Karnataka-born doctor Rajesh Doshi is new President of Bombay Industries Association

“BIA must not simply be a networking platform. It must become a growth engine for entrepreneurs,” Dr Doshi said making the agenda clear.

Mumbai: Dr Rajesh Doshi, a Karnataka-born doctor, has taken over as the new President of Bombay Industries Association (BIA), one of the oldest and most prominent groupings of the business community in India.

Founded in 1948, a year after Independence, BIA has accompanied India’s industrial arc across eight decades.

During the weekend, Dr Doshi, Managing Director of Diagold Creation Pvt Ltd, formally took charge as BIA President at the 62nd installation ceremony from outgoing President Hitesh Shah in the presence of diplomats, government officials, and a cross-section of Maharashtra's business community.

“Entrepreneurs are people who refuse to accept limitations. They create something where nothing existed before,” said Dr Doshi amid thunderous applause.

“BIA must not simply be a networking platform. It must become a growth engine for entrepreneurs,” he said making the agenda clear.

Born in Belagavi into a business-oriented family, his father was a successful businessman engaged in the trade of jaggery and sugar. However, due to his father’s untimely demise, the family faced significant responsibilities at an early stage.

Despite these challenges, Dr Doshi continued his education and pursued studies in the medical field. However, keeping his family responsibilities in mind, he eventually had to step into the business and take charge. He took over his father’s legacy and worked towards sustaining and growing the family enterprise.

In addition, his personality was strongly shaped by his association with the National Cadet Corps (NCC) during his time in Belagavi. His NCC background instilled in him discipline, leadership qualities, and a deep sense of national service.

Today, Dr Doshi is recognized as a responsible and dependable individual, known for his resilience, dedication, and strong values.

BIA’s 62nd installation ceremony arrived at a moment when India's MSME policy discourse is in flux — tariff realignments, the China-plus-one opportunity, PLI scheme uptake, and the looming question of AI-driven productivity all press simultaneously on businesses largely ill-equipped to respond alone.

Dr Doshi made it clear that his presidency would not be custodial.

His theme for the year — ‘Arise, Awake, Achieve’ — was unpacked with uncommon precision. “Arise means committing to a larger purpose beyond hesitation. Awake is about awareness of the potential in businesses, people, and the country. Achieve, crucially, is about execution — not just ideas,” he said.

His stated priorities are institutional: strengthening BIA’s structure and continuity; creating substantive member-facing learning and engagement forums; and, critically, equipping members for a world reshaped by artificial intelligence, global supply chains, and new export markets.

For the installation ceremony, the Chief Guest was Anish Damania, Managing Director (Group Relationships) at JM Financial Ltd. and Honorary Advisor to MITRA, Maharashtra’s state-level policy think tank, while the Guest of Honour was Surendrakumar Tibrewala, Managing Director of Fineotex Chemical Ltd.