Mr. Rajnikant Devidasbhai Shroff, CMD of UPL was bestowed with one of India’s highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan, his contribution to trade and industry on the eve of India’s 72nd Republic Day.
This year, honourable President Shri Ram Nath Kovind conferred the 119 Padma awards, and Rajnikant Devidas Shroff is the only industrialist honoured with Padma Bhushan. The scientist turned entrepreneur, Mr. Shroff, Chairman and Managing Director of UPL Ltd. said, “I have always been a strong nationalist at heart and I am eternally grateful for all the opportunities I had to be a part of the growth of this great nation, and its backbone, which is the agricultural sector. It is truly a humbling experience to be bestowed with such a prestigious award, and it brings immense joy and pride to the UPL Ltd. Group.”
With a professional career spanning over 50 years, Mr. Rajnikant D. Shroff currently works with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, where he serves as a director in 23 Companies in India. Mr. Shroff has also received several other accolades and honours such as Rolta Corporate Award 2010, Indian Chemical Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award for the entrepreneur in 2010, Lifetime Achievement Award by Chemexil in 2008, and President’s Gold Shield Award for indigenous development of technology in 1972 for his contribution to agricultural technology. His dedication to his profession and his contribution in the field is relentless, and the awards he has won are an attestation to his abilities.
Major initiatives and collaborations by UPL :
UPL’s collaboration with FIFA to promote sustainable development and education through football
UPL Ltd., a global provider of sustainable agriculture products and solutions and is recognised as one of the top agrochemical companies. UPL's portfolio consists of traditional crop protection solutions and biologicals, with more than 13,600 registrations. Our network is present in more than 130 countries and reaches more than 90% of the world's food baskets. Through this network, we aim to extend our agricultural technology, precision agriculture practices and sustainable agriculture practices worldwide.
UPL has joined hands with the FIFA Foundation to raise awareness about sustainable development in agriculture and education in society through football. This collaboration unites OpenAg™ Purpose to transform agriculture by creating an agriculture network that feeds sustainable growth for all with the FIFA Foundation's mission.
Reimagining sustainability with open innovation
The Indian agrochemical company, UPL has set up a New Natural Plant Protection (NPP) Business Unit to improve its biosolutions capacity for sustainable agriculture.
This unit will continue to benefit from UPL's extensive global distribution footprint, agricultural technology, drawing on innovation, research and development capabilities. In addition, it will be supported by our unique, proven ability to bring products to market on a global scale rapidly.
Further, UPL has announced a Clethodim manufacturing facility in Jhagadia, Gujarat, India. This facility will contribute to the production of Clethodim, one of the best post-emergence herbicides in the world used to control perennial grasses in a wide variety of crops. Clethodim's development aims to provide global solutions that strengthen farmer resiliency and meet increased demand requirements primarily due to weed resistance against the commonly used herbicide glyphosate.
UPL joined hands with the Soil Health Institute to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of soil
With this collaboration, Soil Health Institute has planned to evaluate the soil health at selected UPL research and development field stations worldwide (including UPL’s OpenAg farm in Brazil). This collaboration with SHI will help in understanding soil in a much deeper way to provide the right solutions for farmers to enhance soil health, an essential element for sustainable agriculture.
UPL Women’s Network
On June 1 and June 28, UPL kicked off the first meetings of New Global Women’s Network, an initiative that launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021. UPL is the first agrochemical company that aims to create a Women’s Network to foster excellence in women by prioritizing the development of female talent within the organization. Gender diversity leads directly to a more agile and innovative organization – both qualities on which UPL places a very high priority.
At UPL, we aim to cultivate discussions that will foster change and bring to light the best way to understand and support the women around us. As a leading Indian agro chemical company, Diversity, inclusivity, and openness have always been a part of our motto, and with UPL Women’s Network, we are working towards that.
UPL is the 5th largest post-patent agrochemical company in the world with a vision to ensure sustainable and conscientious agriculture through unique solutions, innovation and open collaboration. Our mission is to make every single food product more sustainable and contribute to food security by supporting farmers with our broad range of crop protection solutions.