Subhash Chandra

India’s leading media mogul Subhash Chandra was a one-time rice trader in Haryana and is credited with launching India’s satellite television revolution. His other business interests include packaging, theme parks, lotteries and cinema multiplexes.

The founder Chairman of Essel Group of Industries having interests in packaging, entertainment parks, satellite television, cable TV distribution, movie production, multiplexes, education, animation, publishing, satellite and online Lottery, Subhash Chandra was born on 30th November 1950, in Hisar, Haryana.

He left his studies after completing his 12th. He went on to start his own vegetable oil unit when he was only nineteen years old and soon ventured into export of food grains. In 1981, his visit to a packaging exhibition led him to set up Essel Packaging Limited. It later merged with the Swiss group Propack A.G, and was renamed as Essel Propack Limited.

He went on to set up amusement parks in India. He decided to foray into broadcasting and was successful in leasing a transponder on AsiaSat owned by Star TV. India’s first private satellite television channel Zee TV started off on 2nd October 1992. Soon three new channels, Zee News, Zee Cinema and Music Asia were launched.

Zee TV has also launched regional channels in several regional languages. Today, the Zee Network reaches out to 32 million homes across India, besides reaching out to countries like USA, the Caribbean islands, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Far East, Australia and New Zealand.

Subhash Chandra is also credited with bringing the concept of online lottery to India through his company Playwin Infravest Private Limited.