event for India at the Singapore Open Shooting Championship, 2007
• Silver medal in the team skeet event at the 9th South Asian Federation Games, Islamabad, Pakistan, 2004
• Bronze in the team event at the Singapore Shooting Invitation, 2003
• Silver in the team event at the Singapore Shooting Invitation, 2002

National[link]

• Gold medal in individual skeet event at the 5th Sardar Sajjan Singh Memorial Master Shooting Competition, Jaipur, 2007
• Gold medal in the team skeet shooting event at the 49th National Shooting Championship, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 2005
• Gold medal in team skeet shooting at the 48th National Shooting Championship, New Delhi, 2004
• Gold medal in the individual category (with a championship record) at the National Shooting Championship, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 2003
• Gold medal (with a new national record) in the team event at the 47th National Shooting Championship, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 2003
• Gold medal in the team skeet event (with a new Games record) at the 32nd National Games, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 2002
• Gold medal in the team skeet event (with a new national record) at the 46th National Shooting Championship, New Delhi, 2002
• Gold medal in the team skeet event at the 45th National Shooting Championship, New Delhi, 2002
• Silver medal in skeet shooting at the 33rd National Games, Guwahati, Assam, 2007
• Silver medal in the individual category (with a new national record) in the 300 meter big bore prone position at the 50th National Shooting Championship, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, 2007
• Silver medal in the team event at the 50th National Shooting Championship, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, 2007
• Silver medal at the 50th National Shooting Championship, New Delhi, 2006
• Silver medal in the individual category (with a new national record) in the 300 meter big bore prone position at the 48th National Shooting Championship, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, 2004
• Silver medal in the team event at the 48th National Shooting Championship, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, 2004
• Silver medal in the individual event (with a new Games record) at the 32nd National Games, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 2002
• Silver medal in the team skeet event at the 19th National Games, Mohali, Punjab, 2001
• Bronze medal for Haryana in the team event at the 52nd Big Bore Shooting Championship, Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, 2008
• Bronze medal in the individual event at the 45th National Shooting Championship, New Delhi, 2002

Polo awards for Jindal Steel and Power[link]

• Bhopal Pataudi Cup, 2011, Runners-up Award
• SMS Gold Vase, 2009, 2000, 1999, 1997
• Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh Cup, 2009
• Northern India Championship, 2009
• Baroda Cup, 2007
• Indian Masters Polo Championship, 2005
• Maharaja Hari Singh Memorial Cup, 2004, 2000 & 1997
• Indian Polo Association Championship, 2004
• Maharaja Hari Singh Memorial Cup, 2003
• Indian Polo Association Championship, 2003

References[link]