Reliance Group founder Dhirubhai Ambani famously worked his way to the top from a chawl in Bhuleshwar. Asia’s richest man and Dhirubhai’s son Mukesh Ambani grew up with brother Anil in one room where 8-9 people lived together. But the story of Ambani family and Reliance is not the only one that starts from a Mumbai chawl. The story of HT Parekh, founder of HDFC is one of the most inspiring and legendary tales of India Inc.
Starting from a chawl, Hasmukh Thakordas Paresh worked part-time and got a college education. Parekh belonged to a banking family in Surat. He graduated from Mumbai in economics. He then got the opportunity to study further in the Uk where he earned a BSc degree in Banking and Finance from the prestigious London School of Economics.
Hasmukh Parekh returned to India and worked as a lecturer at the famous St Xavier’s College in Mumbai. He then began a legendary career in finance joining the stock broking firm Harkisandass Lakhmidass. His first big exploit was ICICI, where he climbed from Deputy General Manager to Chairman and Managing Director before retiring after a 16-year career.
At 66 when people settled down in retirement, Hasmukhbhai made a stunning comeback with a pioneering idea of financing the home dreams of India’s middle-class. He founded HDFC in 1977 as a finance institution and disbursed the first home loan in 1978. By 1984, HDFC was approving annual loans in excess of Rs 100 crore. In 1992, India conferred Padma Bhushan honour on HT Parekh. In 1993, HDFC got the greenlight to move into mankind. 30 years on, HDFC and HDFC Bank merged into one, forming a whopping Rs 4.14 lakh crore entity.
