S.P. HINDUJA – A TRUE ‘GLOBAL’ INDIAN: The late S.P. Hinduja had been tags attached to him – industrialist, tycoon, and one of the world’s richest men. But just as important would be to place S.P. Hinduja as one of the pioneers of the global Indian businessman. At a time when Indian businesses – even the biggest among them – were only too willing to cater exclusively to the domestic market, the Hinduja Group went aggressively into new markets, new industries, and all the while tweaking the way business was conducted. Anyone who knew S.P. well enough had this to stay, he would never take a backward step. Playing defence was not for him. S.P. and his brothers were frequent visitors to the UAE, where the Group has been adding to his already sizeable interests in the region. However busy a schedule he would be having, S.P always had the moment for a quiet word with everyone around him, including hotel staff who would serve him the traditional Indian breakfast. And during which he would be getting calls from world leaders and other business behemoths. S.P. Hinduja was the true Indian globe-trotting industrialist – well before it became trendy to be one. (By Manoj Nair, Business Editor)