Dr. Rajendra Kumar Joshi, the visionary scientist who introduced the Swiss Dual System to India, passed away on 1 October 2019. He was 85. Besides his contributions to science, Dr. Joshi will be remembered as an entrepreneur and educator who pioneered a new system of education and skilled labour in India; and as a philanthropist who made notable contributions to charity.
Rajendra Kumar Joshi was born on 13 September 1934 in Dundlod, in the Sikar district of Rajasthan. He later moved to Sadulpur, where he went to school. He studied pharmacy at BITS Pilani, from where he graduated with a gold medal in 1958. He then completed his Ph.D. from the University of Komensky in Bratislava, Slovakia; shortly thereafter, he was invited at the Federal Institute of Switzerland, first as a research associate and later as a professor.
In 1969, Dr. Joshi became a Swiss citizen. He founded Fumapharm AG Switzerland, where he developed a number of medicines for many serious illnesses. He invented the Tecfidera (BG 12), a medicine used for treating multiple sclerosis, a serious neurological disease. In 2015, the Neurologist and Psychiatric Association declared Tecfidera as the ‘most innovative product’, awarding it the Golden Tablet. It was also declared a golden standard by the FDA of America.
In 1989, Dr. Joshi married Ursula, a pharmacist from Zurich. Together, they discovered the Swiss Dual System, a simultaneous system of academic education and apprenticeship that has allowed the economies of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria to recover so quickly after World War II. They decided to introduce the system in India.
Along with Mrs. Ursula Joshi, Dr. Joshi founded the Rajendra and Ursula Joshi Foundation (JCF) in 2006 in Wilen, Switzerland. The same year, they set up a state-of-the-art institute in Jaipur to display the features of the dual system. Later, in collaboration with JCF, Rajendra and Ursula Joshi Skill Development Private Limited (RUJ-SPDL) established a poly mechanic training facility called the Bhartiya Skill Development Centre (BSDC), where the Swiss method of training is imparted.
Dr. Joshi led from the front in the ‘Make in India’ campaign. In 2018, he laid the foundation of RS India in Jaipur, a joint venture with SRM AG (a Swiss company based near Zurich) to manufacture Swiss quality precision parts in India. RS India boasts high-end infrastructure and a trained workforce. Dr. Joshi was instrumental in convincing a number of foreign firms to develop Indian skills in India. He also founded a Swiss precision and assembly plant at Mahindra SEZ.
In 2019, Dr Joshi was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Sanman Award, the highest honour conferred on Non-Resident Indians by the Government of India. The Embassy of India in Switzerland, on behalf of the President of India, handed over a commendation letter and a medal to Dr. Joshi at his residence. The award was presented to him for his outstanding achievements in the field of science, education and medicine.
Machine Maker, would like to take this opportunity to pay our homage and respect to this wonderful human being who sincerely looked for greater change in the Indian way of life.
For more details, you can write to mukta.gogtay@rs-india.com or visit www.rs-india.com
