Father used to work as a cobbler in the streets of Mumbai, son created a company worth billions, his clients from L&T to Mazagon Dock.
New Delhi. The Government of India has announced 131 Padma Awards for the year 2026. These awards include five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri. Among the award winners, 19 are women and 16 are being honored posthumously. Among these awards, there is a name of a businessman whom you too will salute after reading about him.
This is a story of passion, hard work, struggle, the desire to do something big and create history. This is the story of a cobbler's son. This is the story of a son whose father once worked as a shoe stitcher on the streets of Mumbai. This is the story of a child from a Dalit family who broke all the shackles and achieved a great position. It was such that even the Government of India had to take his name in the announcement of the Padma Shri award. This is the story of DAS Offshore Engineering Pvt. Ltd, its founder and managing director Ashok Khade.
Childhood spent in poverty, had to sleep even on an empty stomach.
Ashok was born in a village named Ped in Sangli district of Maharashtra. Coming from Dalit community, Ashok Khade's father was a cobbler. He used to work under a tree in the bustling city of Mumbai.
The traditional job of Ashok's father, who came from the Chamar community, was to skin dead animals. His mother had to work as an agricultural laborer in the fields of upper caste land owners. From social exclusion to lack of opportunities, his family faced discrimination at every step.
Ashok had 6 brothers and sisters. His father did not have enough income to support his children properly. The situation was such that sometimes the entire family had to sleep without eating.
Ashok had said in an interview to The Economic Times, "My father worked as a cobbler in Mumbai. You can still find the tree that he planted near Chitra Talkies and ran his business."
गांव से निकल मुंबई पहुंचे अशोक खाड़े
Ashoka had realized the importance of education very early in life. He studied in various government schools, and after completing 10th grade, moved to Mumbai with his father and elder brother. By then his brother was working as a welder in Mazagon Dockyard, a government-owned shipbuilding company. Ashok joined his brother as an apprentice.
He started working as a trainee draftsman at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in 1975, where he acquired skills in offshore maintenance, construction and quality control.
Ashok Khade also completed a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering while working.
After about 17 years at Mazagon Dock (1975–1992), Ashok Khade and his two brothers, Dutta and Suresh, decided to start their own engineering business.
Ashok Khade started his own business
Ashok Khade founded DAS Offshore in 1995, with the company's name coming from the initials of three brothers (Dutta, Ashok, Suresh). Ashok Khade's company today employs 4,500 people and has an annual turnover of over Rs 500 crore.
Companies like ONGC, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Indian Oil (Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.), HPCL, Cairn (Vedanta), British Gas, NOCC, Essar, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders DAS Offshore Engineering Pvt. Ltd. Have been clients. Some of these are still its clients.
DAS Offshore has worked with these giants in oil-gas, offshore construction, pipelines and infrastructure projects. The list of these clients reflects the company's technical capability, trust and strong track record.
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