Pravinchandra V. Gandhi, former chairman of Dena Bank and a leading figure in the print media industry, passed away here on Tuesday after prolonged illness.
Mr. Gandhi (87) was chairman emeritus of the Saurashtra Trust, which publishes the Janmabhoomi group of newspapers and magazines, and was also a former chairman of the Press Trust of India. He had been ailing for over a couple of years. A member of the Board of PTI for several years, Mr. Gandhi was its chairman during 1994-95.
He is survived by wife and two sons. The last rites were performed at the Chandanwari crematorium here.
Joining the Dena bank in 1939, Mr. Gandhi became chairman and managing director in 1967, taking it to the seventh ranked bank in the nation. He was its custodian in 1969. He was the past president of FICCI in 1978 and former president of the Indian Newspaper Society in 1988.
In a tribute, PTI chairman Vijay Kumar Chopra said Mr. Gandhi was a leading light of the media industry.
Mr. Gandhi was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002 for his contribution to social service.
