Our Founders
Lala Shri Ram
(27th April 1884 – 11th January 1963)
Founder of the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research (SRI)
Lala Shri Ram, also known as Sir Shri Ram, was one of the most influential industrialists and philanthropists of the 20th century. Starting in 1909, Lala Shri Ram began working at the Delhi Cloth & General Mills (DCM), eventually establishing one of India’s leading business houses. Lala Shri Ram was one of the original seven architects of the Bombay Plan of 1944-45, alongside other business scions such as J.R.D. Tata and G.D. Birla. In 1930, he became the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and was also knighted in 1941.
In 1947, Lala Shri Ram founded the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research (SRI), envisioned as a research-focused institution established for the public good. SRI has since functioned as an independent and objective research facility that provides government departments and private entities a scientific research partnership built on trust and ever-growing knowledge.
As a patron of education, Lala Shri Ram also founded the Commercial Education Trust in 1926, which then went on to become known as the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC). This was followed by his established of the Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) in memory of his late-wife Phoolan Devi, in 1956.
Lala Shri Ram also held a number of positions of responsibility in various industry and scientific bodies, most notably – Board Member, Reserve Bank of India (RBI); Founding Chairman, Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI); and various roles as part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Indian Standards Institute, now known as the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).