Mr. Vijay Kalantri, an eminent and versatile business leader, is a first generation entrepreneur who has made remarkable contribution to Industry & Trade Promotion, Infrastructure Development, Development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Sector, Financial Services and Globalization of Indian Business. His work with the central and state governments of India to promote trade and commerce is only matched by his contributions to leading International business organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), UN International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNIDO-India Industries Council.

Mr. Kalantri is the pioneering spirit behind the Balaji Group of Industries, which owns businesses in the Textiles, Leasing Finance and Infrastructure Development sectors.

Currently, he also serves as the Chairman & Managing Director of Dighi Port Ltd, Maharashtra’s first private sector port and port-based Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Mr. Kalantri is also the President of All India Association of Industries (AIAI), the Indian Council of Foreign Trade and the Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce & Industry, besides serving as the Vice Chairman of World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai and as a member of the Board of Directors of World Trade Centers’ Association (WTCA), New York. He also serves as a member on several committees of the Reserve Bank of India, such as the Standing Committee for Small Scale Industries, the Exchange Control Committee, and the All India Export Advisory Committee.

He is also a member of the Steel Consumers’ Council, the Bombay Stock Exchange Derivatives Council Board, the Advisory Board of Corporate Governance Committee of SEBI and the Central Council of Customs and Excise. He is on the national advisory board of Small Industries Development Bank of India and the Employees State Insurance Corporation. Previously, he has also served as director of many institutions such as the Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Limited, Dena Bank and Canara Bank.

As President of All India Association of Industries (AIAI), Mr. Kalantri has always represented the cause of industries to the respective central and state governments and tirelessly worked to create unique solutions. As the Vice-Chairman of WTC Mumbai, he has painstakingly worked to make the institution the premier trade promotion body in the nation. Under his leadership, WTC Mumbai and AIAI have jointly organized several unique initiatives, such as the Global Economic Summits (GES) and the ITM Expos, to name a few.

Throughout his long career, Mr. Kalantri has been at the forefront to promote social welfare and won a number of laurels from private institutions and government bodies alike.

The Government of Poland in 2005 conferred on him the ‘Commander Cross of the Order of Merit’, its highest civilian award. The Russian Federation has also commended his outstanding work by conferring on him the ‘Pushkin Award’ in 2014.