Late Badri Prasad Poddar, was a great philanthropist and educationist and the founder of the Poddar Group. He was keenly interested in the development of technical education and was associated with IIT Kharagpur as the Chairman. He was also the Chairman of Calcutta Tramways Company and the Birla Industrial and Technological Museum. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, a Member of the Governing Body of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, a member of the Board of Governors, Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management and the Chairman of the Commission of Asian and Pacific Affairs. B.P. Poddar Institute of Management & Technology was set up as a tribute to the memory of him.
