Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

Dr. Gopal Rai
Determined to Do
Selfless Good for Society
A young visionary, who has invested well in himself to garner superlative expertise, a wide span of
experience and a powerful entrepreneurial aptitude, Dr. Gopal Rai has built a leading specialized
engineering and construction company as a rapidly growing solution provider for improvement/
protection/repair of concrete/structures in India
Highly educated with numerous
specializations as PhD from IIT
Bombay, Structural Engineer, MACI,
MASTR, MIEI, MISSE, MIASE, MICJ, Dr.
Gopal Rai – CEO & MD of Dhirendra Group
of Companies – has been committedly
contributing for more than a decade to
the building of the nation, directly utilizing
his various researches in his profession
to expertly deliver excellent projects on
turnkey basis offering solutions starting
from design to execution and expert
consulting.
After completing his Graduation and
Masters from Penn Engineering College and
Sardar Patel Engineering College Mumbai,
respectively, both in Civil Engineering, he
went on to obtain a PhD from IIT Powai,
Mumbai, and immediately after that
decided to utilize his brilliant knowledge
and expertise in the civil industry especially
in repairs and retrofitting of structures.
For the record, he has even professionally
used his PhD thesis on ‘Instantaneous
and Long-Term Performance of Externally
Pre-stressed Beam and Joints’ & has
introduced laminate pre-stressing in the
Indian market, which has become popular
and successful and is consequently widely
used today.
His ingenious contribution to the industry
led to his entrepreneurial experiments,
and he founded Dhirendra Group of
Companies, which he is leading through a
set of principles & values instilled into him
by his father, Shri Lalji Rai, and whom he
extols as the man who gave direction to his
life, and who would invariably remain the
most valued inspiration in his life.
Copious & Illustrious
Contribution
A highly respected personality for his
unrivalled expertise and erudition, he
prefers to disseminate his knowledge &
expertise on several subjects through
various mediums. He has helped organize
several grand workshops such as WSRR at
IIT Bombay and Workshop on Construction
Chemicals with FICCI and Government of
India. Fulfilling his responsibilities at the
helm of his Group of Companies, he has
managed to walk through several other
avenues.
Thus, he is a lecturer and visiting faculty
at several colleges and institutions such
as IIT Madras and Sardar Patel College
of Engineering (SPCE); he has presented
his research work in over 60 seminars
and conferences; and has published many
papers in journals & magazines such as
ACI, ICJ and ISSE.
In addition, he has been involved in the
formation of Association of Structural
Rehabilitation (ASTR), which has organized
many seminars and lectures related to
repairs and rehabilitation of structures
with the help of its 1,000+ members
across India including several phenomenal
academicians and experts. He has been
working in the Committees for Design
Code Development of Composites (ACI
440-2002), and is also a part of the Indian
Standards Codes Formation Committee for
Repairs and Rehabilitation. Also, he is Hon.
Secretary in Indian Institution of Bridge
Engineers (IIBE), which was established
in 1989 by Late Shri Er. M.C. Bhide (Chief
Bridge Eng. Indian Railways) with the
“Rehabilitation & RetroFItting is
sustainable & durable if proper design,
material selection & application is done”
team to promote bridge engineering in the
country.
His other involvements include his
responsibilities as Chief executive Officer
of R&M International Group of Companies,
a Technical Discussion Member at IEI
Maharashtra, General Secretary of
Association of Structural Rehabilitation,
and Member in ISSE, Mumbai Chapter
Core Committee. He has also been
associated with various research projects
in IIT Bombay, SPCE Mumbai, DST and
BARC.
Deservingly, he and his organizations
have been recognized at several
prestigious platforms including DGC
Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. being awarded by
Shri Narendra Modi as Process Innovator
of the Year in Construction Chemical,
DGC winning the trophy as the Leading
Structural Rehabilitation Company in
Singapore, DGC being selected as one of
the 50 Manufacturing Innovative Leaders
at World Innovation Congress and so on.
Advanced Expertise
His phenomenal level of prowess has
enabled him to be associated with
several prestigious projects including the
Apsara Reactor BARC, Mumbai Airport
bridge strengthening of Mithi River, ESIC
Hospitals, JNPT ROB Bridge and many
more.
Dr. Rai firmly believes that powerful
reformations and transformation are on
their way both in India and the Indian
construction chemicals industry, and there
is a lot of scope for innovative technologies
into the Indian market. Rehabilitation
and retrofitting has emerged as a key
area of late, as there is a great demand
in redevelopment projects & for specialty
products. This is an exciting and promising
time for India and all industries, and all
efforts must be made towards availing
timely benefits out of this.
He accords high importance to research
& development in the industry for an
improved base, infrastructure, products
and a general working environment, as
corroborated directly by his own research
work and innovations. In the context of
the Indian market, he shares, “As you
know, India is a developing country and
the markets are still growing here. So, the
awareness about new technologies is still
at a nascent stage. As far as I am concerned
‘innovative products’ are the ones that
solve a problem in a better way and are
also simple to use at the same time. With
these technologies there should be minimal
disturbances to the existing structure.”
Talking about the role of innovations in
the fast-evolving industry of rehabilitation
and retrofitting, he says “Innovation could
be investigated in different stages of
the lifecycle of a structure, including the
design, preparation, construction, and
maintenance.”
Being an ever-optimist genius, who
believes in research and innovations
clubbed with hard work for best results, Dr.
Gopal Rai feels success cannot be elusive
to people for long, who believe in working
sincerely and consistently in the right
direction. He shares, “As you know gold
looks much better if the making and design
is done properly. Similarly, Rehabilitation
& Retrofitting is sustainable and durable
if proper design, material selection and
application is done.”
Back to the Society
Actively involved at multiple platforms
towards offering another chance to the
underprivileged, he feels every life is an
equal life, and he perpetually supports
old people & children working towards a
greater cause of humanity with the help
of organizations such as Child Rights and
You, Little Sisters of the Poor and Anokha
Baalpan.
38 | india’s greatest leaders 2019-20 |