(Top row, L to R) Naresh Mittal, vice chairman, Lovely Group; Ashok Kumar Mittal, president, Lovely Group; Rashmi Mittal, pro chancellor, Lovely Professional University. (2nd row) Ramesh Mittal, chairman, Lovely Group (3rd row, L to R) Vaibhav Mittal, vice president, Lovely Group; Aman Mittal, vice president, Lovely Professional University. (Last row) Shaishav Mittal, COO, Lovely Sweets and Bake Studio (Standing) Amit Mittal, COO, Lovely Autos
Image: Madhu Kapparath
‘Ab laddu bechne wale degree bechenge (now sweets sellers will sell degrees)’ is a jibe the Lovely Group was subjected to when it first thought of starting a professional higher education institution in Punjab. It got a lot of backlash given its inexperience in the domain and lack of private universities in the state.
Lovely Professional University, the group’s flagship business, is a result of years of toil to prove its competency in running an educational institution. Started in 1999, the group had to wait for years to get approvals and attract students. It wasn’t until 2006 that the university got official status. “Any business is meant to run into obstacles… the strength is in not getting bogged down and making efforts in the right direction,” says Ashok Mittal, 59, president of Lovely Group, and founding chancellor of Lovely Professional University (LPU).
(This story appears in the 07 October, 2022 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)