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Balagopal Chandrasekhar

Chairman KSIDC

Balagopal Chandrasekhar

Chairman KSIDC

Born on Oct 2, 1952, Balagopal Chandrasekhar completed his schooling at the Lawrence School, Lovedale. He graduated from Loyola College, Madras University with economics as his major, and joined the IAS in 1977. He worked in the IAS in Manipur and Kerala till 1983 when he resigned at the age of 30 to promote a venture to make hi-tech biomedical devices for the first time in the country.

Acquiring the knowhow from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, Trivandrum (SCTIMST) and with the support of National Research Development Corporation and KSIDC, he set up his venture near Trivandrum. From those small beginnings, he grew the venture into one of the largest makers of blood bag systems in the world, employing 1400 skilled people, and exporting products to more than 50 countries. In 2012, he sold the company to a leading Japanese maker of medical products, and turned to investing in startups, mentoring entrepreneurs, writing, travel and his many other interests.

Balagopal Chandrasekhar was the first President of the newly formed TiE Kerala in 1995. While he ran PENPOL, he was active in CII and TMA and other professional bodies. He was Independent Director on the Board of Federal Bank from 2016 and later the Chairman of the Board of Federal Bank Ltd till 28 June 2023 when his term ended. He was appointed Chairman, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation in October 2024. He is Chairman of the Board of Kerala Life Sciences Industries Park, and is a member of the Governing Body of the Centre for Management Development Trivandrum, Advisory Board of Fourth Wave Foundation, the Board of TIMed Medical Devices Incubator of SCTIMST, Member – Advisory Board of IIT Palakkad, and Independent Director on the Boards of some leading companies.

With his wife Vinita, he set up and runs ANAHA Trust, which funds socially impactful programs and projects, in the fields of primary health, primary education, and rural livelihoods. Projects supported by the Trust are located in Kerala and Manipur.

He has written four books: ‘ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE INDIA’, ‘THE VIEW FROM KOLLAM’, ‘MAVELI & MARKETS: HOW SUPPLYCO HELD THE PRICE LINE’, and ‘BELOW THE RADAR: the untold story of how modern manufacturing grew by stealth in Kerala’. He is active on social media, and his LinkedIn page and Facebook page with regular commentary on contemporary affairs are followed by many.