The Kannada-language daily Udayavani was founded by Tonse Mohandas Pai, an Indian businessman who lived from June 20, 1933, to July 31, 2022. Because of his contributions to the growth of the South Indian city, he has been called the “architect of modern Manipal.”
Currently, Mohan serves as the Chairman of Aarin Capital, Chairman of Manipal Global Education, Advisor to the Board of Manipal Education and Medical Group, Member of the Board of Havells India, Trustee-Manager of Ascendas India Trust, Member of the Board of Manipal University and the Institute of Public Enterprises, Chairman of the FICCI Skills Committee, President of the All India Management Association, Chairman of the Regulatory and Financial Technology Committee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”), Founder-Trustee of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Member of the SIDBI India Aspiration Fund and the India Fund of Funds Investment Committee, and Member of the Board of the National Stock Exchange of India.
Mohan previously held the positions of CFO and Member of the Board of Infosys, one of the biggest software services providers in India. He led the first listing of an Indian-registered company on the NASDAQ, oversaw various other departments like HR, L&D, and Infrastructure, led business divisions like FinacleSM, and was elected “CFO of the Year” several times over 17 years. He was a co-founder of the Bangalore-based Akshaya Patra Foundation in 2000, which provides schoolchildren with midday meals. Over 1.6 million youngsters are currently fed daily by this program in 13,500+ government schools spread across twelve Indian states. Additionally, Mohan has assisted in the establishment of more than 14 distinct venture capital and private equity investment firms, which together have invested in more than 250 businesses with a capital base of more than $ 400,000+million.
He received the Karnataka Rajyotsava honour in 2004 and the Padma Shri honour from the Indian President in 2015. Mohan has a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) from Bangalore University, a bachelor’s degree in business as a University Rank Holder from St. Joseph’s College of business, Bangalore, and an All-India Rank Holder as a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. India’s Bangalore is his home base.
Early life
Pai was the oldest son of T. M. A. Pai, the founder of the Manipal group of colleges and recipient of the Padma Shri award. On June 20, 1933, he was born into a family that had ten siblings. After graduating from the Udupi Board School in the southern Indian city of Udupi, he went on to MGM College in Udupi for his intermediate studies. Later, he travelled to Kolhapur, which is now in Maharashtra, to attend the University of Pune and earn a legal degree.
Indian physician, educator, banker, and philanthropist Tonse Madhava Ananth Pai (30 April 1898 – 29 May 1979) is best known for constructing the university town of Manipal, India.
In India, he was the first to establish a private, self-supporting medical school that offered MBBS. In 1953, Pai founded the Kasturba Medical College, and in 1957, the Manipal Institute of Technology. A series of other educational establishments, such as the Manipal College of Dental Sciences, the Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Manipal Pre-University College, followed. In Udupi, Karnataka, he and his brother Upendra Ananth Pai also founded Syndicate Bank, which currently has offices in Bangalore and Manipal. He was in charge of the well-known Pigmy Deposit Scheme.
Career
After completing his schooling, Pai returned to Manipal in 1953 and began working for several of the organisations his father had founded. He began his career with his family’s business, Canara Land Investments, as general manager. In his capacity as managing partner, he also assumed supervision of the Manipal Power Press. He is recognised for helping to modernise the press in the 1960s and introducing automatic typesetting. Later, he founded the Kannada-language daily Udayavani. He was also credited with developing the Manipal Media Network and introducing contemporary printing equipment.
He established the Rashtrakavi Govindapai Research Centre, the Regional Resources Centre for Folk Performing Arts, and MGM Yakshagana Kendra in coastal Karnataka as a patron of the arts. Pai has served as the director and chairman of the non-banking financial firm ICDS Limited. He has been called the ‘architect of contemporary Manipal’ for his role in the city’s reconstruction. Pai added to the city’s steady development by carrying on his father’s original initiatives to establish Manipal as a centre for finance, medicine, and education. He established a history village in Manipal in collaboration with businessman Vijayanath Shenoy. Additionally, Pai served as president of the T. M. A. Pai Foundation, which promoted Konkani literature and community development programs in the Manipal region.
Death
Pai died in Udupi on 31 July 2022, at the age of 89.
Awards
The Indian government awarded Pai the Padma Shri in 1972. In 1973, Karnataka University in Dharwad awarded him a D. Litt. degree, and in 1975, Andhra University in Visakhapatnam did the same.
On October 9, 1999, the Indian government released a stamp honouring Pai. According to Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Pai is the one who has founded the greatest amount of educational establishments during his lifetime.
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