Mallika Srinivasan can be described in many ways: India’s `tractor queen’ making an indelible impression in a heavily male-dominated industry; a thought leader; a strategist as well as a well-known philanthropist with an abiding interest in ensuring development of agriculture, education, and healthcare in India.
As chairman and managing director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE), a company that her grandfather founded and had her father as its growth architect, Srinivasan has gone global with a vengeance. Under her leadership, the Rs 10,000 crore company has become the third largest tractor manufacturer in the world and the second largest in India by volumes, with an annual sales of over 180,000 tractors and presence in over 100 countries.
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No wonder, she was the unanimous choice for the Lifetime Achievement Award by the illustrious jury for the Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurs (ExpressAWE), 2025. The jury, led by Deepak Parekh, former chairman of HDFC, also had Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chairperson of Biocon, Meher Pudumjee, chairperson, Thermax, Zia Mody, co-founder and managing partner, AZB & Partners and Sachin Bansal, chairman, Navi Group.
Her academic credentials are impeccable. Srinivasan was a university gold-medallist in Econometrics from the University of Madras, graduated as a member of the Dean’s Honor List, and the Alpha Beta Gamma Society, from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, US. She has been ranked among its top 125 most successful alumni.
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There is more to Srinivasan than a firm grasp on the needs and challenges in crucial sectors of the economy. Those who have known her talk about her ability to balance her commercial acumen with insights from a professional team and all of it with a heart in the right place from a farmer’s perspective.
As a philanthropist, she has pursued purpose and in business remained committed to the target audience — the small & marginal farmers and to technology. From promoting precision-farming to supporting paediatric cancer treatment, preserving folk art to ensuring free eye care services for the needy, Srinivasan has always made a difference where it matters.
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