Anu Aga | |
|---|---|
 Director, Thermax Ltd., Padma Shri Awardee, MP- Rajya Sabha Member-National Advisory Council (GOI) | |
| Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 27 April 2012 – 26 April 2018 | |
| Constituency | Nominated |
| Member, National Advisory Council | |
| In office 2010–2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1942-08-03)3 August 1942 (age 83) Mumbai, India |
| Residence(s) | Pune, India |
| Alma mater | St. Xavier's College, Mumbai Tata Institute of Social Sciences |
| Occupation | Ex-Chairperson,Thermax Ltd.,social worker |
Anu Aga (born 3 August 1942) is an Indian billionaire businesswoman and social worker who ledThermax, an energy and environment engineering business, as its chairperson from 1996 to 2004.[1][2] She was among the eight richest Indian women, and in 2007 was part of 40 richest Indians by net worth according toForbes magazine.[3][4] She was awarded with the Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award by ALL Ladies League, the all ladies wing ofASSOCHAM.[5]
After retiring from Thermax, she took to social work, and in 2010 she was awarded thePadma Shri for Social Work by theGovernment of India.[6] She is currently Chairperson ofTeach For India.[7]She was nominated toRajya Sabha, the Upper House ofIndian Parliament on 26 April 2012, by PresidentPratibha Patil.[8]
As per Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, dated October 9, 2024, Anu Aga is ranked 67th with a net worth of $4.7 Billion.[9]
Anu Aga was born to aParsiZoroastrian family on 3 August[10] 1942 inBombay.[11][12]
She graduated with a B.A. in economics fromSt Xavier's College,Mumbai,[13] and with a post graduation in medical andpsychiatric social work from the prestigiousTata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS),Mumbai. She had also been aFulbright Scholar and studied in theUnited States for four months.
Anu was married to Rohinton Aga, a graduate of theHarvard Business School and gave birth to a daughter, Meher, and a son, Kurush. Rohinton died in 1996 of a massive stroke, and a little over a year later, her son Kurush died at the age of 25 years.[14][15] Today, Arnavaz 'Anu' Aga lives inPune, Maharashtra.[16]
Her daughter, Meher Pudumjee is the current Chairperson ofThermax, taking over from her mother in 2004. She is a post-graduate in chemical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London and joined Thermax in September 1990, and is also a member of theConfederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Family Business Forum and theYoung Indians (YI).[17]
Anu started her career inThermax in 1985 and later headed its human resources division from 1991 to 1996. After the death of her husband, Rohinton Aga, she took over as Chairperson of Thermax, retiring in 2004 and succeeded by her daughter and company vice-chairperson, Meher Pudumjee. Anu has since remained on the company's board of directors,[3] and is involved with social work.
As a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, she served on several committees, including the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice from May 2012 to May 2014, and again from September 2014 to the present. She was also a member of the Parliamentary Forum on Children from August 2012 to May 2014, the Committee on Empowerment of Women from September 2012 to September 2013, and the Committee on Commerce from August to December 2012.