Savitri Jindal

Savitri Jindal
Born	Savitri Devi Jindal 20 3, 1950
Birthplace	Tinsukia, Assam, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Chairperson Emeritus, O.P. Jindal Group; politician
Known for	Chairperson Emeritus of O.P. Jindal Group, Member of Haryana Legislative Assembly
Children	9 (including Sajjan Jindal and Naveen Jindal)
Awards	Forbes India's 100 Richest (#3, 2024–2025)

Savitri Devi Jindal (born 20 March 1950) is an Indian businesswoman and politician who serves as the chairperson emeritus of the O.P. Jindal Group, one of India's largest industrial conglomerates with diversified interests spanning steel, power, cement, infrastructure, and paints. Born in Tinsukia, Assam, she rose to prominence after the death of her husband, Om Prakash Jindal, the founder of the O.P. Jindal Group, in 2005, when she assumed the leadership of the family's vast business empire. Beyond her role in industry, Jindal has served as a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly, representing the Hisar constituency and briefly serving as a minister in the Haryana state government. As of 2025, with her family's combined net worth estimated at over $35.5 billion, she is recognized as India's richest woman according to the Forbes Billionaires List, and the Jindal family ranks third on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest tycoons. She is also the president of Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha.

Early Life

Savitri Devi Jindal was born on 20 March 1950 in Tinsukia, a town in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Her father's name was Bahadur Singh. While detailed accounts of her upbringing in Assam are limited in public records, her connection to the northeastern state has remained an enduring part of her identity. In February 2025, Jindal attended the launch ceremony (Bhumi Pujan) of the Vrindavani Vastra museum project in Guwahati, Assam, underscoring her continued ties to her birth state and its cultural heritage.

Savitri married Om Prakash Jindal, an industrialist and politician who would go on to found the O.P. Jindal Group, one of India's foremost industrial conglomerates. Om Prakash Jindal, originally from Nalwa village in the Hisar district of Haryana, built his business empire beginning with a steel pipe manufacturing unit and expanded it into a multi-billion-dollar diversified group encompassing steel, power generation, mining, and infrastructure. Through her marriage into the Jindal family, Savitri became closely associated with Haryana, and the state would later become the base of both her business and political career. The couple had nine children together, among whom Sajjan Jindal and Naveen Jindal are the most publicly prominent figures in Indian business and politics, respectively.

Career

Assumption of Business Leadership

Om Prakash Jindal died on 31 March 2005 in a helicopter crash. Following his death, Savitri Jindal assumed the role of chairperson of the O.P. Jindal Group, taking on the responsibility of overseeing the conglomerate's vast and diversified business operations. The O.P. Jindal Group had by that time grown into one of India's major industrial enterprises, and under the family's collective stewardship—with Savitri as the matriarch and chairperson—the group continued to expand.

The O.P. Jindal Group is organized into several distinct companies, each managed by different members of the Jindal family. The key subsidiaries and constituent companies include JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, JSW Energy, JSW Cement, and JSW Paints, among others. Sajjan Jindal, one of Savitri's sons, leads the JSW Group, which includes JSW Steel—one of India's largest steel manufacturers—while Naveen Jindal heads Jindal Steel and Power Limited.

Savitri Jindal served as chairperson of the O.P. Jindal Group for several years before transitioning to the role of chairperson emeritus, a position she continues to hold. In this capacity, she remains the symbolic head of the family's business interests while the operational management of individual group companies is handled by her sons and other family members.

Growth and Expansion of the Jindal Group

Under the collective leadership of the Jindal family, with Savitri Jindal as the matriarchal figure, the O.P. Jindal Group has undergone significant expansion across multiple sectors. The group's operations span steel manufacturing, power generation, cement production, infrastructure development, paints, and other industries.

In the steel sector, JSW Steel—led by Sajjan Jindal—has emerged as one of India's largest private steel companies. In December 2025, JSW Steel announced a joint venture with Japan's JFE Holdings valued at $3.4 billion, representing a deepening of the company's international partnerships and expansion strategy.

The group has also diversified into the cement industry through JSW Cement. In August 2025, JSW Cement was reported to be preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) valued at approximately $412 million, signaling the company's growth trajectory and plans for further expansion.

In the paints sector, JSW Paints made a major move in June 2025 when it agreed to acquire a majority stake in Akzo Nobel's India business in a deal valued at $1.6 billion. This acquisition represented a significant step in the group's diversification beyond its traditional core industries of steel and power.

These expansions, carried out by various arms of the Jindal family's business empire, have contributed to a substantial increase in the combined family wealth, with the Jindal family's net worth reaching approximately $35.5 billion by April 2025 according to Forbes.

Political Career

Savitri Jindal entered politics following in the footsteps of her late husband Om Prakash Jindal, who had served as a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly and as a minister in the state government. She contested and won elections to the Haryana Legislative Assembly from the Hisar constituency.

Congress Period (2005–2014)

Jindal initially entered politics under the banner of the Indian National Congress. She served as a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly and was inducted into the Haryana state government as a minister. According to reports, she found a place in the Haryana government during the Congress-led administration in the state. During this period, she represented the Hisar constituency and served the Congress party's interests in the state legislature.

Switch to BJP and Independent Candidacy

In 2014, Savitri Jindal left the Indian National Congress. In March 2024, she formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with her son Naveen Jindal, who had previously served as a Congress member of the Lok Sabha. This party switch was notable given the Jindal family's long-standing association with the Congress party.

In the 2024 Haryana Legislative Assembly election, Jindal contested from the Hisar constituency. She won the seat and began her latest term as a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly on 8 October 2024, succeeding Kamal Gupta as the representative from Hisar. Reports indicated that she contested as an independent candidate in the 2024 election and subsequently extended her support to the BJP in forming the government in Haryana.

Institutional Roles

Beyond her business and political activities, Savitri Jindal holds institutional positions in the educational and healthcare sectors. She serves as president of Maharaja Agrasen Medical College in Agroha, Haryana, continuing the Jindal family's involvement in educational and philanthropic institutions in the state. The Jindal family has historically maintained connections to various educational institutions, hospitals, and community development projects, particularly in Haryana.

Personal Life

Savitri Jindal married Om Prakash Jindal, who founded the O.P. Jindal Group and also served in politics as a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly and as a minister in the Haryana state government. Om Prakash Jindal died on 31 March 2005 in a helicopter accident.

The couple had nine children. Among their sons, Sajjan Jindal is the chairman and managing director of JSW Group, which encompasses JSW Steel, JSW Energy, JSW Cement, JSW Paints, and other enterprises. Naveen Jindal is the chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited and has served as a member of the Lok Sabha. The Jindal children manage different arms of the family's industrial empire, and the collective management structure has contributed to the diversified growth of the group.

Savitri Jindal maintains connections to her birthplace of Tinsukia in Assam. In 2025, she attended the Bhumi Pujan ceremony for the Vrindavani Vastra museum project in Guwahati, Assam, demonstrating her continued engagement with the cultural heritage of the northeastern state.

Recognition

Forbes Rankings

Savitri Jindal and the Jindal family have featured prominently on the Forbes lists of the world's wealthiest individuals. As of October 2024, the Jindal family was ranked third on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest tycoons, with a combined net worth of $34.4 billion.

By April 2025, the family's net worth had risen to over $35.5 billion, and Savitri Jindal was recognized as India's richest woman on the Forbes Billionaires List, trailing only Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani among Indian billionaires overall.

In 2025, Savitri Jindal topped the list of the richest women in India, ahead of other prominent women such as Vinod Rai Gupta and Rekha Jhunjhunwala.

Savitri Jindal has appeared on earlier Forbes lists as well. In 2009, she was listed among the world's billionaires by Forbes. In 2011, Forbes included her on its list of the world's 20 richest mothers.

Legacy

Savitri Jindal's position as the matriarch of one of India's largest industrial families has made her a significant figure in Indian business. After the death of Om Prakash Jindal in 2005, she assumed the leadership of the O.P. Jindal Group at a time when the conglomerate was already a major player in India's industrial landscape. Under the family's collective stewardship, with Savitri as the overarching figurehead, the group has expanded substantially, diversifying from its original steel and power base into cement, paints, and other sectors.

The growth of the Jindal family's businesses—from JSW Steel's $3.4 billion joint venture with JFE Holdings to JSW Cement's planned IPO to JSW Paints' $1.6 billion acquisition of Akzo Nobel's India operations—reflects the scale and ambition of the group's expansion strategy in the 2020s.

In politics, Jindal represents a continuation of the Jindal family's engagement with governance in Haryana, a tradition established by her late husband. Her transition from the Congress party to the BJP, and her continued electoral success in the Hisar constituency, underscore her enduring political relevance in the state.

As the chairperson emeritus of the O.P. Jindal Group and a sitting member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly, Savitri Jindal occupies an unusual dual role in Indian public life—straddling the worlds of major industry and state-level politics. Her position as India's richest woman, as documented by Forbes, adds a further dimension to her public profile, placing her among the most prominent women in Indian business history.