
Nikhil Madrasi sworn as 79th SGCCI president
S
urat: Nikhil Madrasi was sworn in as the 79th president of The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) at a formal oath-taking ceremony held on Friday evening.
The installation of office bearers for the year 2025–26 also saw Ashok Jirawala assume the role of vice-president.
In his address, Madrasi announced Bijal Jariwala as the honorary secretary and Mitish Modi as the honorary treasurer. He also introduced Mayuri Mevawala as the new chairperson of the ladies wing.
Madrasi underlined his commitment to building stronger synergies between industry and government. "SGCCI and the government are like two sides of the same coin when it comes to trade and industrial development," he remarked.
He pledged active participation in government-led initiatives and assured that SGCCI would take responsibility and collaborate wherever possible to ensure seamless progress in the sector.
Laying out his vision for the year ahead, Madrasi said a strong emphasis would be placed on value addition and export-oriented growth in the textile industry—particularly in garments, technical textiles, and high-value products.
He noted that the upcoming PM MITRA Park near Navsari would be a potential game-changer for the sector and promised efforts to fast-track its operationalisation.
He highlighted plans to further strengthen Surat's diamond industry, reinforcing the Chamber's role as a catalyst for industrial innovation and international trade expansion.
Dignitaries who attended the event included Ashishkumar Chauhan, managing director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Dhaval Patel, Lok Sabha whip and Valsad MP, and Anupam Singh Gahlaut, city police commissioner.
Outgoing president Vijay Mevawala presented a detailed account of the chamber's key achievements during his tenure in 2024–25.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with
Eid wishes
,
messages
, and
quotes
!
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
No prayer, no sacrifice: Ahmadis Muslims barred from Eid prayers in Pakistan
Religious extremists, backed by local authorities, stopped members of Pakistan's Ahmadi community from offering Eid-ul-Azha prayers in at least seven cities, the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan (JAP) said on to the JAP, police in Punjab arrested two Ahmadis and booked three others under Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws for attempting to perform the traditional animal sacrifice — a core Eid ritual. In some cases, members of the hardline Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) allegedly forced Ahmadis to recite the Islamic declaration of faith under threat, claiming their 'conversion' as a were reportedly barred from offering Eid prayers in Khushab, Mirpur Khas, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Rajanpur, Umerkot, Larkana, and Karachi. JAP said the religious extremists, along with the local administrations, stopped Ahmadis from offering Eid prayers within the confines of their worship places. In Lahore, the oldest Ahmadi place of worship in Ghari Shahu was sealed on Eid day after TLP activists demanded police Nazimabad, Karachi, the JAP said Irfan-ul-Haq and his son were taken to the police station along with their sacrificial animal by the TLP activists."Fearing for their safety, they recited the Islamic declaration of faith. The TLP activists celebrated by garlanding them and claiming their conversion to Islam," it police said they arrested two Ahmadis and booked three others under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code for attempting to slaughter sacrificial animals. They said that under the law, Ahmadis cannot observe Islamic JAP said that this treatment is not only discriminatory but also unconstitutional and illegal. "Under Article 20 of Pakistan's Constitution, every citizen is guaranteed freedom of religion. However, Ahmadis are routinely denied this right along with other fundamental rights," it organization warned that the increasing boldness of extremist groups like the TLP poses a grave threat to the community. 'The Ahmadi community is extremely vulnerable... these forced conversions are serious human rights violations.'The crackdown follows a string of recent attacks, including the desecration of over 100 Ahmadi graves in Punjab and the killing of a senior Ahmadi doctor in Parliament in 1974 declared the community as non-Muslims. A decade later, they were not just banned from calling themselves Muslims but were also barred from practicing aspects of Islam.(With inputs from PTI)


Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's son visits India to meet her
New Delhi: Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina's US-based son, Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, is in India to meet his mother, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Wazed, who has emerged as a key voice for the Awami League party, arrived in the country ahead of Eid-ul-Adha in order to celebrate the festival with his mother, currently living in self-exile in New Delhi, the people said on condition of anonymity. Hasina fled to India after the dramatic collapse of the Awami League government in the face of nationwide protests led by student groups last August. She is currently living in a safe house in the heart of the Indian capital. There was no word from Indian officials on the visit by Wazed, an American citizen who is also known by his nickname of Joy. 'Hasina's son is visiting India primarily to celebrate Eid with his mother. He is the first visitor she has received since she arrived in India in August last year,' a person close to the Awami League said. The people said there are currently no plans for Wazed to participate in any public events. Details of his itinerary too are not known, they said. The Indian side is yet to respond to a request from Bangladesh's interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to extradite Hasina, who is facing charges in multiple criminal cases registered against her. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal indicted Hasina earlier this month for ordering a police crackdown on protestors last year, and directed authorities to present her before the panel on June 16. Relations between the Indian government and Bangladesh's caretaker administration are currently at an all-time low and the two sides have clashed on Dhaka's handling of the repression on Bangladesh's religious minorities.


Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Ex-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's son visits India to meet her
New Delhi: Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina's US-based son, Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, is in India to meet his mother, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Wazed, who has emerged as a key voice for the Awami League party, arrived in the country ahead of Eid-ul-Adha in order to celebrate the festival with his mother, currently living in self-exile in New Delhi, the people said on condition of anonymity. Hasina fled to India after the dramatic collapse of the Awami League government in the face of nationwide protests led by student groups last August. She is currently living in a safe house in the heart of the Indian capital. There was no word from Indian officials on the visit by Wazed, an American citizen who is also known by his nickname of Joy. 'Hasina's son is visiting India primarily to celebrate Eid with his mother. He is the first visitor she has received since she arrived in India in August last year,' a person close to the Awami League said. The people said there are currently no plans for Wazed to participate in any public events. Details of his itinerary too are not known, they said. The Indian side is yet to respond to a request from Bangladesh's interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to extradite Hasina, who is facing charges in multiple criminal cases registered against her. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal indicted Hasina earlier this month for ordering a police crackdown on protestors last year, and directed authorities to present her before the panel on June 16. Relations between the Indian government and Bangladesh's caretaker administration are currently at an all-time low and the two sides have clashed on Dhaka's handling of the repression on Bangladesh's religious minorities.