Anand Limaye: My real dream is to create a printing university in India

Anand Limaye thanked all the dignitaries, friends and well-wishers for attending the Lifetime Achievement award ceremony. After which, he proceeded to read out his acceptance speech in Marathi.

The Lifetime Achievement Award which was instituted by Anand Limaye in 2004 and completed a full circle with Anand Limaye being a recipient of the PTA. Limaye said, "I feel lucky to have received this award from two great personalities; Former Governor of Uttar Pradesh, social worker through politics, Ram Naik as well as the former Governor of Nagaland, Padmanabhaji Acharya.,who 50 years ago consistently visited the remote North East region of India urging its citizens to join the mainstream of India."

Limaye thanked the extraordinary founder chairman of TechNova, Pranav Parikh. He said, "Under  Pranav Parikh's guidance the company rose to be ranked among the top five global manufacturers of plates and chemicals for the printing industry."

Limaye mentioned how on 1 March, India Printing Works (IPW) which was established by Limaye's father completed 91 years. He said, "During this period we have seen many ups and downs and we have been able to face those situations with strength and the most important factor for our success is our labour brothers, staff, clients and vendors. I am deeply grateful to this family."

Limaye added, "IPW started with a treadle and hot metal composing. Today the printing business has altered with the times and yet, IPW is surviving in this business because we have built the latest systems of digital, offset and web printing in all three sections like pre-press, press and post-press under one roof."

Limaye mentioned the three qualities that he learned from his father which proved to be important to his successful business: Perfection, time management and honouring commitments.

He reflected, "Along with the IPW business, the little social work by me is inherent in the character. My grandmother, social activist and revolutionary Jankibai Apte, established a balikashram for backward class girls in a small village like Ahmednagar during 1942. Her daughter i.e. my mother, Leelatai Limaye, a social worker, also opened her way to earn money by working for middle class needy women. Due to which those women could contribute to the world."

He pointed out how in 1956, when the Bombay Mudrak Sangh was established, a partner of IPW, Appasaheb Bamberdekar was unanimously elected as the first President of the Sangh. Limaye said, "When I was working on the executive committee of the same Mumbai Mudrak Sangh, I realised the importance of the trade body and understood that if you want to do something, you need to take a position in any organisation." He added, "Till date, whatever positions I have occupied in the organisations at the city, state and national level, I have done so voluntarily. Not because someone said it, or because of politics. So my loving advice to the officers of all organisations is to accept any position willingly because it is very important to plan a system of work to carry out any work successfully."

Next he proceeded to highlight the issue piracy. Limaye said, "After realising the tendency of many printers to use pirated software in the market due to the misunderstanding between printers and the price difference between computers and official software, I toured across India with the concept of Be Legal Be Safe and explained the benefits of legal software to the printers by giving them knowledge about legal matters."

The commitment charges of nearly twelve and a half lakh rupees received from these establishments were generously donated by the Bombay Mudrak Sangh to the Education Project of the Maharashtra Printing Council at Panvel. Limaye "fearlessly filed at least five to six petitions against the government in the Bombay High Court or the Supreme Court to get justice for the printers and free them from the oppressive conditions imposed by the government."

During his presidency with the Mumbai Mudran Parishad, Anand Limaye accepted the post of the technical education committee at Panvel of the council. Limaye said, "At that time I visited the school of Panvel at least three to four times a week and explained its essentials and accordingly, along with the office bearers and committee members, I did many things like setting up a state-of-the-art library in the school, appointing good quality teachers and visiting many schools to explain the importance of printing to the students and teachers." During Limaye's tenure 128 students were studying in the school and it is a matter of pride that this institution was not only bringing financial benefit to the Parishad, but a student of the technical education school came first in the degree course in all of Maharashtra.

After which, the then Dean of Tata Institute of Social Science, Dr Neela Dabir started a degree course in printing in association with Mumbai Mudran Parishad. Here Limaye said, "My real dream is not to establish a printing school or college but to create a printing university in India. I will try to fulfill my dream."

He concluded his address by thanking his family for their support. He said, "All this work would have been difficult for me to do. I will be forever grateful to all of them."